Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site

Lincoln's body has been moved 17 times since his death — an extraordinary history driven first by his enormous funeral journey from Washington and then by repeated attempts to steal the body for ransom. The most famous attempt came on November 7, 1876 (the night of the presidential election between Hayes and Tilden), when a gang of Chicago counterfeiters led by James "Big Jim" Kennally pried open the marble sarcophagus and tried to drag the coffin out. They were interrupted by Secret Service agents who had been tipped off by an informant and fled before getting the coffin out of the tomb.

The incident terrified Robert Todd Lincoln and tomb custodians. For the next 25 years, Lincoln's coffin was secretly moved multiple times within the tomb — at various points hidden in a wooden crypt beneath the basement floor, behind a false wall, and inside an unmarked vault. Mary Todd Lincoln, who died in 1882, was buried in the tomb but her location too was sometimes obscured for security.

Robert Todd Lincoln settled the matter permanently in 1901. The body was exhumed one final time, the coffin was opened in front of 23 witnesses (all of whom confirmed the body's identity — Lincoln's features were still recognizable after 36 years), and then the coffin was placed inside a steel cage and lowered into a pit ten feet below the burial chamber floor. The pit was filled with two tons of liquid concrete. Lincoln's body has not been touched since. The granite sarcophagus visitors see above the grave is purely symbolic.

The interior of the tomb has been remodeled several times since 1874 — the most significant remodeling came in 1930-31, when the original simple interior was replaced with the current ornate marble and bronze design. Sixteen varieties of marble from around the world line the walls. The floor is polished red Vermont marble. A semi-circular gallery off the main entrance hall contains miniature reproductions of nine major Lincoln statues from around the world, allowing visitors to see in one place sculpture that is otherwise scattered from Chicago to London.

The central burial chamber is the emotional heart of the tomb. The seven-ton sarcophagus is inscribed simply "ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 1809-1865" with the famous words from Stanton at his deathbed: "Now he belongs to the ages." Behind it, the wall is engraved with the names and burial dates of Mary Todd Lincoln and the three sons. American flags representing the United States and the state of Illinois flank the sarcophagus. The dome above is decorated with allegorical murals of liberty and union.

Most visitors spend 20 to 30 minutes inside. Photography is allowed but flash is discouraged. There is no audio guide — interpretation is by free-standing panels and by staff at the entrance who answer questions. The atmosphere is genuinely reverent; even tour groups full of fourth-graders generally fall silent inside the burial chamber. Many visitors leave a coin or small object at the foot of the sarcophagus — these are collected by staff and donated to local charities.

One of Springfield's most beloved Route 66 traditions is the Tuesday Evening Flag Retreat Ceremony at Lincoln's Tomb, held every Tuesday evening from early June through late August. The 114th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, a Civil War reenactor unit in period uniforms, performs a traditional flag-lowering ceremony at the tomb's entrance complete with musket drills, period music, and a bugler playing Taps. The ceremony begins at 7pm sharp and lasts about 45 minutes.

The tradition dates to 1962 and is free and open to the public. Visitors are invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets and gather on the grass in front of the tomb. The reenactors are extraordinarily well-rehearsed — many have been performing the ceremony for decades. A short narrative explains the significance of each maneuver, and visitors are invited inside the tomb afterward for a private after-hours visit not available to daytime tour groups. For Route 66 travelers passing through Springfield on a summer Tuesday, the ceremony is a unique only-here experience.

Beyond the Tuesday ceremonies, the tomb is the centerpiece of major Lincoln anniversary commemorations on February 12 (his birthday) and April 15 (the anniversary of his death). The cemetery itself, Oak Ridge, is the second-most-visited cemetery in the United States after Arlington National Cemetery — more than a million people visit Lincoln's grave each year. Beautiful in its own right, the cemetery is worth a walk to see additional monuments including the Illinois Korean and Vietnam Veterans memorials nearby.