Old State Capitol State Historic Site

On June 16, 1858, Lincoln stood in the second-floor Hall of Representatives and accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination for U.S. Senate against incumbent Stephen Douglas. The speech he gave that evening was one of the most controversial of his career. "A house divided against itself cannot stand," he told the assembled delegates. "I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free." His law partner William Herndon and other advisers had begged him to soften the language, warning it was too radical and would cost him the election. Lincoln refused.

He was right about both the cost and the rightness of the speech. He lost the 1858 Senate race to Douglas after the seven famous Lincoln-Douglas debates around Illinois. But the speech, widely reprinted in newspapers nationwide, made Lincoln a national figure and laid the groundwork for his presidential nomination in 1860. Standing in the restored Hall of Representatives today, looking at the speaker's platform where Lincoln stood, gives a powerful sense of the courage that small physical act required.

Park interpreters sometimes recite portions of the speech from the same spot during tours, with chilling effect. The room has been restored to its exact 1858 appearance, including the desks for all 75 representatives, the gas chandeliers, and the visitors' gallery where reporters scribbled notes that became the speech's published text. A copy of Lincoln's original handwritten speech sits behind glass in the back of the chamber.

After Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, his body traveled by funeral train on a 1,654-mile journey from Washington back to Springfield, stopping in major cities along the way for public viewings. The train arrived in Springfield on May 3, 1865, and Lincoln's body was carried into the Old State Capitol and placed in the Hall of Representatives — the same room where he had delivered the House Divided speech seven years earlier. His coffin lay open on a black-draped platform in the center of the chamber.

For 24 hours, beginning at 10am on May 3, mourners filed past the coffin. An estimated 75,000 people — roughly seven times the population of Springfield at the time — came from across Illinois and surrounding states. The line stretched for miles. Soldiers stood honor guard at the head and foot of the coffin in rotating two-hour shifts. Many mourners had known Lincoln personally; for Springfield, he was not just the martyred president but the lawyer, neighbor, and friend they had known for decades.

Tours of the building today linger in the Representatives' Hall to tell this story. The exact spot where the coffin rested is marked by a brass plate set into the floor. A 1865 photograph displayed nearby shows the chamber draped in mourning crepe, with the coffin in the center. The site interprets the funeral with restraint and dignity — many visitors describe standing in this room as one of the most moving experiences in any American historic site.

The Old State Capitol is closed on Sundays and Mondays — a common mistake for visitors who assume major attractions are open every day. Plan your Springfield itinerary accordingly. Tours are free, donations are appreciated, and no reservations are needed for groups smaller than 10. Tours start in the basement visitor center, accessible from the south side of the plaza. The full guided tour lasts about 45 minutes; allow another 30-45 minutes to explore the basement museum and gift shop.

The building is fully ADA accessible via an elevator from the basement to the upper floors. Photography is allowed throughout but flash is discouraged in the legislative chambers due to the age of the reconstructed materials. The plaza outside, which fills an entire downtown block, is a pleasant green space and hosts the annual Old Capitol Farmers Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays from May through October. The Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, where Lincoln practiced law from 1843 to 1852, are across the street and operated by the same state historic agency.

On August 23, 2007, Senator Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States from the steps of the Old State Capitol, specifically citing Lincoln's House Divided speech as inspiration. A small plaque on the south steps commemorates the announcement. For modern visitors, this layering of American political history — Lincoln's House Divided in 1858, Obama's presidential announcement in 2007, set against the building's role in the Civil War era — gives the site a resonance few other historic buildings can match.