Lerna Things to Do

Lerna became home to one of President Lincoln's cabins in the 1840s, when his father and stepmother, Thomas and Sarah Bush Lincoln moved here. Lerna was the last place that his stepmother, Sarah, saw him before he was assasinated. Today, visitors can come to Lerna to see the Lincoln Log Cabin, as well as the Shiloh Cemetary, where Abraham Lincoln's father is buried, and the Sargent Farm, built at the same time the Lincoln house was built. The Sargent farm was transported to this location to show the contrast in class between the Lincoln and Sargent home. Nancy Sargent was said to have known the Lincolns. There are interpreters (reinactors) at the Lincoln house in the summer. They act as President Lincoln, his father, and his stepmother would have when they lived here. They are well-educated in every aspect of the history of the area and the ways in which the Lincolns behaved, so it is quite an experience to see them and talk to them.