Rob gets a confusing history lesson

In 2003, while driving to Arizona with Heather, we saw some signs off of the Indiana interstate drawing our attention to the Abraham Lincoln Historical Log Cabin Site. We thought it would be a good distraction from the miles and miles of endless corn, so we got off of the interstate to check it out. We drove through 17 miles of tiny towns and (more) cornfields and finally arrived at the Abraham Lincoln Historical Log Cabin Site. See how happy Rob and I look below?

Unfortunately, the site was closed the day we happened to be there, and we never got to go in. We were a little upset, on two different levels -- one, we were denied the chance to see this historical log cabin; and two, we had driven 34 miles out of our way for no reason.

So why the time travel back to 2003? Here's why. As Karen and I were driving from Lexington to Cave City, we apparently passed through some pretty historical places. We first happened upon the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln in Knob Creek. We pulled off of the road, since it was a mere 17-FOOT detour instead of a 17-MILE detour, and saw the log cabin where Lincoln spent some of his early boyhood years.

But then I got confused.... how could Lincoln have a historical site in Indiana AND in Kentucky? How could Lincoln grow up simultaneously in two log cabins in neighboring states? And to add to the confusion, most people associate Lincoln with Springfield, Illinois. WHAT IS GOING ON!!!!!

Lincoln, why do you leave me with so many questions?

To increase the confusion, we drove a little further down the road to Hodgenville and happened upon this... the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace. Oh great, how are we ever going to sort this out?!

Someone went through a lot of time and energy to build this. You walk up the steps, enter the memorial building, and inside it, you find...

...an enshrined log cabin! There is a log cabin INSIDE of the fancy-looking memorial.

Now here's quite possibly the funniest thing about this enshrined log cabin birthplace of the 16th president... the people who built the memorial around this log cabin are not even sure that Lincoln was born here, or that he even ever lived here!

So let's recap. This is a log cabin site in Lincoln City, Indiana (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) that claims Lincoln grew up there and developed his sense of honesty and integrity there. There is a log cabin site in Knob Creek, Kentucky that claims that Lincoln grew up there. There is an enshrined log cabin site in Hodgenville, Kentucky that claims... well, they don't claim much, do they?

Once I got home I did many Google searches on Lincoln to find out how he could have grown up in 3 separate log cabins. It turns out that he was born in Kentucky (maybe inside the enshrined cabin, maybe not), spent his early childhood years in Knob Creek, Kentucky, came of age in Indiana, moved on to Illinois, and from there I think we all have a pretty good handle on what Abraham Lincoln did.

Mystery solved.

But seriously... why build an elaborate memorial around a log cabin if no one knows if Lincoln was actually born there?