LINCOLN’S BOYHOOD HOME AT KNOB CREEK, KENTUCKY

Abraham Lincoln said, “My earliest recollection was of the Knob Creek place”. Knob Creek was the place where young Abe learned to walk and talk, read and write, it’s where he first went to school, where he first worked a garden with his sister Sarah, where he witnessed the death of his baby brother, and at one time, nearly drowned to death. 

Lincoln was born about 10 miles from the Knob Creek farm, a couple of miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky at Sinking Springs Farm, on 12 February 1809. Sinking Springs is now at the Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park. His parents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks-Lincoln bought 300 acres for only $200. That’s 67 cents an acre, imagine doing that today. Two and a half years later, the Lincolns became involved in a land dispute for the Sinking Springs Farm. Thomas Lincoln was determined to fight the issue in court, but he knew that it was going to take several years to settle. In the meantime, he moved the family to Knob Creek, where they rented a 30-acre farm until the dispute could be settled. 

The dispute went on until 1816, five years later, and sadly, didn’t go the Lincoln’s was. Once the land dispute was settled, Thomas like so many other second-generation, Kentuckians moved the family to Indiana for a new start. The land in Indiana was less expensive, it was less populated, and they had more opportunities. 

The Knob Creek farm is the first place that Lincoln had memories from. In 1860, he wrote in a letter, “My earliest recollection was of the Knob Creek place”. That is a statement that makes Kentuckians proud! Knob Creek is the place where Lincoln lived his formative years, where he learned to walk and talk, where he learned to fish and farm. Abraham and his sister walked two miles to school from here, and the two of them planted a garden. Abe said that he remembered that he planted pumpkin seeds every other row and his sister Sarah planted corn every other row. Then he remembered that the next morning a gully washer came and washed their garden away. 

Lincoln also said that he remembered seeing troops that were headed home from the War of 1812, traveling the road in front of the cabin here. He also mentioned that he remembers this is the first place where he ever saw slaves. The slaves were going down the Green River Turnpike on the Old Cumberland Road between Bardstown and Nashville. He also remembered the tragedy of his baby brother Thomas being born here and then dying shortly thereafter.

Lincoln also had another vivid memory from Knob Creek, time he almost drowned. He and his friend were jumping stones and logs on the swollen Knob Creek. Abe slipped, fell in, and was struggling down the creek, rapidly losing strength. His friend, Austin Gollaher rushed down the creek where he stuck out a stick for Abe and pulled him to safety.

Imagine if Abe drowned that day. The world would have never known President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln may be a polarizing figure, not only in his own time, but also today, but it is without a doubt that he left an impact and a legacy on America. Without him, America quite possibly would look very different. What do you think? What is your opinion about Abraham Lincoln? We usually get all types of answers when we ask that question. It will be very interesting to see what everybody says below. 

The area here today is a park and has a Lincoln cabin reproduction. You can take a little path to stand on the banks of Knob Creek, just like Abe himself did. A great memory that I have from here is once when one of my daughters Sarah was about six, we took the family here. she kept exploring the field and got further and further away. I have a picture of her and she’s just a little tiny dot far away, and I had to run to retrieve her. You know, it’s stories like this that make great historic places more memorable to so many. 

Over the years, many folks have lived here and in the 1920s there was a little gas station and cafe that was called Old Lincoln Tavern. It was a neat little tourist trap. The boyhood home of President Abraham Lincoln, the place where he had his first memories and where he developed his personality is a great place to visit to truly understand the man. We hope you get to visit here soon. Check out the video below from the location!

-Col. Russ Carson, Jr., Founder, Family Tree Nuts