Car Hire Springfield - Mini guide to Springfield

Springfield, in the state of Illinois, is best known as the adopted home of President Abraham Lincoln, and is the site of his final resting place. The town has several monuments and historic sites that commemorate Lincoln’s life and work.

A good place to start a tour of the city is the Lincoln Home, where the Lincoln family resided for 17 years, between 1844 and 1861. Visitors interested in Abraham Lincoln might also wish to visit his final resting place at Oak Ridge Cemetery. Near the tomb are a number of memorials to Lincoln and to the thousands of Illinois soldiers who were killed or missing in action during the Vietnam War.

The Old State Capitol, in the city centre, is a historically significant building where Lincoln spent time between 1837 and 1858, and where he uttered these famous words before the Civil War: “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. The building has been restored, and the House and Senate chambers have been decorated with period furniture.

Springfield is also home to the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, boasting the most extensive collection of Lincoln artefacts in the world. Other museums of interest in Springfield are: the Illinois State Museum, the Illinois State Military Museum, the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum, and the Museum of Funeral Customs.

Lincoln spent six years prior to his election at New Salem, located 32kms northwest of Springfield on Route 97. The site is now home to a reconstructed village with log cabins, stores, and costumed actors and actresses who demonstrate life as it was in the 1830s.

To the west of the city are two popular parks, the Mississippi Palisades Park and Castle Park. Apart from beautiful scenery and abundant wildlife, the parks are great places to engage in some outdoor fun, with hiking, fishing, picnicking, camping and cross-country skiing on offer.

To reach Springfield by car, it is best to utilise either I-55 or I-72, both of which pass directly through the city. Amtrak trains and Greyhound buses both serve the city on a daily basis, and have extensive networks throughout the country. Springfield’s Capital Airport is linked with the international gateway airports of St Louis Lambert and Chicago O’Hare for daily flights, as well as with Midway Airport in Chicago.

The major suburbs in Springfield are: Grandview, Jerome, Leland Grove, Mildred, Riverton, Sherman, Spaulding, Stame, Ridgely and Rochester.