Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Springfield, IL is rich with history, and an excellent place to spend a day or two exploring when traveling Route 66. The photos in this carousel are of the Lincoln Home and surrounding area, which is adjacent to downtown. Its cobblestone streets are closed to through-traffic, and visitors are welcome to explore the historic neighborhood and soak up the history.
A linden tree irreparably damaged by high storm winds. This last remaining "witness" tree sits across the street from the Lincoln Home on 8th St. in Springfield, IL and has survived since the 1860s. It was destroyed by severe winds on Thursday, June 11, 2026. June 15, 2026. Photo: David Manning.
The 'witness' tree.
I also had a chance to meet Brian Cassella, a photographer for the Chicago Tribune, who was in the area photographing the last remaining 'witness' tree which was unfortunately destroyed by high storm winds the week before. I saw Brian at work with a combination of two Canon bodies and standard and telephoto zooms. I figured he had to be someone there on assignment - either that, or he was as much of a photography enthusiast as yours truly (though since I was there on vacation, I left the second camera body in the car).
Brian was friendly and generous with the conversation, though I didn't want to bother him too much since he was working. He's an excellent photojournalist, and you should take a moment and check out his work on Instagram (@briancassella)
