Lincoln first visited this pioneer village in 1831. As a crew member
of a flatboat bound for New Orleans, he helped free the boat when it became
stranded on a milldam by the town. Later he studied law here
and was elected to the state legislature.Fairbanks Statue in New Salem
State Park, Illinois
This nine-foot bronze statue by Avard Fairbanks greets you at New Salem
State Historic Site near Petersburg, Illinois. Presented
to the state in 1954, it portrays Abraham Lincoln in the symbolic act
of discarding his axe and taking up his law books.
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