Nearly one year after renovations began on the building which enshrines Abraham Lincoln’s symbolic birthplace cabin, it remains closed to visitors. I originally posted an article in August 2009 which discussed the repairs which have been taking place on the Memorial Building located in the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Park, located near Hodgenville, KY.
Now the News-Enterprise (Hardin County, KY) reports that the Memorial Building may not open until Labor Day this year. Apparently the repairs to the century-old Memorial Building required much more work than first estimated by engineers. Plaster in the ceiling is being replaced, upgrades to the cooling and heating system have been required, and a new skylight is being added to permit natural light. The roof on the building is also being replaced. Original plans called for the Memorial Building to be re-opened this past April.
I wrote about this site in one of my first posts on The Abraham Lincoln Blog back in 2007. This cabin is certainly not the one in which Lincoln was born. At best, it might contain a log or two from the original one. The National Park Service does not hide the fact that this cabin is not really the actual birthplace of Lincoln. The story of this particular cabin is somewhat involved. You can read more about it in the book “Lies Across America.” Still, the cabin does gives us an idea of how the original one probably appeared.
I’ll post an update when the Memorial Building re-opens, hopefully in just a few more weeks.
