"The Old State House," Vandalia, Illinois, 1937-1939 Postcard

By the early 20th century, the real Abraham Lincoln had long since faded from people's memory. A new generation of Americans had come of age who only knew the stories, the myths, the legends. This generation transformed Lincoln the man into Lincoln the hero. The State of Illinois preserved several Lincoln-related sites, including the Old State House where Lincoln served as a legislator in the 1830s.