Hidden Landscape Gems Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center

Hidden Gems Worth Visiting

Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center

2301 East Lake Shore Drive, Springfield, IL 217.529.1111 http://lincolnmemorialgarden.org/

by Heather Prince Hugging the south end of Lake Springfield, the Lincoln Memorial Garden & Nature Center is a beautiful surprise. The garden has a storied history. It is Jens Jensen’s last public project and came about in the 1930s through the dogged determination of civic leader Harriet Knudson. It was created to honor Abraham Lincoln and is filled with plants native to the three states he called home: Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky.

“Harriet was a force of nature,” observed Joel Horwedel, Executive Director. “She contacted Jensen in 1934 after he was semi-retired. He was honored to be asked and it was his last public project. He came down in 1935 and selected the site. He chose it because it has the highest elevation and originally had very few trees. It had been pastureland. He submitted his design in 1936. Most of the trees were planted in 1937 and then for years afterward, wildflowers were planted seasonally. There are eight council rings, Jensen’s hallmark, throughout the property. The largest one, the Lincoln, is at the highest point with beautiful sight lines of the lake.”

The original tract was 63 acres, but today the gardens have grown to 110 acres and include a prairie and a meadow. “We consider ourselves a native woodland garden. Jensen’s concept was to include plantings from the three states where Lincoln resided in groves and loose sweeps,” commented Horwedel. In the historic garden, trees are planted in groups of a single genus and are woven together with swathes of understory trees and sweeps of wildflowers. “We have waves of redbuds, dogwoods, and silver bells for spring color.”

It has taken decades for Jensen’s original ideas to mature into this wonderful woodland garden. “It’s taken years and years to develop and at one point was called Harriet’s Weed Patch,” observed Horwedel. “We try to stay as true to Jensen’s design as possible, but we have lost the chestnut and ash trees over the years. Jensen loved hawthorn, which have some issues, but we keep them going.” History is everywhere at the gardens. The maturing oaks were a special project of Harriet’s. In the 1930s, oaks were hard to come by, so she reached out to the Boy and Girl Scouts asking for acorns. The gardens received acorns from 28 states and these now make up the grove of oaks.

Harriet was a fierce supporter of the garden throughout her life and often brought friends and family into the project. “Myrtle Walgreen became friends with Harriet and was involved from the beginning. Myrtle had a pilot’s license and used to fly down to Springfield to help in the garden. She would open the Walgreen estate in Dixon for tours and send the proceeds to our garden. Her husband paid for our largest bridge. Harriet’s family is still very present in the garden. All the family came for the 50th anniversary celebration of the nature center,” said Horwedel.

When you go, make sure to stop in the Nature Center to see historic photos of the progression of the project. Plan on taking time to stroll the paths and experience Jensen’s vision. “It is a Jensen design. It’s simple, yet elegant,” commented Horwedel. “It’s one of the few of his projects that has stayed true to Jensen’s original design. It has been our top priority to maintain his legacy. I wish he could see what it has become today and see if it lived up to his vision.”