Thomas Lincoln moved his family from Kentucky to Indiana in 1816, when Abraham was 7. Indiana was free territory - the Lincolns left a slave state for one where slavery was prohibited. They arrived in winter, built a 'half-faced camp' (a shelter open on one side), and spent months clearing land and building a cabin. The farm was isolated; neighbors were few; the forest dense. Young Abraham helped clear trees, plant crops, and perform the endless labor of frontier farming. He grew strong physically - the rail-splitting legend has basis in fact. He also grew curious, reading borrowed books by firelight, asking questions that annoyed his father.

In 1818, when Abraham was 9, Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of 'milk sickness' - a disease caused by drinking milk from cows that had eaten white snakeroot. The illness was common on the frontier and terrifying; whole communities died. Nancy's death devastated young Abraham. His father struggled to maintain the household. A year later, Thomas returned to Kentucky and married Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow with three children. Sarah became Abraham's beloved stepmother, encouraging his reading and treating him with kindness his biological father rarely showed. Her arrival stabilized the household and nurtured Abraham's intellectual development.

Lincoln's formal education totaled perhaps 18 months in 'blab schools' - frontier schoolhouses where students learned by reciting aloud. But his real education came from reading. He walked miles to borrow books - the Bible, Aesop's Fables, Robinson Crusoe, the lives of Washington and Franklin. He read by firelight after farm work was done. He practiced writing and arithmetic on wooden shovels, scraping them clean to reuse. He attended court proceedings when possible, fascinated by oratory and argument. By 21, when he left Indiana for Illinois, Lincoln had educated himself far beyond his circumstances - a self-made intellectual from the backwoods.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial preserves 200 acres of the Lincoln farm site. The original cabin is gone; a living history farm demonstrates 1820s pioneer life with log buildings, gardens, and livestock. Nancy Hanks Lincoln's grave is marked by a tombstone in a quiet grove. A memorial building contains sculptures depicting Lincoln's life from birth to presidency. Trail of Twelve Stones uses rocks from significant Lincoln sites. The landscape is hilly southern Indiana - not dramatically different from Lincoln's time. The memorial helps visitors understand Lincoln's origins: not the log cabin myth of natural genius, but the reality of hard work, loss, and relentless self-improvement.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is located 4 miles south of Dale, Indiana, on Highway 162. The memorial is open daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas; entrance fee charged (National Parks pass accepted). The Lincoln Living Historical Farm operates seasonally with costumed interpreters demonstrating pioneer life. The memorial building and Nancy Hanks Lincoln's grave are accessible year-round. Allow 2-3 hours for thorough exploration. Lincoln State Park, adjacent, offers camping, swimming, and additional Lincoln history. Evansville is 35 miles southwest; Louisville is 90 miles east. Indianapolis International Airport is 100 miles north. The memorial is relatively uncrowded; Lincoln sites in Illinois and Washington draw larger crowds, leaving his boyhood home peaceful.