The Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden is a self-governing 100-acre (0.4 km²) arboretum and network of recreated prairie savannahs owned by the city of Springfield, Illinois. The gardens are made up of two major units, the 63-acre Jensen section bordering Lake Springfield, and the newer 37-acre Prairie Pond section. As of April 2006, the Garden is maintained by a full-time staff of 4 men and women, supplemented by more than 150 volunteers and docents. Location of Springfield within Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Sangamon Founded 1819 Mayor Timothy Davlin Area    - City 156. ... Lake Springfield is a lake located in the city of Springfield, Illinois, southeast of downtown. ... A docent (the word being derived from the Latin word docere, meaning to teach) is officially defined as a professor or university lecturer, but the term has been expanded to designate the corps of volunteer guides who staff many of the museums and other educational institutions in the world. ...

History

The Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden (LMG) is the inspiration of Springfield leader Harriet Knudson. When Knudson learned that the city of Springfield was acquiring land for the basin of a new reservoir, intended to serve as a source of city drinking water, she asked the city to set aside approximately 0.6 miles (1 km) of future shoreline as a garden to memorialize Abraham Lincoln. The city agreed and leased the Jensen section to Lincoln Memorial Garden in perpetuity. Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was an American politician who served as the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ...

As designer of the new garden, LMG selected Jens Jensen. A follower of the Prairie Style and its ideal of "organic architecture," Jensen designed the garden to reflect an ideal of Midwestern North American community. Jensen scattered more than 10 fire circles, his design icon, throughout the Gardens. These fire circles, built of Midwestern splitstone, are designed for groups of 12-50 people to sit together around an open fire. The fire circles are all situated to give participants a view of Lake Springfield. By sitting in a fire circle, visitors have the opportunity to balance the four elements within themselves. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Jens Jensen (Landscape Architect). ... Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century style of design in the Midwestern United States developed by architect Louis Sullivan and his followers William Gray Purcell and George Grant Elmslie. ... A community usually refers to a group of people who interact and share certain things as a group, but it can refer to various collections of living things sharing an environment, plant or animal. ... Just-lit match Fire is a self-sustaining oxidation process accompanied by heat and light in the form of a glow or flames. ... Several ancient Classical Element ideas exist. ...

In 1992, the Jensen Unit was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as an example of Jensen's mature landscape design. The National Register of Historic Places is the USAs official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. ...

Recreation and activities

The Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden maintains approximately six miles (9.5 km) of footpaths. Plantings within the Jensen Unit include the white oak (the Illinois state tree), the sugar maple, the dogwood, and the redbud. Binomial name Quercus alba L. The White oak (Quercus alba) is one of the most magnificent of oaks. ... Binomial name Acer saccharum Marshall The Sugar Maple Acer saccharum is a prominent tree in the hardwood forests of eastern North America. ... Subgenera Cornus Benthamidia Swida The Dogwoods comprise a group of 30-50 species of deciduous woody plants (shrubs and trees) in the family Cornaceae, divided into one to nine genera or subgenera (depending on botanical interpretation). ... Species see text Cercis, the Redbuds, is a genus of about 6-10 species in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to warm-temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. ...

In early spring, LMG operates one of the southernmost maple syrup festivals in Illinois. The LMG maples yield only about 10-15 gallons of dark syrup in a good year. A sugar shack, where sap is boiled down to maple syrup. ...

In October, an Indian Summer Festival celebrates the turning of the leaves. An Indian summer day Indian summer (also called Old Wives summer in the United Kingdom) is a name given to a period of sunny, warm weather in autumn, not long before winter. ...

The gardens maintain a visitor center and gift store.

External links

• Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden