Edwards Place may be nearly 180 years old, but there is a lot of new stuff to discover behind its doors - new interpretation, new events, new exhibits! Come for a tour and discover what life in the 19th century was like for one of Springfield's most socially prominent families, whose parties were attended by the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and other notable lawyers and politicians.
Benjamin Edwards was born in 1818, the youngest son of Illinois' first territorial governor, Ninian Edwards. Benjamin became the first person born in Illinois to graduate from Yale in 1838, and after a year at Yale's law school he married Helen Dodge of New Haven and moved to Illinois.
Benjamin and Helen arrived in Springfield on January 4, 1840. Helen's heart sank as she looked around the rude town of 1,200 people with no streetlights, no sidewalks, and mud so thick it was hard to for the stagecoach to pull through. She was nervous about meeting Benjamin's brother Ninian jr., with whom they would be staying until their own house was ready for them.
Her fears were allayed when they reached Ninian's house and he and his wife Elizabeth gave them a warm welcome. It was on that night that Benjamin and Helen first met the woman who would become one of their dearest friends: Mary Todd. Little did they know that twenty years later Mary would be the First Lady of the United States; that night she was just Elizabeth Edwards' little sister visiting from Lexington, Kentucky.
Helen was drawn to her at once. She later remembered: "The sunshine in her heart was reflected in her face. She greeted me with such warmth of manner...saying she knew we would be great friends and I must call her Mary. This bond of friendship was continued to the end of her life."
Today Edwards Place tells the story of the social and family life of the Edwardses and their friends. Stop by to discover the secrets of times gone by!
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