SPRINGFIELD, Ky. – Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks were married on June 12, 1806 near Springfield, Ky. On June 14, 2008, Lincoln Homestead State Park will stage a play with period music, dancing and other reenactments to mark the anniversary of the wedding of Abraham Lincoln’s parents more than two centuries ago.
The Lincoln-Hanks Wedding Anniversary Celebration will feature the outdoor drama “Dearly Beloved: The Vows of a Lincoln Legacy,” which recreates the 1806 wedding ceremony, while costumed interpreters will portray Isaac Shelby, Kentucky’s first governor, Dr. Thomas Walker, Kentucky pioneer settler, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other historical figures.
The reenactment of the wedding ceremony will be performed twice, at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Also included in the event is the “American Experience”, which is designed to give visitors a look at what Kentucky and America were like in the early 1800s. This starts at 9 a.m. and runs through 6 p.m.
The activities and interpretations of the American Experience include a wool spinner, flintnapper, ventriloquist, blacksmith, shoemaker, one-man traveling medicine show and a married couple representing common people of the early 19th century frontier.
On display will be tools of the frontiersmen and artifacts of log-cabin construction. Demonstrations of quoits and tomahawk throwing will be performed. Corn-shuck dolls and flowers, children’s games, and performances of period music by Folk Heritage Award-winning Lewis and Donna Lamb will also entertain visitors.
Authors Ron Elliot and Bryon Bush will be in attendance for book signings, and volunteers will answer questions on the genealogy of the Lincoln, Hanks and Berry families. Tours of the newly renovated Mordecai Lincoln house will also be scheduled for a small fee, and the Kentucky Historymobile will provide more information on the life of Abraham Lincoln.
There will be food vendors at the park, and a shuttle service will be provided to and from the parking areas. Parking fees will be $5.00 per car, $10.00 per passenger van and $25.00 per bus. Handicap shuttles also will be available to and from parking areas.
Times: Gates open at 8 a.m. with the first historical speaker beginning at 9 a.m. The wedding ceremony has two sets; the first begins at 11 a.m. and the second at 4 p.m. The American Experience begins at 9 a.m. and runs through 6 p.m.
Lincoln Homestead State Park is 5 miles north of Springfield, KY. Coming from the west (Elizabethtown) on the Bluegrass Parkway, take US 150 east (exit 25). Coming from the east (Lexington), take KY 555 south (exit 43). From US 150 east, take KY 528 to KY 438. From KY 555 south, take KY 438 to the park.
For more information please call 859-336-7461 or visit www.lincolnhanks.net, the official site for the Lincoln-Hanks Wedding Anniversary Celebration.
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The Kentucky State Park System is composed of 53 state parks plus an interstate park shared with Virginia. The Department of Parks, an agency of the Commerce Cabinet, operates 17 resort parks with lodges -- more than any other state. Each year, Kentucky parks draw 7 million visitors and contribute $317 million to the economy. For more information on Kentucky parks, visit our Web site at http://www.parks.ky.gov.