Lincoln Boyhood Historic Resource Study

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH NEEDS

Some details of the historical development of the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial and the surrounding area have yet to be clarified. A number of the questions will be difficult to answer, and thus care should be taken to present an unbiased accounting during interpretive efforts. Others simply represent gaps in current research that can be addressed through additional documentary efforts.

AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

An area of particular concern in which primary data is lacking relates to the agricultural practices undertaken by early settlers in Spencer County. The use of the natural environment during the pioneer period is not well recorded in historic documents. Information specific to the Lincoln family's farming activities was not discovered during a check of archival repositories in Indianapolis, Rockport, and the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. The State of Indiana apparently did not undertake an agricultural census of the state in 1820 or 1830, the years directly relevant to the Lincoln period of occupation in Spencer County. As previously noted, fires destroyed Spencer County's records dating from the 1810s and 1820s. In any case, written documents typically provide skewed insight into pioneer agriculture because they focused on the foodstuffs and livestock that people raised for their own subsistence or surplus goods sold in the market economy, but they often did not include native flora components that were used to supplement diets. Recent archaeological research indicates that there is little opportunity for reconstructing the Lincoln-era agricultural landscape due to the development of Lincoln City and early landscaping activities conducted as part of the development of the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. [237]

Despite a lack of specific data on the Lincoln family's farming practices and physical landscape of the farm, it is possible to reconstruct the types of environments and corresponding potential subsistence practices by using soil surveys, such as Williamson's 1973 survey of Spencer County. [238] In addition, texts on Indiana plant communities provide extensive information on the natural environment at various periods. Studies such as Petty and Jackson's 1966 discussion of plant communities in Natural Features of Indiana and the 1970 monograph Natural Areas in Indiana and Their Preservation, can be used in tandem with soil surveys to predict with a consistent level of accuracy the natural flora and faunal components that would have occurred when the Lincoln family first arrived. [239]

The resulting taxa lists, when compared with ethnobotanies of Native American tribal groups from the Eastern Woodlands and early historical records, offer insights for developing a comparative analysis of potential Native American and early pioneer uses of comparable environments. [240] Ethnobotanies and soil surveys also assist with developing predictive models for identifying alternate food sources that were used to supplement cultivated products during the frontier period as well as times of crop failures. Finally, a richer, more nuanced analysis can be undertaken of the contributions of women and children to survival strategies, as they typically were responsible for cultivating and gathering plants in both Indian and pioneer societies. The information derived from these analyses can be used to provide a broader interpretive base for educational programs at the Living History Farm and at displays featured at the Memorial Building visitor's center. The data also can be incorporated into interpretive displays that are recommended for the nature trails throughout the property and can be included in the suggested audio tour.

Analysis of agricultural practices also provides an opportunity to begin exploring the cultural affiliations of Indian tribes that historically were associated with southern Indiana. A cultural affiliation study is one in which ethnographic study is undertaken to identify cultural ties among past and present groups that occupied or used, and may still use, the land encompassed by the present memorial and its natural and cultural resources. A study of this type is not know to have been undertaken with regard to the Native American groups who once occupied Spencer County in the contact and pre-contact periods. Information gained from such a study can be incorporated into expanded interpretation and education programs that are designed to shed light on the cultural and historical context within which frontier Indiana evolved and which the Lincoln family encountered upon their arrival in the area.

Figure 27: Comprehensive Cultural Resources Base Map of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (Adapted from McEnaney, 2001: 49) (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

In order to develop a full historic context of the socioeconomic and cultural milieu that existed in Spencer County during the early to mid-nineteenth century, the Little Pigeon community's place in the regional market needs to be further examined. This can be accomplished through a closer study of market development in Spencer County, such as at Troy and Rockport, as well as nearby river communities in both Indiana and Kentucky, including Evansville, Owensboro, and Louisville. Among the questions that should be addressed in this study are the level of trade that existed among communities within southern Indiana, and how that trade fit into the overall economy of the region. An area in need of particular attention is the development of industry and manufacturing and the influences these sectors exercised on economic and social development in northern Spencer County. Along the same lines, the impact of the availability of manufactured goods to the county's frontier residents and concomitant changes this caused in their lifestyle also require consideration. A potential model for this type of study is Faragher's Sugar Creek: Life on the Illinois Prairie, which was cited as a part of this report. Furthermore, later technological and transportation advances, such as improvements to the navigability of the Ohio River, construction of canals, and the proliferation of railroads, are in need of further attention.

Consideration of twentieth century economic and social development in northern Spencer County also is in need of further study. Specifically, the impact of the development of the memorial and state park has not previously been analyzed. The full effects of the demolition of many key buildings in Lincoln City, the role played by the Civilian Conservation Corps in local work-relief programs, and the economic and social impact of tourism are among the topics that could be addressed. The influence (if any) on the local economy of 1930s-era and later reforestation and natural conservation efforts is a related subject in need of attention. A fuller explication of all these social and cultural phenomena may provide insight into the motives of the many individuals and organizations that have deemed the Lincoln site worthy of preservation for more than a century, as well as the various approaches that have been taken to preserving the site during that time.