
Abraham Lincoln began his political career where the old National Road ends, in Vandalia, in Illinois. He was elected to the state legislature in 1834, which was before the state capital moved north to Springfield. Actually, Lincoln was instrumental in getting the capital moved, which made him unpopular among Vandalians.
This is the Senate chamber in the old Vandalia statehouse. I arrived there one recent Saturday afternoon with just an hour to spare before daily tours ended. It capped a return visit to the National Road in Illinois, which I’ll be writing about in several blog posts to come. I shot this with my main road-trip camera, the Canon PowerShot S95.
I love the National Road. See everything I’ve written about it here.