OF all the states Abraham Lincoln called home, Illinois most indelibly carries his imprint. And because its rural areas offer some of the same simplicity and homespun qualities which formed his unique personality, it continues to attract visitors seeking out sites important in his life.

Lincoln's father was a restless man whose search for elusive prosperity carried him along a weary trail from a Kentucky cabin where son Abe was born, through Indiana's hills and across southern Illinois.

Young Abe, with no more than one year's formal education and little hope for any future beyond one of physical labour, came into the state leading one of three teams of oxen that drew the family and all their worldly possessions.

They first settled near Decatur, site of the Lincoln Homestead State Park and eventually outside Charleston at what is now the 86-acre Lincoln Log Cabin State Park. The entire state is rich in Lincoln lore . . . and when an area proclaims he was there, most are genuine for in his circuit-riding days, the lanky lawyer rode a route over 15 counties covering 8,000 square miles for six months a year.

The town of Metamora has preserved the courthouse where Lincoln argued cases. In Pekin, Lincoln freed his first slave when he won the case of Black Nance, an escaped slave who fled into the non-slave-holding state of Illinois.

Father Thomas and beloved stepmother Sarah are buried at Shiloh Cemetery in Lincoln, Illinois, the only place named after him before he became President. He had helped lay out the town and in 1853 christened the village with watermelon juice, naming it Lincoln by popular demand.

His was to become one of history's great Horatio Alger stories . . . the self-made man who managed to succeed despite overwhelming odds. The entire state is dotted with strong reminders of years he spent here . . . even state licence plates carry the worlds "Land of Lincoln" with his image.

But nowhere else is his presence felt in the same way as the rustic village of New Salem where he arrived in 1831 with only the clothes on his back. Although his rise to fame began in the state capital of Springfield 20 miles southeast, it was in New Salem that his character and love of learning developed. Here came the turning point of his life.

It had not been an easy life. His mother died when he was only nine and he remembered being given an age at age seven to clear land for crops. He had worked as a day labourer, splitting rails, whatever work was available.

22, he was hired by Denton Offut to help build a flatboat and transport farm produce to New Orleans. Lincoln was floating along the Sangamon River with cousin John Hanks and stepbrother John Johnson when the boat snagged near New Salem's mill dam. Offered a job at the local store, he accepted and became part of that community.

He was anxious to improve himself, and this is the place where it all started . . . Lincoln accepted every odd job imaginable, from clerking in a store and serving as postmaster to surveyor. He also became a captain in the local militia during the Blackhawk War. Early on he started reading everything he could and began studying law books by firelight. After a long workday, he often walked many miles to borrow books.

The village's history is in many ways as unusual as the man who began his climb to greatness there. The nearby town of Petersburg eventually became the county seat, with many New Salem residents moving to the new town and taking their log cabins with them.

The village fell into decay and neglect, but as it settled into the dust, the Lincoln legend grew. For many decades, it was, as Carl Sandburg wrote in , "only a phantom hamlet of memories and ghosts, a windswept hilltop kept as cherished haunts are kept."

In 1906 William Randolph Hearst became interested in the site's preservation, bought it and transferred title to the Old Chataqua Association, eventually to the state of Illinois and it became a very treasured state park.

Then began years of painstaking research revealing exact site of every building in the original village, authenticating every detail before restoration began. Hearst had started a uniquely different preservation effort, not unlike the Rockefeller's involvement with recreating Williamsburg. But this effort was to preserve a pioneer frontier settlement where life was harsh and ability to succeed extremely limited.

Today everything looks as authentic as the only remaining original building, the Henry Onstot Cooperage Shop. Built in 1835, it was moved to Petersburg in 1840, then returned to New Salem in 1922. It was in this shop that Lincoln and friend Isaac Onstot studied Burns and Blackstone by the light of a fire made from coopers' shavings.

road leads past rustic log buildings . . . the Rutledge Tavern, Lincoln-Berry store, blacksmith, simple dwellings, a school . . . all overlook the tranquil Sangamon River Valley. Even the sawmill and gristmill where Lincoln's flatbed boat got snagged have been reconstructed.

Buildings are furnished with period pieces typical of the time . . . cord beds, candle moulds, early American pewter and earthenware, dough and cornmeal chests, rifles and axes . . . all staples of an Illinois pioneer homestead.

Even gardens in front of cabins have been planted with historic authenticity. Osage orange hedges, red haw, wild crab, wild plum, witch hazel, wild blackberry, gooseberries, along with herb gardens so valued then for medicinal purposes with doctors many miles distant.

Surprisingly, much of the surrounding countryside remains unchanged since Lincoln's time. Vast open spaces, expanses of prairie interspersed with woodland stretch far as the eye can see.

Visitors who come in summer will see craftsmen working at traditional blacksmithing, candle-making, quilting. Our early May visit saw numerous school groups since this is a major outing for many Illinois students, an opportunity to glimpse life as lived in the 1830s.

But the desolate, backwoods mood of the place in winter, with its chill wind and snow piled against cabins in the hollow, is a very special memory. My mother and I had come downstate with my brother Jim, who had been appointed to argue a case before the Illinois Supreme Court in Springfield.

The day before the hearing, my mother and I drove out to New Salem. We'd been there before, in fact for our first visit on a day when Indonesia's President Sukarno had been flown in by the US State Department.

In Washington for an official visit, Sukarno had insisted the place he wanted most to see in the United States was the site where Lincoln began his march to greatness. A government official had asked my family to come over and meet him. Now, in retrospect all these years later, it seems curious that such a notorious dictator held Lincoln in such high regard.

this particular snowy, brisk day, my mother and I had the whole place to ourselves. A caretaker-hostess was in one of the log buildings and as we opened the door, a warm fireplace greeted us, as well as a tin of freshly baked gingerbread. It gave one a first-hand sense of the challenges of life then, as you huddled close to the fire's warmth with wind howling outdoors.

No, Lincoln or other residents weren't spending their few spare hours watching television and videos, listening to radio, playing CDs or hanging out at some local night sport. None of those things existed and students touring the site kept asking: "What did they do for entertainment?" They found it hard to cope with the harshness and simplicity of life as lived in this simple village.

One thing for certain . . . they weren't relaxing, but quite literally working their fingers to the bone. Chopping wood to keep warm, tending crops to see them through harsh winters. And in Lincoln's case, quite literally pulling himself up by his bootstraps devoting every spare hour to self educating himself.

The mood of the place is very thought-provoking, the extraordinary challenge of not only trying to survive in a wilderness, but to improve your lot in life. Visitors should linger in the visitor centre theatre and learn about early village lie as shown in an interpretative film.

There's an excellent museum containing period artefacts and explaining hardships of life during that era. It also has an interesting display explaining work of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) who helped in its restoration. They were also responsible for many hotels constructed within the National Park Service during the depression and their work definitely stands the test of time.

During all my many visits, there was a wonderful restaurant and inn ? the New Salem Inn ? in a wooded area just opposite the park's entrance. It had an appropriately rustic log decor and delicious, home-made treats served by waitresses in 19th-century costumes.

As we made an inquiry about it before this trip, people didn't seem to know if it was still there. Unfortunately it wasn't . . . probably fallen victim to Illinois politics where it surprises no one when a building suddenly disappears because it is considered "unsafe" or in need of "major repairs" and close relatives end up with contracts, building permits, etc. denied others.

But I did come up with a great place to stay, something really special. We'd driven up from Rend Lake Resort to Springfield . . . the legislature was still in session, state-wide policemen had gathered for a memorial service and a quilter's group were convening. Needless to say, it was a very busy place.

We didn't want busy . . . we wanted a sense of the Lincoln legend, something reminiscent of an earlier era. How could we leave the wonderful solitude of Rend Lake Resort and settle into some congested citified atmosphere?

When I asked the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau if there was something historic available, Sharon Johnson, who works there, told me about a couple of properties in Springfield and an historic bed and breakfast in Petersburg, the town only a few miles from New Salem. But I didn't have a name or telephone number for the B & B.

So it was close to eight in the evening of our arrival when we noticed several firemen standing in front of the Petersburg fire station enjoying the spring evening. Certainly they would know about it.

"We've heard there's an historic B & B in a mansion here. Would you know where?" They weren't prepared for some out-of-towners asking such a question and looked like they'd seen an apparition.

"It's up that way a block and turn left," said one. "It's atop the hill."

"No, it's two blocks up," insisted another, as they began to dispute its location, and I hoped no fire ever broke out there that necessitated a speedy arrival while they speculated about how to get there.

Petersburg has a population around 2,500, and today is most noted as former home of Edgar Lee Masters, who authored the , and burial site of Ann Rutledge, reported to be Lincoln's first love who died tragically young in New Salem. But those are sites to revisit tomorrow.

Off we went and found a great surprise waiting. Looking down over town from its lofty bluff-top perch was an elegant, gabled, towered mansion. As we drove up the long, winding driveway, a guest had emerged out onto its terrace and was surveying the twilight view below him. Would there be room? Hopefully so, but it's rather an embarrassment to be ringing a stranger's doorbell at such an hour.

A surprised owner opened the stately front door and we could glimpse a gilt-edge interior. One doesn't usually arrive unannounced without reservations this late. But yes, there were two suites available this weekday night and she'd be happy to show them to us.

New Salem State Park is admission free (donations accepted); www.lincolnnewsalem.com. Phone (217) 632-4000.

The Oaks B & B and Lincoln's Springfield