Lincoln Boyhood Home

Knob Creek Farm has been a noncontinuous section of the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park since 2001; prior to that date it was privately owned. From 1811 to 1816, it was the childhood homestead of the future President of the United States Abraham Lincoln, who said it was his "earliest recollection". The site consists of four buildings, two of which are historical in nature. The total acreage of Knob Creek Farm is , of which the Lincolns lived on . Lincoln's father Thomas Lincoln did not actually own the farm; he leased the land by the Old Cumberland Trail (now U.S. 31E) in hopes of regaining the Sinking Spring Farm, where Lincoln was born. It was on this site that Lincoln's brother, Thomas, was born and died. Lincoln himself almost died at the farm as well, nearly drowning at the adjacent Knob Creek until neighbor and friend Austin Gollaher extended a branch to rescue him from the swollen creek. The cabin the Lincolns lived in was destroyed in the 19th century by Austin Gollaher. Austin Gollaher brought down the old home and used the logs to build a horse stable about a mile down the road. Years later, the stable was washed away by a flood. The two historical buildings at the location are the Lincoln Tavern and the Gollaher Cabin. The Tavern was built in 1933 at the cost of $4,200; the 1.5 floor structure was constructed of logs and concrete in an asymmetrical plan. The Gollaher Cabin was built around the year 1800, and moved to its present location to reflect what the Lincoln cabin would look like. It is the cabin Austin Gollaher's family lived in during Lincoln's stay at Knob Creek Farm. The tavern was built to cash in on the booming tourist trade that came to LaRue County to see sites connected with Lincoln, much as the Nancy Lincoln Inn was. It was originally a dance hall that served liquor, but when LaRue County became "dry," it was converted to a museum and gift shop, as it remains to the present day. During the 1980s, 20,000 annually visited the complex. The farm was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 16, 1988, due to its role in tourism in LaRue County, Kentucky, and for its connections with Abraham Lincoln. More detail on the history and specifics of the site are covered in a 2006 NPS report.