The Lincoln-Berry General Store was a general store that was co-owned by Abraham Lincoln. The store is one of the reconstructed 1830s buildings at Lincoln's New Salem, a state historic site.[1] It was and is the only frame (not log) building in New Salem.[2]
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| Industry | General store |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1832 |
| Defunct | 1834 |
Area served | New Salem, Illinois |
| Owner | Abraham Lincoln William F. Berry |
History
editIn January 1832, 23-year-old Lincoln and 21-year-old William F. Berry, a member of Lincoln's militia company during the Black Hawk War, purchased one of the three general stores in New Salem from James and Rowan Herndon.[3] The two men signed personal notes to purchase the business and a later acquisition of another store's inventory.[4]
The store sold general merchandise, such as apparel, dry goods, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of food, including takeout meals for stage passengers. For a short time, the two men were thriving merchants. Lincoln often slept in the back room of the store after a long night of reading.[5]
Lincoln described the store in his 1860 autobiography, writing in the third person: "He studied what he should do -- thought of learning the blacksmith trade -- thought of trying to study law --rather thought he could not succeed at that without a better education. Before long, strangely enough, a man offered to sell, and did sell, to Abraham and another as poor as himself, an old stock of goods, upon credit. They opened as merchants; and he says that was the store."[6]
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In January, Berry applied for a liquor license costing 7 dollars, and the establishment became a tavern as well. As licensed bartenders, Berry and Lincoln sold liquor at 12 cents a pint. The venture added revenue to the business but was not enough to keep it profitable.[7]
By 1833, New Salem was no longer a growing community; the Sangamon River proved to be inadequate for commercial transportation and no roads or railroads allowed easy access to other markets. Adding to the stresses on the business, Berry became an alcoholic and was often too drunk to work, requiring Lincoln to run the store by himself.[8]
Historians have claimed that "local tradition maintained that disagreement over the sale of liquor caused the dissolution of the Lincoln-Berry partnership soon after they obtained the liquor license."[9][10] Lincoln sold his share of the business to Berry in 1833, which closed the following year.[11][12] After Berry's death in 1835, Lincoln was left with a business debt of $1,100.00 ( $40000.00 in 2024) that he was not able to pay off until becoming a member of the United States House of Representatives in 1847.[13][14][15]
Legacy
editAt the first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates in Ottawa, Illinois, on August 21, 1858, Stephen Douglas derided Lincoln for operating a "grocery", a euphemism for a tavern.
Lincoln told customers when the quality of a particular product was not very good, and according to local legend, Lincoln once took 6 cents too much from a customer and walked three miles to return the money.[16] Lincoln's work as an everyman's store clerk and trustworthy business owner helped lead to his nickname as "Honest Abe".[17][18][19]
The 1930 film Abraham Lincoln features Lincoln's time as a storekeeper at the Lincoln-Berry store during the first act.
The 1933–1934 Chicago World's Fair included a replica building exhibit of the Lincoln-Berry store.
A 1928 Frank Schoonover painting of Lincoln working in the store is on display in the Norman Rockwell Museum.[20]
The opening scene of the 1939 film Young Mr. Lincoln is set in the Lincoln-Berry store.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site - Central Region". www2.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ "Lincoln-Berry Store in New Salem". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ Keneally, Thomas (2002-12-30). Abraham Lincoln: A Life. Penguin. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4406-5002-4.
- ^ Billings, Roger; Williams, Frank J. (2010-11-01). Abraham Lincoln, Esq.: The Legal Career of America's Greatest President. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2609-8.
- ^ Hertenstein, Barbara. "To get a feel for life in New Salem, talk to the folks who 'live'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ Tarbell, Ida Minerva (1900). The Life of Abraham Lincoln: Drawn from Original Sources and Containing Many Speeches, Letters, and Telegrams Hitherto Unpublished, and Illustrated with Many Reproductions from Original Paintings, Photographs, Etc. Lincoln History Society.
- ^ "First Lincoln-Berry Store in New Salem". www.abrahamlincolnonline.org. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ "Trail of Twelve Stones (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ White, Ronald C. (2009-01-13). A. Lincoln: A Biography. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-58836-775-4.
- ^ Kostyal, K. M. (2009). Abraham Lincoln's Extraordinary Era: The Man and His Times. National Geographic Books. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4262-0328-2.
- ^ "Papers Of Abraham Lincoln". papersofabrahamlincoln.org. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ Grahame-Smith, Seth (2010-03-02). Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-0-446-57185-2.
- ^ Blazeski, Goran (2016-10-15). "Abraham Lincoln was the only President who was also a licensed bartender". thevintagenews. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ "Lincoln's New Salem 1830-1837 - Lincoln Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ Griffin, John Chandler. Mr. Lincoln and His War. Pelican Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4556-0905-5.
- ^ Lincoln: An Intimate Portrait. Time Inc. Books. 2016-03-15. ISBN 978-1-61893-230-3.
- ^ "Berry-Lincoln Store - Preservation". www2.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ "Honest Abe: Abraham Lincoln and the Moral Character - Foreign Policy Research Institute". www.fpri.org. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ Holst, Erika (2018-10-10). Looking for Lincoln in Illinois: Historic Houses of Lincoln's Illinois. SIU Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-3697-5.
- ^ Rundback, Barbara. "Lincoln and Berry Store". Frank E. Schoonover Website. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
External links
edit- Information about the Lincoln-Berry Store at National Park Service