Lands of Lincoln: 5 areas tout ties to Abe

— -- In honor of Honest Abe's 200th birthday, USA TODAY's Laura Bly looks at key destinations where the candles are blazing. For a nationwide rundown of events and exhibits, check the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (abrahamlincoln200.org).

ILLINOIS

Hallowed ground: "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything," Lincoln said of his adopted hometown, Springfield. Opened in 2005, the 100,000-square-foot Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum targets the Wii generation with a captivating mix of scholarship and showmanship. (It was designed by BRC Imagination Arts, whose founder is a former Disney imagineer.) Think "4-D" theaters and eerily realistic dioramas, not dusty artifacts under glass. alplm.org

Note and remember: Opening Saturday and continuing through February 2010 at the Chicago Public Library, Tall Man of Destiny: Images of Abraham Lincoln celebrates the myriad views of Honest Abe. chipublib.org

Lincoln bedrooms: A bicentennial package at Springfield's retro-'60s State House Inn includes lodging for two, two tickets to the Lincoln museum and library, breakfast and a $60 credit at a local restaurant, Saputo's, and more for $196 a night. thestatehouseinn.com

Site unseen: The Watermelon Monument in Lincoln (the only city named for Abe with his personal consent) memorializes the young lawyer's 1853 attendance at the town dedication, when Lincoln christened his namesake by — take your pick of stories — either breaking open a watermelon and scattering the juice or uncouthly spitting the seeds. logancountytourism.org

Info:lookingforlincoln.com; lincoln200.net

INDIANA

Hallowed ground: Just south of Little Pigeon Creek in southern Indiana's Spencer County — birthplace of the USA's first theme park, Holiday World — the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial and Living Historical Farm re-create Abe's hardscrabble years as a Hoosier. He lived here from age 7 (his father, Thomas, moved the family north from Kentucky in 1816) to age 21, when they headed for Illinois in search of more profitable pastures. nps.gov/libo

Note and remember: The 1,500-seat Lincoln Amphitheatre, tucked into wooded hills in Lincoln State Park near the family's old cabin, premieres the musical LINCOLN on June 12; performances run through Aug. 15. Tickets cost $42.95 for adults and include an Amish family-style meal. lincolnamphitheatre.com

Lincoln bedrooms: When you're ready for a break from All Things Abe but still want a feel for the "wild region" that shaped his formative years, Lincoln State Park's Blue Heron Family cabins offer hiking, fishing and swimming for $60-$75 a night. indiana.reserveworld.com

Site unseen: West of Troy at the meeting of the Ohio and Anderson rivers, Lincoln Ferry Park marks the spot where young Lincoln operated a ferry service, taking passengers out to catch a ride on passing steamboats. perrycountyindiana.org

Info:legendaryplaces.org; in.gov/lincoln

KENTUCKY

Hallowed ground: Lincoln dismissed his childhood as "the short and simple annals of the poor," but that hasn't stopped his old Kentucky home from tooting its own horn on his 200th birthday. Hodgenville's Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site features a marble shrine that shelters a rustic one-room cabin "symbolic" of the original. (Logs from the real cabin were purportedly purchased and carted off while Lincoln was still in office.) Damage from a recent ice storm has closed the park; check ahead. nps.gov/abli

Note and remember: Beyond the Log Cabin: Kentucky's Abraham Lincoln will travel to three Kentucky sites this year. Now in Frankfort, it moves to Louisville in late June and Ashland in October. kylincoln.org

Lincoln bedrooms: Even if a White House invitation isn't in the cards, you can sleep where Abe did. The five-room Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown has been welcoming wayfarers (including young Lincoln) since the 1700s; the Lincoln Suite starts at $89 a night. talbotts.com

Site unseen: In Lexington, the 14-room childhood home of famously spendthrift Mary Todd Lincoln provides a stark contrast to her husband's meager beginnings. Exhibit A: a silver Tiffany chocolate pot, reportedly purchased after her return from Europe in 1871. mtlhouse.org

Info:kylincolntrail.com

PENNSYLVANIA

Hallowed ground: On Nov. 19, 1863 — less than five months after the Civil War bloodbath that turned Gettysburg into a hospital and morgue in which dead and wounded soldiers outnumbered civilians 11 to 1 — Lincoln delivered his most famous speech at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg National Military Park. A new museum and visitors center showcases a restored Battle of Gettysburg cyclorama painting. nps.gov/gett

Note and remember: Center of Gettysburg's massive clean-up effort, the David Wills House Museum was also where Lincoln polished the final draft of his Gettysburg Address in a second-floor bedroom. The museum, restored to its Civil War appearance, celebrates its grand opening Thursday. gettysburg.travel

Lincoln bedrooms: At Gettysburg's Farnsworth House, guests who book the $225-a-night Lincoln Room can crank up the romance in a two-person Jacuzzi — or in a replica of the rocker Lincoln sat in when he was assassinated in Washington. farnsworthhouseinn.com

Site unseen: Now a popular rest stop on the York County Heritage Rail Trail path, the unincorporated hamlet of Hanover Junction served as a place for Lincoln to stretch his lanky limbs en route from D.C. to deliver his Gettysburg Address. yorkpa.org

Info:palincoln.org

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Hallowed ground: Site of the president's assassination on April 14, 1865, Ford's Theatre is ready for its close-up following an intensive renovation. Park service rangers give free tours on Thursday and Feb. 16; a new play, The Heavens Are Hung in Black, runs through March 8. fords.org

Note and remember: On Easter Sunday, April 12 — 70 years after contralto Marian Anderson's open-air performance at the Lincoln Memorial helped set the stage for the U.S. civil rights movement — Denyce Graves stars in a free bicentennial concert with the Chicago Children's Choir, Sweet Honey in the Rock and the Washington National Opera. lincolnindc.com

Lincoln bedrooms: Through April 30, The Fairmont's $299 Honest Abe Package covers one night's stay for four, city map and Lincoln Logs for the kids. Full breakfast is an extra $5 a person — payable with a $5 Lincoln bill. fairmont.com/washington

Site unseen: Opened to the public for the first time last winter, President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home served as a 19th-century Camp David for Lincoln, who used the hilltop cottage as a retreat from Washington's heat and humidity and as a way to interact with politicians and wounded soldiers returning from battle. Guided, hour-long tours cost $12. lincolncottage.org

Info:washington.org