Knob Creek Farm

Knob Creek Farm has been a non-contiguous 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".[2] The site includes four buildings, two of which are historical in nature.[3]

Map: Sinking Spring Farm lower left, and boyhood home (Knob Creek Farm) upper right, near Hodgenville, Kentucky. The two Park locations are almost 10 miles (16 km) apart on US Highway 31

Lincoln Boyhood Home
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
The "Gollaher Cabin" sits on the site where Lincoln lived
Nearest city	Athertonville, Kentucky
Coordinates	37°36′41″N 85°38′17″W
Built	1931
Architect	Thompson, Robert
Architectural style	Single pen log cabin
NRHP reference No.	88002531 [1]
Added to NRHP	November 16, 1988

The total acreage of Knob Creek Farm is 228 acres (92 ha), of which the Lincolns lived on 30 acres (12 ha). Lincoln's father, Thomas Lincoln, leased the land by the Old Cumberland Trail (now U.S. 31E) in hopes of regaining the Sinking Spring Farm, where Lincoln was born.[4] At the Knob Creek home, Lincoln's brother, Thomas, was born and died. Lincoln himself almost died at the farm as well, nearly drowning in the nearby creek until neighbor and friend Austin Gollaher extended a branch to rescue him from the swollen waters.[2] In December 1816, when Lincoln was almost eight years old, he moved with his family to a homestead in Indiana, which is now preserved as the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.

The cabin the Lincolns lived in was later moved and re-purposed by Austin Gollaher. Gollaher took 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.[5][6]

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.[7] 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" in 1942, it was converted to a museum and gift shop, as it remained until it was closed in 1998. During the 1980s, 20,000 annually visited the complex.[8]

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.[9] More detail on the history and specifics of the site are covered in a 2006 NPS report.[10]