Ron Best, of Charleston, looks over a copy of the deed for Abraham Lincoln's 1841 purchase of southern Coles County farm land from his father, Thomas Lincoln.
(Dave Fopay/Mattoon Journal Gazette via AP)In this Feb. 8, 2019, photo, Ron Best, of Charleston, Ill., looks over a copy of the deed for Abraham Lincoln's 1841 purchase of southern Coles County farm land from his father, Thomas Lincoln. A plot of Illinois farmland once owned by President Abraham Lincoln is heading to auction. Best, a retired farmer in the central Illinois city of Charleston, is selling his family's 590-acre farm, which includes a 30-acre plot once owned by the nation's 16th president.
(Dave Fopay/Charleston Times-Courier via AP)Farm ground once owned by Abraham Lincoln in southern Coles County near Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site is set to be sold at auction on Tuesday.
(Dave Fopay/Mattoon Journal Gazette via AP)30 acres in Illinois once owned by Lincoln head to auction
The Associated PressCHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) — A plot of Illinois farmland once owned by President Abraham Lincoln is heading to auction.
A retired farmer in the central Illinois city of Charleston is selling his family's 590-acre farm, which includes a 30-acre plot once owned by the nation's 16th president.
The retired farmer, Ron Best, tells the (Charleston) Times-Courier and Mattoon Journal-Gazette that he knows some people might think of the land's historical significance during Tuesday's auction.
He says the land has been farmed the entire time, adding: "It's not like Lincoln's stove pipe hat, that you can put on a shelf and say this was Lincoln's."
Lincoln bought 40 acres in 1841 from his cash-strapped father. Six acres became part of the current Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site. The remaining 34 acres were eventually sold.
