Adda George hung a plaque on the front door of a tiny house near the railroad tracks on the south side of Galesburg in 1945. She had searched for Carl Sandburg’s birth house for a number of years. With the hesitant help of Mary Sandburg Johnson, Mrs. George located the actual birth home of poet Carl Sandburg.

Following the death of the elderly woman living in the house, her son offered a sixty-day option on the purchase of the dilapidated building. Mrs. George quickly arranged to incorporate a non-profit association to maintain the little house and to raise money for the purchase.

In the spring, work was begun on repairing the structure. From time to time, Mrs. George used her own money to pay for the repairs. It was discovered the exterior walls were badly rotted. The interior walls consisted of wide vertical boards that had been wallpapered many times.

A split rail fence was built around the yard. An old wooden pump from the 1870s was reinstalled in the well. Old fashioned plants and shrubs were again planted in the borders of the lawn. The children from Douglas School often helped with the yard work.

A small outbuilding in the rear of the house also received attention. It was a relic of the days before Galesburg had a municipal sanitary system.

While the rehabilitation of the house was in progress, a number of local people, celebrities, collectors and members of the Sandburg family contributed items to put on display. A rope bed and trundle bed with handmade quilts dating back to the 1870s were given by pioneer families of the area. A large boulder was placed on the lawn to commemorate the novel, Remembrance Rock, written by Sandburg.

An additional space had been erected in the rear of the little house. It was left in place to provide needed storage space. Several years later, the Illinois General Assembly appropriated funds for the restoration of the additional space. It was named the Lincoln Room. A variety of items from the Sandburg family home had been given to the birthplace and were displayed in the room.

On October 7, 1945, the Birthplace was dedicated. It was on the anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate which had occurred in Galesburg on that day in 1858. A variety of speakers paid tribute to Galesburg’s famous son. The crowd stood in the street while the program was conducted. An evening dinner and program was held in the ballroom of the Hotel Custer.

A variety of speakers from newspaper publishers to academics to booksellers voiced their appreciation of Sandburg’s writings. Telegrams were read from several distinguished individuals who were unable to be present.

The Lincoln Room was dedicated on May 30, 1949. Again, a large crowd stood in the street to hear the program. Reverend Allen Jenkins, a Sandburg scholar, and Dr. Jay Monaghan, Illinois State Librarian, were the speakers.

Many residents of Galesburg and the surrounding area have memories of a visit to the Sandburg Birthplace when they were in fourth grade. They remember the old fashioned furnishings and collecting pennies on January 6^th, Sandburg’s birth day. (He wrote an extraordinary description of the one-cent piece early in his writing career.)

Over the decades the birthplace has become a State Historical Site and has been expanded with a Visitor’s Center.  The grounds are beautifully landscaped and The Barn provides space for concerts and programs.

It is a piece of Galesburg and world history which should be appreciated and visited more often by everyone.

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Many thanks to new CSHSA member Locke Mason for sharing this video link with us!!