Historic Homes Foundation

Farmington Lincoln Bicentennial
Three Weeks at Farmington
Master Calendar

October 12, 2008:	Harvest Festival & Opening Day: Live Music, Great Food, Characters in Costume. Come out for a fun filled day reliving the 1800s. There will be historical re-enactments throughout the day and at 1:30 a dramatic recreation of Lincoln's 1841 arrival to the plantation. Location: Farmington 12pm-5pm
October 14, 2008:	Setting the Scene: Dr. John Kleber will discuss local, state, and national issues that faced Louisville and the Union in 1841. Participants will have the opportunity to view the new exhibit "Lincoln and Farmington: An Enduring Friendship." A panel discussion will take place including: Kathy Nichols-Curator of Farmington's exhibit, Andrea Saylor- Executive Director of Farmington, Pen Bogert-Historian, and Lori Stahlgren-Archaeologist. Location: Farmington 11:00am-2:30pm Ticket Price-$ 25.00 (Box Lunch Included) Reservations required
October 18, 2008:	In Lincoln's Footprints 1841: BUS TOUR Bus tour of Louisville lead by Historian Carolyn Brooks. Tour will highlight historic sites that Abraham Lincoln may have passed down historic Bardstown Turnpike. Highlights on the tour include: the George Hikes Jr. House (1824), the Samuel Bray House (c. 1800), Christ Church Cathedral (1824), James Milner Office/Howard-Hardy House (c. 1830), and Hayfield (c. 1830s). The day will start at Farmington with a lecture by Mary Jean Kinsman discussing architectural aspects of Louisville in 1841. Location: Farmington 9:30am-4:00pm Ticket Price-$ 45 (Box Lunch Included) Reservations required
October 18, 2008:	African American Genealogy Workshop: Have you ever wondered about your family's genealogy? This workshop, in partnership with the Louisville Free Public Library, will explore available resources to research your family tree. Representatives from the Louisville Free Public Library, University of Louisville Archives, and Louisville Metro Archives, and other organizations will be present. Walter Hutchins, Cassandra Sea, and Juanita White will discuss their research into their own family's history. 2:00-3:30 Joe Hardesty will lead a session at the Computer Learning Center exploring print, microfilm, and online resources. This smaller session is limited to 15 participants Location: Main Branch, Louisville Free Public Library, Centennial Room 9:00am-3:30pm Ticket Price- FREE Reservations required
October 23, 2008:	James Speed: Lincoln's Last Attorney General: Historian Jennie Cole will present a lecture on James Speed's role as Lincoln's last Attorney General. Following the lecture panelists will explore the history of the Office of Attorney General and how the office has evolved. Panelists include: Dr. Thomas Mackey, University of Louisville, Judge Fred Cowan, and Attorney Richard Clay. The program is co-sponsored by Farmington Historic Plantation, Louisville Bar Association, and the Filson Historical Society. Location: Filson Historical Society 5:45pm-8:00pm Suggested Donation $5 Reservations required
October 25, 2008:	Slavery in the Ohio River Valley in the 19th Century: BUS TOUR This regional bus tour will explore the institution of slavery in the Ohio River Valley, and the history of the Underground Railroad in the area. The tour will include stops at Farmington Historic Plantation, Portland Wharf Park, Squire Erick House in Portland, 2nd Baptist Church in New Albany, and the Carnegie Center for Art and History. Key participants will include: Historian Pam Peters, historian Pen Bogert, and Dr. Blaine Hudson, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, at the University of Louisville. Location: Farmington Walking Required on Tour 9:30am-3:30pm Ticket Price-$ 45 (Box Lunch Included) Reservations required
October 26, 2008:	Parallel Lives: Farmington and Oxmoor Sisters: Play Farmington will present a short play exploring the impact of two events, a fire at Farmington and Abraham Lincoln's 1841 visit to the plantation, from the perspective of sisters Lucy Fry Speed and Mildred Fry Bullitt. Two enslaved sisters, Phillis Thurston, from Farmington, and Jinnie, who lived at Oxmoor, describe the events from the cabins behind the main house. The script was written by actress and playwright Erma Bush. An afternoon tea will follow in Farmington's Carriage House. Location: Farmington 2:00pm-4:00pm Ticket Price-$ 30 (Afternoon Tea Included) Reservations required

**Abraham Lincoln: Three Weeks at Farmington 1841 Program Package Ticket Price- $125

In August of 1841, Abraham Lincoln traveled from Illinois to Louisville, Kentucky, to visit Joshua Speed and his family at Farmington. In the four years since they had known each other, sharing living quarters in Springfield, the two men had developed a close friendship. It was thanks to Joshua that the young lawyer and Illinois state legislator saw his social and political circles widening, eventually to include a bright and attractive young woman named Mary Todd. But at the time of the visit, a beleaguered Lincoln had broken off his relationship with Mary and had decided not to run for reelection. When Joshua extended his invitation, his friend was in deep despair.

Lincoln's three weeks at Farmington would prove to be restorative. He was welcomed and befriended by the Speed family, taking long walks with Joshua, and borrowing law books from Joshua's brother, James, who years later became Attorney General in Lincoln's last Cabinet. The recently widowed Mrs. Speed gave him a Bible, counseling him to read it. He brightened his own spirits by applauding the courtship of Joshua and his future bride, Fanny Henning, later crediting it with encouraging his return to courting Mary Todd. Scholars agree that Lincoln's Farmington visit was one of the happiest experiences of his life.

Farmington was probably also the first slave plantation that Lincoln had visited, and though it was likely not the first time he had seen slaves, his September 27, 1841, letter to Joshua's half-sister, Mary Speed, following his departure from Louisville, is his first known written observation of slavery. The impressions he recorded of slaves chained to one another aboard the steamboat, and soon to be sold, never left him, and over the years, slavery was perhaps the one subject on which Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed (who nevertheless supported the Union) could not agree. But their strong feelings on the issue did not undermine their lifelong mutual devotion. On November 30, 1866, a year and a half after President Lincoln's assassination, and twenty-five years after his visit to the Speed family at Farmington, Joshua wrote of him, "He disclosed his whole heart to me."