Nancy Hanks was born on February 5, 1784, in Hampshire County, Virginia in a log cabin along Mike's Run at the foot of New Creek Mountain in what is now Mineral County, West Virginia. Nancy grew up to marry Thomas Lincoln. One of Nancy and Thomas's sons, Abraham Lincoln, became the 16th President of the United States. The site of Nancy's birth has been marked by the Nancy Hanks Association, which placed a simple stone monument to mark the spot in 1933. Near the monument is a reconstructed log cabin, like the one in which Nancy Hanks was born.
The site is well off the beaten path. To find it, follow the signs which point off U.S. 220, just a few miles south of the Maryland/West Virginia state line in northeastern West Virginia. You will take a narrow, winding road through the mountains for more than six miles to find the memorial on a dead end one lane road, in a beautiful remote rural area. On one side of the road is the stone monument with a brass plaque, and on the other is the log cabin. When I was there the cabin was open, however the site is unattended and there are no interpretative displays.
I found it moving to stand alone in this in this quite, out-of-the-way spot and contemplate the life of the remarkable woman who gave birth to one of Americas most controversial leaders. Abraham Lincoln is credited with saving the Union, but many historians believe that he is actually responsible for dividing it - like a firefighter who is an arsonist, but gets credit for putting out the fire which he started. In the process, Lincoln flagrantly and repeatedly violated the United States Constitution which he had sworn to uphold. He is sometimes called the Great Centralizer, because he destroyed the sovereignty of the individual states and re-defined America as an empire.
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