Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway
Places to Visit
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Abbey of Gethsemani and Visitor Center (KY)
The Abbey of Gethsemani is America’s oldest Trappist Monastery, founded by the Order of Trappist Cistercians in 1848 when Trappist monks from western France relocated in Central Kentucky. Thomas Merton, an influential 20th-century Catholic writer, lived at the Abbey where he is now buried. The new welcome center opened in 2004 and includes a gift shop and a theater with films detailing a monk's life.
Distance from byway: 3.5 mi / 5.6 km Directions: Head east on Center Street/KY-52 for 3.5 miles.
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The Lincoln Museum is Kentucky’s only museum dedicated solely to Abraham Lincoln’s life and is also a Civil War Trust Discovery Site. Visitors enjoy a full history of Lincoln’s life and the upstairs portion of the museum features rare newspaper clippings, campaign posters, and Lincoln memorabilia. A Lincoln art gallery on the second floor is filled with paintings, drawings and other artworks portraying Lincoln.
Location: 66 Lincoln Square, Hodgenville, KY, 42748
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Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace National Park (KY)
The site has an early 19th-century Kentucky cabin housed in a memorial building which symbolizes the one in which Lincoln was born in 1809. There are also exhibits and films in the visitor’s center that highlight Lincoln’s Kentucky years, and the impact his childhood had on the adult Lincoln’s character and beliefs.
Location: 2995 Lincoln Farm Road, Hodgenville, KY 42748
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Abraham Lincoln’s Boyhood Home at Knob Creek (KY)
This site is Abraham Lincoln’s childhood Kentucky Home and is said to be his earliest recollection. The Lincoln family moved to Knob Creek from the Sinking Spring Farm in 1811. The existing log cabin on the site was reconstructed in 1931 and possibly includes logs from Austin Gollaher’s home (Lincoln’s schoolmate who rescued him from drowning in Knob Creek).
Location: US 31E, Hodgenville, KY 42748
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Adolph Weinman’s Abraham Lincoln Statue (KY)
This statue was created by noted New York sculptor Adolph A. Weinman (1870 – 1952) and was placed on the square in 1909 to honor the Centennial of Lincoln’s Birth. Sculptures by Weinman can be found at the Jefferson Memorial, the U.S. Supreme Court, State Capitol Buildings in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Louisiana, and he was the designer of a half-dollar titled “Walking Liberty.” Across the square from the Weinman Lincoln statue is a statue of younger Lincoln dedicated in 2008.
Location: Center of Hodgenville
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The Kentucky Bourbon Trail showcases signature distilleries along a scenic drive through the rolling Bluegrass hills, four of which are prominently featured along the Lincoln Heritage Highway. The rich history and proud tradition of America’s official native spirit are displayed on the Bourbon Trail. The Bourbon Trail is a unique cultural destination that draws visitors from all over the world.
Location: The Bourbon Trail traverses the Central Kentucky region and crosses the Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway in a few locations.
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Constitution Square State Historic Park (KY)
Constitution Square was the site of a series of important events in Kentucky’s history. The ten constitutional conventions that led to Kentucky’s statehood, frontier statesmen who lived in what was then the Kentucky County of Virginia struggled more than eight years for independence. Finally, on June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state in the Union and Isaac Shelby, a Revolutionary War hero and convention delegate, was named the first governor of the new Commonwealth.
Location: 134 South Second Street, Danville, KY
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Danville National Cemetery (KY)
At the beginning of the Civil War, the federal government appropriated 18 cemetery lots from the town of Danville on this site. The soldiers’ lot was established as a National Cemetery in 1862. Most of the original interments were Union soldiers who died at the hospital in Danville. A Confederate lot in the city cemetery with 66 interments adjoins the Danville National Cemetery.
Distance from byway: 0.4 mi / 0.6 km Directions: Head north on N 3rd St/KY-33 from the Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway corridor toward W Broadway St. Turn right at W Lexington Ave and turn right at N 1st Street. The destination is on the right.
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Founded in 1795, this quaint town, which was named after Colonel Andrew Hynes's wife, is the seat of Hardin County.
Location: Hardin County
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Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center and Distillery (KY)
The Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center and Distillery is located along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned producer and marketer of distilled spirits, and has called Bardstown home for seven decades. The recently added Heritage Center offers visitors interactive exhibits about the birth of bourbon, the role of whiskey and bourbon throughout history, and the process by which many of the distillery’s well-known brands are prepared.
Distance from byway: 1.3 mi / 2.1 km Directions: Turn onto Springfield Rd/E Stephen Foster Ave/US-150. Continue straight onto KY-40/Loretto Rd/Parkview Ave. Head northeast on Gilkey Run Rd/Old Gilkey Run toward KY-49/Loretto Rd.
