August 18 Illinois History Minute

It’s August 18th. And on this day in 1971, President Richard Nixon signed a bill that transferred ownership of Abraham Lincoln’s Springfield home from the state of Illinois to the National Park Service as a National Historic site. Lincoln and his family lived in the twelve-room house from 1844 until the start of his presidency in 1861. Lincoln’s eldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, had wanted the home preserved and kept open for the public.  The Lincoln home underwent a major restoration in the 1980s.

Baseball pitcher Burleigh Grimes, born on this day in 1893, played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs in the 1930s. Grimes was one of a handful of players still allowed to throw a spitball in the major leagues after it was banned for most players in 1920.