Lincoln's Birthday celebration and Presidents Day schedules announced for state historic sites         

[FEB. 10, 2006]  SPRINGFIELD -- Nearly all of the state historic sites operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency will be closed on Feb. 13 and 20 to observe Lincoln's Birthday and Presidents Day. However, since these are Mondays, most of the sites would have been closed anyway.

The good news? Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site will be open Feb. 13; the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum will be open both Feb. 13 and 20; and there are a number of historic sites hosting special events that people may visit on Feb. 11 and Lincoln's actual birthday, Feb. 12. These include:

• Lincoln Tomb, Springfield -- VFW pilgrimage, 2 p.m. Saturday; American Legion pilgrimage 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

• David Davis Mansion, Bloomington -- Lincoln's Birthday celebration, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

• Postville Courthouse, Lincoln -- Lincoln's Birthday observance, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

• Old State Capitol, Springfield -- Annual Abraham Lincoln Symposium, 1 p.m. Sunday.

• Vandalia Statehouse, Vandalia -- Lincoln's Birthday observance, 2 p.m. Sunday.

• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield -- "Mr. Lincoln's Birthday Weekend Celebration," all day Saturday and Sunday.

More good news: Effective this spring, most of Illinois' historic sites will resume seven-day-per-week operations through Sept. 4. This comes as a direct result of the state budget introduced last year by Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and passed by the Illinois General Assembly. The governor intends to introduce a similar measure for 2007 in his upcoming state budget.

For a complete listing of Illinois' state historic sites and operating hours, visit www.illinois-history.gov.

[Illinois Historic Preservation Agency news release]