Blast From the Past

We got a request this week for some historic photos of our town from producers at Sharp Entertainment, who filmed the town of Santa Claus in December for a Travel Channel special on America's Most Christmassy Places. The show will air during the 2008 holiday season.

We knew the Santa Claus Museum was sure to have some treasures from the past, so we ask Curator Chrystal Buehler for help.

My how times have changed! Here's a photo from the museum's archives of one of the town's early post offices:

Here's a photo of the post office as it is today:

While the buildings may look dramatically different, one thing has stayed the same throughout the years -- each Christmas thousands of letters from children arrive here intended for The Jolly Ol' Elf himself.

Visitors can learn more about the history of the Santa Claus Post Office and our town's tradition of helping Santa write back to these children at The Santa Claus Museum.

Honk if You Love Lincoln!

Abraham Lincoln may soon be hitting the highway in the state of Indiana. If House Bill 1202 is approved, his face may soon appear on Indiana license plates.

The bill, which is now moving through the Indiana General Assembly, would create a special license plate for issue in 2008 & 2009 in honor of Lincoln's 200th Birthday. The measure is was proposed by Rep. Russ Stilwell of Boonville, Ind.

Here in Spencer County, where Lincoln lived from age 7 to 21, we are thrilled about the new plates and can't wait to see them on the road! We hope they'll help bring more people to visit our Lincoln sites where they can learn more about the life of our nation's 16th president.

Lincoln Takes Center Stage

Efforts are underway to develop a new play about the life of Abraham Lincoln to be performed in honor of his 200th birthday at Lincoln Amphitheatre in the summer of 2009.

A nation-wide search resulted in more than 25 playwrights submitting samples of their best work and their ideas for the new Lincoln production to the Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association for its review.

The covered, outdoor 1,500-seat Lincoln Amphitheatre is located in Spencer County’s Lincoln State Park. The new play will explore how Lincoln's formative years spent in Indiana influenced the decisions he made as president leading our country through its most trying time - the Civil War.

Click here to go to the Lincoln Amphitheatre website to learn more.

Lincoln Bicentennial Featured in Kentucky Living

Spencer County's upcoming Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Events were included in an article in the January issue of Kentucky Living Magazine. To read the article online, click here. During 2008, many special events will be held here as part of a two-year celebration of the 200th birthday of our nation's 16th president. Spencer County is Lincoln's boyhood home, where he lived with his pioneer family from age 7 to 21. For a complete schedule of Bicentennial Events, got to ThinkLincoln.org