SPRINGFIELD – The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is launching a transformative landscaping project that will revitalize Union Square Park with native Illinois plants and flowers, adding new depth and historical features to a beautiful green space in the heart of Springfield.
The centerpiece of the renovation will be Mary Lincoln’s Garden, a tribute to the former First Lady. Surrounding the park’s pergola, it will showcase a beautiful array of plants inspired by Mrs. Lincoln’s floral dresses, her personal taste in flowers and what would have been found in Springfield gardens of her era. Mary Lincoln’s Garden will offer visitors a peaceful place to reflect.
The rest of the park will be updated, too. Envisioned as both a community and educational space, the park will let visitors experience a living connection to history of the Prairie State. They will find a mix of wildflowers, native grasses, flowering shrubs and trees.
“Union Square Park is a vital part of our campus, and this renovation will create a space that is not only more beautiful but also more engaging for our visitors,” said Christina Shutt, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. “We want the park to be a place where people feel welcome to explore, reflect, and connect — with nature, with history and with each other.”
Work begins April 7 and will last most of the month. More than 9,000 botanicals will be planted, including a variety of ornamental trees, hydrangeas, grasses and perennials selected to offer vibrant color, texture and interest throughout all four seasons. Highlights include flowering dogwoods, eastern redbuds, and October Glory red maples, as well as popular perennials like black-eyed Susans, Virginia bluebells and coneflowers — all chosen for their historical relevance and suitability to Illinois’ climate. Native grasses such as prairie dropseed and switchgrass will also provide year-round structure while supporting local biodiversity.
In addition to new plantings, the project will extend existing flower beds, add new ones, upgrade the sprinkler system, and carefully relocate healthy existing plants.
Dorothy Hutchinson-Gross, the ALPLM’s facilities and sustainability director, noted using hardier native species will tend to reduce water consumption and extend the plants’ lives. “This overhaul blends beauty and history with smart management of resources,” Hutchinson-Gross said. “It’s deeply fulfilling to oversee a project that we know will enrich people’s lives for years to come.”
The project was supported by a generous donation from Mariet Hamrah of Brooklyn, NY. To learn more about assisting the ALPLM’s work, please visit www.PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov/Support.
The landscape design is provided by Boehm’s Garden Center in Rushville, with implementation by Semper Fi Land Services, Inc., a veteran-owned landscaping company based in Illinois.
The project is scheduled to run through the end of April. Union Square Park, which is just across the street from the presidential library and museum and is home to the historic Union Station train depot, will remain open to the public throughout most of the renovation.
The ALPLM’s mission is to inspire civic engagement through the diverse lens of Illinois history and to share with the world the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. We pursue this mission througha combination of rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship built on the bedrock of the ALPLM’s unparalleled collection of historical materials – roughly 13 million items from all eras of Illinois history.
The museum is open 9-5 every day of the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
For more information, visit www.PresidentLincoln.illinois.gov.
