Lincoln Home Site, Dubois House, 519 South Eighth Street, Springfield, Sangamon County, IL

Significance: The Dubois House was built for Jesse K. Duboise, and was his family home from 1859 until 1863. During this period, Dubois was the Illinois State Auditor. Many of the people who resided in the Lincoln home neighborhood were political supporters of Mr. Lincoln. Jesse K. Dubois was the most influential of these. A powerful Republican politician and officeholder, Dubois was a political confidant of Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln and Dubois families moved in the same social circles, and the Duboises named one of their sons after Abraham Lincoln. During the 1830's Abraham Lincoln and Dubois both served in the Illinois Legislature. A close friendship developed between them which lasted a lifetime. In May 1856, the Illinois Republican Convention was considering the nomination of candidates for state offices. Abraham Lincoln championed the inclusion of Dubois on the ticket. After his election as State Auditor, Dubois moved from Lawrence County to Springfield. In Springfield, Dubois exerted his influence on behalf of Lincoln's political career. At the 1860 republican Convention in Chicago, Dubois was one of the leaders in organizing support for Lincoln's presidential nomination. After Lincoln's inauguration in 1861, Dubois visited Washington several times to confer with the President. The two-story, frame house with hipped roof is on the west side of Eighth Street between Jackson and Edwards Streets, a half block from the Lincoln Home. The front porch is a later addition, but the house is largely unaltered form the time it was lived in by the Dubois family. The Dubois House and grounds were familiar to the Lincolns. The house complements the Lincoln Home, and was an integral part of the neighborhood during the period Abraham Lincoln was elected to serve as the sixteenth President.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-161
Survey number: HABS IL-1123-C
Building/structure dates: 1859 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 71000076