Abraham Lincoln’s Home is a ten-minute drive from where I live. I’ve been there many many times, taken the tour, etc. etc.
One thing the tour isn’t really clear on, and about which I’ve never been able to glean any solid information, is what happened to the house after Lincoln left it.
Did he sell it when he left for Washington?* Did it pass from owner to owner in the same way that any other urban home would, until the National Park Service bought it from a private owner? Did it fall into ruin and get fixed up by the NPS?
*Interesting fact: from his home to the train station from which he left for Washington is about five blocks. He could have walked there in less than ten minutes.
This is all from memory… but I believe the Lincolns rented it out while in Washington. After Abe’s death, Mary kept ownership but her son really managed the place. She never moved back in. Sometime after her death Robert donated it to the state, who eventually gave it to the feds where it still belongs
When the State of KY controlled the cabin it was in somewhat colorful and tourist friendly surroundings. When NPS took over it was moved to a new/original? location and the whole federal facility was completely “sterile”.
Your friendly Sangamon County Recorder of Deeds could probably help you out.
Here he mentions that Sangamon County records include those for AL.
The main webpage indicates that land records from 1990 are available online, so you’d need to go in person to see the AL records. You might as well do so, I imagine a Recorder of Deeds would be thrilled to learn that somebody actually gives a shit about his office! They might even do an exhibition!
The Lincoln family never sold the house in Springfield. Ownership passed to Mary and then to Robert Todd Lincoln, who deeded the house to the State of Illinois. (Later it became a National Historic Site.) The family rented it out after Lincoln became President. The National Park Service has a summary here, and you can read more about the controversial Osborn Oldroyd here.