New Salem precinct but losing the countywide district election. He tried again in 1834 and won. Lincoln left New Salem and moved to Springfield, also in his election district, around 1837. When Lincoln lived in New Salem, the village was home to a cooper shop, blacksmith shop, wool carding mill, four general stores (including the Lincoln-Berry General Store), a tavern, a grocery, two doctors' offices, a shoemaker, a carpenter, a hat maker, a tanner, a schoolhouse/church, several residences, common pastures, and kitchen gardens. During its short existence, the village was home to anywhere from 20 to 25 families at a time. New Salem was not a small farm village, but instead a commercial village full of young businessmen and craftsmen trying to start a new life on the frontier. Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site In 1906, William Randolph Hearst purchased the village land and deeded it to the Old Salem Chautauqua Association. In 1919, the land was gifted to the State of Illinois. The site was open to the public on May 19, 1921. Over time, building reconstructions were erected on the foundations of the original village, mostly by the Civilian Conservation Corps, during the Great Depression. The location is presently called Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, featuring 23 buildings, mostly log houses and costumed interpreters, representing the era of Lincoln's residency. The cabins, shops, and businesses are furnished by period implements, objects, and furniture, with many acquired from area farms and homes. In addition to the village, the park includes extensive woodlands. Twenty-two of the village buildings are reconstructed; one log cabin, the Onstot Cooper Shop, is original, although it had been previously moved by Henry Onstot to Petersburg in 1840. In 1922, it was returned to New Salem on what archeologists believe was its original foundation. In addition to archeological investigations, much of the town was recreated based on period documents and the recollections and drawings of former residents, who had been interviewed in the late 19th century. Steamboats Talisman In 1832 a 136-foot, 150-ton river steamer Talisman ventured from Cincinnati, Ohio, down the Ohio River, up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, and into central Illinois on the Sangamon River, while chartered to Springfield businessman Vincent Bogue. Lincoln helped clear obstructions from the riverbanks on Talisman'''s trip upriver, and co-piloted the steamer with Rowan Herndon back to Beardstown. In the summer of 1961, after a period