The handsome brick Greek Revival building was almost new when Lincoln moved into it in 1843.  He rented offices on the third floor, prime space for the time, just above the federal courtroom.  In 1844, Lincoln took William Herndon as his junior partner.  While Lincoln and Herndon occupied this building, they prepared cases for the federal courts, the Illinois Supreme Court and the state's Eighth Judicial Circuit, which covered most of east-central Illinois.  Lincoln rode the circuit for a total of six months during the year, but Herndon usually stayed in Springfield.  Just before Lincoln left Springfield to become President he told Herndon, "If I live I'm coming back some time, and then we"ll go right on practising law as if nothing had ever happened."

“No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feelings of sadness at this parting.” Bittersweet words spoken by President-elect Abraham Lincoln as he departed his beloved Springfield for an uncertain future in Washington, D.C. The Depot contains restored waiting rooms (one for ladies and one for the luggage and tobacco-spitting men), exhibits of people and places dear to Lincoln, and a state-of-the-art video presentation recreating the 12-day journey to his inauguration.