Farmington Historic Plantation

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Historical Marker #2231 in Louisville denotes Farmington Historic Plantation, a fourteen-room Federal-style home built by John and Lucy Speed in 1816. The house was designed from plans drawn by Thomas Jefferson. For much of its existence, Farmington was 550-acre hemp plantation with a large slave population. Abraham Lincoln, a close friend of John Speed's son, Joshua, spent about three weeks at Farmington in 1841.

Abraham Lincoln met Joshua Speed in 1837, on the day Lincoln arrived in Springfield, Illinois. They took an instant liking to each other and the almost penniless Lincoln did not hesitate when Joshua Speed offered to share his lodgings. The two men roomed together for four years. They remained close friends and confidants throughout Lincoln's life, including the Civil War years, despite their differing political opinions. In 1864, Lincoln appointed Speed's older brother, James, as Attorney General of the United States.