Lincoln Museum in Lincoln, Illinois

[Tom Emery]

I wanted to let all of you know about a great article on a fine museum of Lincolnia in Lincoln, Illinois.

The museum is on the campus of Lincoln College, a private junior college in Lincoln, Illinois. The museum is a real "diamond in the rough," an extensive collection of high-quality historical artifacts on Lincoln.

The museum will be moving to a new building elsewhere on the campus, and will attempt to upgrade from a traditional museum setting to one with more interactive opportunity.

The article is in today's State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois. Go to http://www.sj-r.com, and you should be able to find it.

I actually live about 70 miles south of Lincoln, and the campus is a really nice place. It has a traditional, tree-lined entrance, some old-style academic buildings, and is particularly nice to visit in the spring, when the tulips are in bloom.

Lincoln College was established in 1865. It's not to be confused with Lincoln Christian College, a separate institution across town. It's also not to be confused with Lincoln Memorial University in Tennesee, or Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., the latter of which was founded by black Civil War veterans a few years after the war.

I believe the town of Lincoln was the first city named for Lincoln, and one that he christened with watermelon juice.

The State Journal-Register is the current version of the Illinois State Journal and the Illinois State Register. The two merged sometime around 1974. (Remember Lincoln's phrase "The Journal was always my friend"?)

[LincolnMan]

Having never been there I wonder what are one or two of the Lincoln artifacts held by the museum?

[Tom Emery]

Bill, here is a cut-and-paste from the State Journal-Register article that talks a little about the museum's holdings:

"Among the museum’s more notable artifacts are locks of hair from Abraham Lincoln and members of his family; a dinner bell Mary Lincoln used at their Springfield home; a table Abraham Lincoln used at New Salem; a wooden child’s rocking chair onto which youngest son Tad Lincoln carved his name; a Lincoln campaign banner used at rallies in central Illinois in 1860; and a rare copy of Lincoln’s favorite poem, William Knox’s “Mortality,” written in Lincoln’s own hand."

The museum was established from a private collection beginning in 1942, but has also received donations from individuals such as Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, the last direct descendant of Lincoln, who died in 1985.

[LincolnMan]

Wow, that is most impressive. I don't know when my next Springfield trip will be, but I will sure want to stop at Lincoln.

[LincolnMan]

I actually made a quick visit to Lincoln, Illinois in October. We were very limited for time but I managed to get to the campus to photograph the great Lincoln statue which sits on the lawn. We were disappointed that the museum was closed. Anyway, the campus looked nice!