Lincoln Museum Open President’s Day

By Benjamin Cox on February 19, 2017 at 12:01am

Many offices and government buildings will be closed on Monday in observance of President’s Day. One place that will not be closing is the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield.

Lincoln Museum Communications Director Chris Wills says the museum has some iconic artifacts from Lincoln’s life on display.

“Couple of really special items are on display in our treasures gallery. One is President Lincoln’s stovepipe hat, which is always a big hit with visitors. It is fascinating to see, this object that is so iconic, it is a symbol of Abraham Lincoln himself. The other is a gorgeous diamond necklace that Lincoln gave to his wife, Mary. It is really beautiful and I would suggest people come by and see that.”

 

Wills says visitors to the museum get a sense of Lincoln’s life as soon as they walk in.

“On one side is a log cabin. I don’t mean a replica of a log cabin, but an actual log cabin that dates back to around Lincoln’s era and was brought here and rebuilt. On the other side of the plaza is a scale version of the White House and it is quite tall and impressive. Those are the two central images of Abraham Lincoln’s life, his childhood in a log cabin and his years in the Presidency.”

Wills explains that the museum has been very popular since it opened in 2005.

“We reached 4 million visitors about this time last year, which was several years ahead of projections. 2015 was our anniversary year and we were the second most visited Presidential Library in the nation, which I think is incredible when you consider that most of the others are in places like Los Angeles or Dallas or Boston, with much bigger population bases. The people of central Illinois especially but also of the entire nation have shown to be very interested and supportive of the museum.”

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located at 212 North Sixth Street in Springfield. Tickets are $15 for adults and $6 for children ages 5-15. Children 4 and under are free.