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Current News
McClean Museum to dedicate new Lincoln Funeral Train Marker
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Commemorating the 157th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination, The McLean County Museum of History will dedicate a new “Looking for Lincoln” historical marker near the site of the old Bloomington Train Depot of the Chicago & Alton railroad.
Foundation Relaunches and Rebrands as the Lincoln Presidental Foundation
Thursday, March 10, 2022
A nonprofit dedicated to the life, legacy and leadership of Abraham Lincoln takes on new national role
Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon, April 2, 2022
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
It's less than two months until the unique Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon in President Lincoln's home town, on April 2, 2022, 7:30 am.
Upcoming Events
Abraham Lincoln and Self-Improvement
Wednesday, September 7, 2022 7:00 PM
Abraham Lincoln’s story is one of the most remarkable in American history. Born in a frontier cabin, he eventually reached the highest office in the nation. Lincoln’s path was not always straight, but his life presents an inspiring and tragic story of determination and willingness to learn. Join Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Lincoln Historian Christian McWhirter for a discussion of what lessons we can learn from Lincoln’s life.
Dr. Christian McWhirter is the Lincoln Historian at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Museum and author of Battle Hymns: The Power and Popularity of Music in the Civil War. His writings on Lincoln, popular music, and the Civil War have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, and Civil War Monitor. His most recent publication is a Washington Post article on the Civil War background of two Christmas songs.
This program will livestream on Looking for Lincoln's Facebook page and YouTube Channel. The event is FREE. Please do not click on any links that take you to pay page. Our free Facebook events will never ask you for a credit card. If you have trouble finding the event, check the main news feed on the page, and do not click on links in the comments.
"When Lincoln Almost Quit His 1858 Senate Race"
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 7:00 PM
Most historians agree that while Abraham Lincoln lost his attempt to win Stephen A. Douglas’s U.S. Senate seat from Illinois in 1858, his effort propelled him to the U.S. presidency in 1860. That would not have happened if Lincoln had acted on an impulse he had during that 1858 contest. Lincoln considered quitting the race.
Reg Ankrom's interest in Abraham Lincoln led him to Stephen A. Douglas. And Reg is now working on the final volume of his three-volume biography of Douglas. Numerous books, journals, magazines, and newspapers have published more than a hundred of Reg’s works in historical literature. He speaks frequently on Douglas and Lincoln and antebellum American history.
This program will livestream on Looking for Lincoln's Facebook page and YouTube Channel. The event is FREE. Please do not click on any links that take you to pay page. Our free Facebook events will never ask you for a credit card. If you have trouble finding the event, check the main news feed on the page, and do not click on links in the comments.
Regional Highlight
On August 27, 1853, Abraham Lincoln christened the new community of Lincoln Illinois with juice from a watermelon. The town was formed in 1853 when a new community was developed along the Chicago and Alton Railroad and was the first town named after Abraham Lincoln. Today you can visit the christening site marked by a watermelon statue located on the South lawn of the Historic Train Depot in downtown Lincoln, Illinois.