In two days, on Feb. 12, the state of Illinois and the nation will celebrate the birth of the nation's 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. While Lincoln was born in Hardin County, KY in 1809, he had strong roots in Illinois, along with some connections to Macomb and McDonough County.
He first made his way to Illinois via New Salem, where he worked on a farm and kept a general store. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War and spent eight years in the Illinois legislature. He ran against Stephen Douglas of Illinois for senator in 1858, which included a stop and a stay in Macomb, and that run for state senate, though he lost, gained him a reputation that earned him the Republican nomination for president in 1860. After being elected, on Jan. 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all enslaved people in the states that were still in rebellion would be free.
To celebrate Lincoln's historical stops in the region, along with the county's designation as an Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, 'Visit Unforgettable Forgottonia' (dba the Macomb Area Convention and Visitors Bureau/ MACVB, officially dedicated the 'Looking for Lincoln Self-Guided Tour' in 2020, after a nearly twoyear application process to become an Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. And now, this year, a new monument will be added to the tour and will be unveiled July 4 thanks to a grant secured by the MACVB. According to Jock Hedblade, executive director of the MACVB, his organization was invited late last year to apply for an Illinois Humanities Council grant that is tied to America's 250th anniversary.
'We had a short window to complete the application, and I started thinking about things we had wanted to do, but hadn't been able to,' Hedblade explained.
'We recalled that sometime ago, we found out that at Architectural Artifacts in Chicago, there is a life-size mold for a Lincoln statue but at the time there wasn't anything we could do with it. Thanks to the grant, we're now able to use that mold to create a concrete Lincoln statue that will be installed on the southwest corner of the Courthouse, near the exact spot Lincoln spoke in the pouring rain in 1858 when he was stumping for the senate against Douglas.'
The $15,000 grant will pay for the statue, which is being created by Western Illinois University Art Professor Duke Oursler, who is also the artist behind the Lincoln topiary on the lawn of city hall. The mold, which was created in the 1960s by an unknown artist, is of the 'Illinois Lincoln,' meaning it features Lincoln without his beard.
The mixed-medium sculpture will be mostly concrete, reinforced within through a rebar 'skeleton,' and will feature a bronze hand so visitors can take their photo 'shaking hands' with the president. The statue will be placed on a pedestal and will feature a plaque commemorating Lincoln's 1858 visit.
'We're really excited to be adding this to our tour and to pay tribute to this particular time in our county's history, especially as we celebrate McDonough County's Bicentennial in conjunction with the nation's 250th anniversary,' Hedblade added.
The MACVB's 'Looking for Lincoln' tour allows users to experience 10 significant sites throughout Macomb and McDonough County that are related to the 16th president's connection to 'Forgottonia.'
Individual markers designate the 10 'Looking for Lincoln' sites, all of which include QR codes that direct history seekers to detailed, online information on the particulars of each notable location, featuring in depth history, photos, maps and video featuring a Lincoln impersonator giving 'first hand' descriptions of the sites.
The marker tour includes the Living Lincoln Topiary Monument; McDonough County Courthouse; The Randolph House; Oakwood Cemetery; The Blandin House Museum; Civil War Monument, and The Wm. Painter Pearson Photography Studio site, as well as other significant area Lincoln historic sites.
Download a printable brochure at tinyurl.com/Looking4LincolnTourMacomb, or visit eATLAS! on a smart phone's app store to download the free Looking for Lincoln Adventure Mobile App, along with other adventures.
Visit https://www.visitforgottonia.com for more information.
