Lincoln Heritage Museum

09/01/2026

For those of us old enough to remember the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, the memories are forever with us. It is hard to believe that it has been twenty-five years since the attacks.

The Lincoln Heritage Museum is unveiling a special exhibit: “Always Remember: Twenty-Five Years Later,” now through December 2026. On display are several emotionally evocative items including a three-foot section of Tower One of the World Trade Center issued to the Lincoln Heritage Museum by the city of New York. A speech delivered to the New York state legislature following the 2001 attacks from New York Governor George Pataki –- which he then donated to our museum – is on exhibit and is the only copy of the address in private hands. As a show of solidarity, the Lincoln Cathedral in Lincoln, England sent a letter of sympathy to Lincoln, Illinois. Vicki Selvaggio gave to the Museum her American Airline flight attendant’s jacket which she wore on layover in New York the morning of September 11. In 2021, local children created a special commemorative painting honoring those who lost their lives on 9/11 with the help of the Lincoln Arts Institute, which is on exhibit. Several other items, such as original poems written by local resident Michelle Fletcher can also be seen.

We invite you to visit the Lincoln Heritage Museum, and to remember that day and those who lost their lives twenty-five years ago. The Museum is open from 9 AM to 4 PM Tuesday through Friday, and from 1-4 on Saturdays.

08/28/2026

It’s that time again. It’s Balloons Over 66 weekend here in Lincoln. Come enjoy the events, but give yourself a break in the heat by visiting the Lincoln Heritage Museum. We are open Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM and on Saturday from 1 to 4 PM. We can’t promise you’ll fly as high as a balloon at the museum, but we guarantee that the inspiration you get from Lincoln’s life will give you a lift.

08/12/2026

We love all of our visitors to the Lincoln Heritage Museum, but some visitors just have fascinating stories that we need to share.

Meet Zach Fiske from New York state. Zach is currently running on Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. Yes, you read that correctly. He is running the distance. He expects to arrive on November 11 in L.A. When he arrived in our museum this morning, he had already run 205 of the 2461 miles for the entire course. To make it even more interesting, he is pushing a cart which carries his essentials on the way.

Zach is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the original Bunion Derby, a 3,400-mile transcontinental footrace across America in 1928. Organized by sports promoter Charles C. "C.C." Pyle, 199 men started the race in Los Angeles on March 4, 1928, following the newly designated U.S. Route 66 to Chicago before heading to New York City, where 55 runners finished 84 days later.

Zach admitted he wanted to stop in our museum as an admirer of Abraham Lincoln. As far as we know, the only running that Abe did was running for office.

You can follow the progress of Zach’s Route 66 run by visiting zachfiske.com. He salute you, Zach.

08/06/2026

As the famed broadcaster and author Paul Harvey used to say, “Now you know the rest of the story.” I have one more to add to that mix.

Those familiar with the founding of the city of Lincoln, Illinois might recall the well-known facts. And as we head into another anniversary of the founding of our city on August 27, 1853, it is time to recount the tale, and then provide what is the rest of the story.

In 1853, with construction of the Chicago & Alton Railroad passing through Logan County, enterprising residents Robert Latham, John D. Gillett, and Virgil Hickox determined that a passenger stop in the center of the county was needed. To develop the new town, they asked their friend and attorney Abraham Lincoln to draw up the paperwork and asked if they could name the town for him. According to historian Lawrence Stringer, Lincoln jokingly warned, "You'd better not do that, for I never knew anything named Lincoln that amounted to much."

On August 27, 1853, the great sale of lots took place on the site adjacent to the new railroad stop. On that day, thirteen-year-old John Stevens later recalled that Abraham Lincoln stood before those assembled and declared, “Gentlemen, I am requested by the proprietors of this town-site to christen it. I have selected juice of a watermelon for that purpose.” Stevens, seated on a pile of lumber, watched as Lincoln cut open a watermelon with a pocketknife, pulled out some pulp, squeezed the juice into a tin cup, and poured the juice on the ground. Lincoln then said, “The youngest American on the ground shall feast with me on the melon.”

And that is how our town became the first one named for the future president. Quite an honor indeed, but it was actually the flip of coin that decided that the new town would be named for him instead of someone else. And here is where the rest of the story begins.

According to John Stevens, his father was instrumental in settling a debate. Mr. Gilette had wanted the new town to be named for their friend Abraham Lincoln, but Mr. Latham was adamant that the town should bear the namesake of a particular person of great prominence – not Abraham Lincoln. Hickox was neutral. So they called upon Stevens’ father to arbitrate the matter.

To decide the fate, Stevens took three coins and stated that he would shake the coins in a bag and deposit them on a table. If the majority of the coins landed on tails the town would be named for Abraham Lincoln. But if at least two coins landed on heads, then the other individual in question would receive the honor of the town’s namesake. Stevens took the coins, shook them in a bag, and spilled them upon the table. Two of the coins displayed tails and one showed heads. Stevens, seeing the results, declared, “The name of the town will be Lincoln.” And so, Abraham Lincoln was then invited to town to christen it and to bring it into existence.

So as we commemorate the 173rd anniversary of the founding of Lincoln and christening by Abraham Lincoln, we proudly celebrate that our city is the first one named for one of the greatest ever Americans.

However, it is worth noting that by chance in mid-1853, had one coin flipped in an opposite direction upon a table, our town would be named for someone very different in history. You see, the person who Latham favored was the U.S. senator from Illinois, who was then the most famous person in America at the time, and the same man who Abraham Lincoln would eventually lose to to in a contest for the U.S. Senate in 1858 and then defeat for the presidency in 1860.

With a different toss upon a table of one coin, we might very well be noting the commemoration of our town as Douglas, Illinois, named for none other than U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas.

And now you know the rest of the story.

07/23/2026

Empathy. It is the ability to put oneself in the shoes of another, and to feel and demonstrate compassion for the welfare of others. While it is one of the earliest character qualities we pass on to the youth, it is seemingly often a lost art in our world.

Abraham Lincoln possessed a great sense of empathy. Stories about his heartfelt tenderness towards animals abound. He equally exhibited that concern towards his fellow man. Even as a rising politician when Lincoln allowed himself to injure others with his words, he proceeded to apologize and aimed to not make similar mistakes again.

When the nation found itself divided by slavery, calling on people to make the choice of what side of the issue they stood, it would have been easy for Lincoln to chastise the South and proponents of slavery as evil. Instead, he stated in 1858, “I have no prejudice against the Southern people. They are just what we would be in their situation.”

As president, in the middle of a civil war which rightly consumed Lincoln’s time and attention, he still found time to meet with ordinary farmers, with pleading mothers, with eager office seekers, with curious citizens, with unsatisfied politicians, and with demanding journalists. His secretaries John Hay and John Nicolay tried with futility to limit the president’s visiting hours and to prevent the masses from swarming into the Executive Mansion to meet with the president. But Lincoln wanted to see them. He called those occasions his “public opinion baths” and his opportunity to never forget the people who he was bound to represent, and from whose humble stock he originated from. And above all, he wanted to be accessible and to listen for at least a few minutes so the voices of the common man and woman could be heard.

Exercising empathy is compassionate leadership, which is true servant leadership, and it is a necessary trait for all of us to adopt, embrace, and practice.

07/17/2026

In one of our recent posts, we relayed that the world’s largest and most powerful steam locomotive— the Big Boy 4014 — will be traveling through Lincoln and Logan County (though not stopping) on the morning of Saturday, July 18.

Many of you asked when it would come through. While the approximate time could be vary from 9 to 9:30 AM, we have a link which you can use to track the exact location of the train. Meet us at the train depot on Saturday morning!

Steam Locomotive Tracking - Follow Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 on Tour

07/11/2026

We are pleased to welcome a new museum into our community. This morning the Museum of Route 66 held its official grand opening to a large and excited crowd. Congratulations to Lincoln Illinois Tourism and the City of Lincoln! And thank you to Scott McCoy and Lexie Groves on all your hard work.

Please visit our newest community museum soon!

07/02/2026

Today, July 2, is the actual day of independence for our nation. It was on this day 250 years ago, that the Continental Congress officially voted to declare independence from Great Britain.

Even John Adams wrote to wife, Abigail “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in history. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

In celebration of the true day of independence, admission today to Lincoln Heritage Museum is free. We are open from 9 AM to 4 PM today. And while you’re here, read the Declaration of Independence and bring the Liberty Bell (made in the same foundry as the original liberty bell in Philadelphia).

06/30/2026

In commemoration of America250, and in celebration of our nation’s industrial might, the world’s largest and most powerful steam locomotive will be traversing the nation in July.

The “Big Boy” steam locomotive is among twenty-five steam locomotives that Union Pacific built beginning in 1941 to haul heavy cargo across the country. Eight remain in existence, and a few years ago, engineers retooled the largest one – the Big Boy No. 4014 – so it could become operable once again.

President Lincoln signed the Railway Act in 1862, authorizing construction of the first transcontinental railroad. That landmark legislation opened the door to realizing the dream of transporting goods and people across the nation much more rapidly than ever before. Union Pacific and Central Pacific laid thousands of miles of track, meeting in Utah in 1869, completing one of the biggest technological and economic advances in our history.

As a nod to our history, Union Pacific's famed Big Boy No. 4014 will journey to the East Coast this summer for the first time as part of a historic coast-to-coast tour to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.

Rail fans can see this historic machine in action at over four dozen whistle-stops, generally 15- to 30- minutes long. Perhaps it will be at a stop near you. For all those in our immediate area of Lincoln and Logan County, Illinois, mark your calendars to see Big Boy traveling through on Saturday July 18 at approximately at approximately 9 AM. (Unfortunately the train is only rolling through our town). You can visit https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/schedule for the complete schedule.

Thank you Union Pacific, and of course, thank you Abraham Lincoln for making this part of the celebration of our nation’s past come to life!

06/23/2026

Get your kicks on Route 66! And get your Lincoln kicks while you are at it!

The Lincoln Heritage Museum welcomes thousands of visitors from around the nation and the world, many who are traveling along "the Mother Road" from Chicago to L.A. to discover both Abraham Lincoln and this famous road. Join the growing popularity of this slice of Americana this summer as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Route 66, and honor the memory of our 16th president.

The Lincoln Heritage Museum is open from 9 AM to 4 PM Tuesdays through Fridays and from 1 to 4 on Saturdays.

Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway
Looking For Lincoln