t used to be a normal routine for pioneers to make their own
split wood rails. The rails could be used for fencing livestock.
Abraham Lincoln was known as a “Rail Splitter.”
Tradition continues with 43rd annual
National Railsplitting Contest
I
So, is it any wonder that in the “Land of Lincoln”
there would be railsplitting contests. The territory
not only includes Illinois, where Lincoln lived his
adult years before heading for Washington, but in
Kentucky, where Lincoln was born, and also in
Missouri.
Now in the first town named for Abraham Lincoln,
you might expect that there just has to be a rail-
splitting contest. And, that was what Railsplitter
Festival founder Daris Knauer thought too.
The annual Abraham Lincoln National Railsplit-
ting Contest is normally in mid-September. This
year, a shortage of funds led to the competition
being canceled in May.
But due to some quick thinking of several Logan
County Fair board members, the 43rd annual
Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Contest
continued with an abbreviated contest during the
fair.
How long does it take to split a log into eight
rails?
Log splitting definitely depends a lot on muscle,
skill and technique; and somewhat on the par-
ticular log. Then there’s something to be said for
fortitude and a lot for experience.
The competitors each had logs that were 12 to 14
inches in diameter and 10 feet in length that were
to be split into eight rails.
page 376 2013 LOGAN COUNTY FAIR. A special editon of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com July 30, 2013
