30 2014 Lincoln Heritage Museum Magazine Lincoln Daily News.com April 26, 2014
Historic items interpret history in the new Lincoln Heritage Museum
By Ron J. Keller, Lincoln Heritage Museum director
The Lincoln Heritage Museum hosted a grand reopening on
April 26, 2014. The new museum design is much different
from that experienced by visitors to the former facility, and
the experience will be quite different from visiting other
museums.
The Lincoln Heritage Museum of the past offered visitors
a singular type of experience, with many rare Abraham
Lincoln and 19th-century pieces exhibited in tabletop
display cases. While our museum has for years collected,
maintained and exhibited one of the greatest collections of
Lincolniana that exists in any public or private collection,
these items deserved to be displayed in a way that provides
greater historical context so the public might truly
appreciate the significance of each piece.
The museum has now achieved that. The new museum, on
its first-floor level, continues the tradition of spotlighting
original artifacts, but in a way that interprets history and
gives deeper meaning to these 19th-century artifacts.
The mission and vision of the Lincoln Heritage Museum
is to interpret for visitors the life and legacy of Abraham
Lincoln. Similar to the mission of the Looking for Lincoln
Heritage Coalition, the Lincoln Heritage Museum interprets
— or rather, tells personal stories about — Lincoln’s life
and those with whom he came into contact. The artifacts
displayed in the museum have been used by people, and
each item has a story to tell. Collectively, they give visitors
a greater perspective on 19th-century life and the world in
which Abraham Lincoln lived.
Though history rightly gives Lincoln credit for his crucial
roles in saving the Union and freeing slaves, it is the
character qualities he developed that make his life worth
emulating. As character education continues to be a major
component in schools, the new Lincoln Heritage Museum
emphasizes those key character qualities associated with
Lincoln’s life. Perseverance, intellect, vision, leadership,
honesty and empathy are character traits focused upon
throughout the museum. Over 100 unique pieces are
displayed in the museum, and most are in some way
directly associated with one of these character qualities.
One characteristic often associated with Lincoln is intellect.
Though he had less than a year of formal schooling, Lincoln
demonstrated a lifelong commitment to learning. He
borrowed all the books he could find, and as a young man
he received tutelage from learned neighbors.
Among those Lincoln gravitated toward while living in New
Salem was schoolteacher Mentor Graham. At a table in
Graham’s home, the two sat while Graham exposed Lincoln
to the finer points of mathematics, which would enable
Lincoln to eventually embark upon a surveying career.
At that table, Lincoln also received education in grammar,
which would result in his powerful use of language in his
speeches and writings. Lincoln read about some of the great
thinkers of history, propelling him to adopt some of their
ideas and formulate his own philosophy on government,
law and humanity. In many ways, Lincoln got his start
at that table, which is on exhibit in the Lincoln Heritage
Museum.
We introduce Mentor Graham and the importance of that
table to Lincoln, and it is featured in a case titled “Intellect.”
A table is just a table, but the stories and character trait
breathe new life into the table as a significant historical
object. Similar objects, such as a book showing a description
of Lincoln’s patent and one of his law books, also illustrate
Lincoln’s intellect.
Another trait highlighted in the museum is Lincoln’s vision.
In his first known political campaign speech, in 1832,
Lincoln offered his political platform — which was quite
