2014 Lincoln Heritage Museum Magazine Lincoln Daily News.com April 26, 2014 31
visionary in scope for what was then a sparsely inhabited
frontier region. Included in Lincoln’s vision for his state and
for the country was a call for internal improvements like
building roads and making rivers navigable, which would
help ordinary pioneer farmers and merchants increase their
commercial interests and become profitable.
While Lincoln served as a member of the Illinois
Legislature, representing central Illinois, he proudly rang
the bell for internal improvements. In 1839, as a member
of the Committee on Finance, Lincoln advanced the Whig
Party philosophy of the government’s obligation to provide
internal improvements. He gave to the state General
Assembly a report proposing that the federal government
purchase unused lands in Illinois to develop them for the
purpose of building up the infrastructure, and thus put
Illinois on a commercial footing comparable with the East.
The museum displays that report. By itself, this document is
one of many such legislative committee reports; but placed
in context, it becomes apparent that Lincoln was advancing
a method by which the state and nation could further
progress, and it demonstrates his philosophy and his vision.
Items such as these are now housed in conservation-
friendly cases built specifically for the museum. These cases
contain display areas with interchangeable acrylic graphics,
are environmentally sealed and have museum-appropriate
lighting. They display the museum’s valuable artifacts in a
way that interprets history and deepens the meaning of the
past, all of which serve to further the appreciation for the
life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln.
In the weeks prior to the grand opening of the Lincoln Heritage Museum, Lincoln College President John Blackburn, museum
director Ron Keller and his assistant director, Anne Moseley, opened the doors of the museum to allow media a private tour of
the new facility.
The museum is divided into two distinctive parts.
The downstairs features beautiful displays of many
of the items that are familiar from being on display
at the former museum. The difference is in how they
are displayed. With specially designed cases standing
like columns throughout the room, guests can roam
at their leisure from display to display, learning about
the life of Abraham Lincoln and admiring the vast
collection of artifacts the museum is proud to own.
The tour begins in the entryway at the front desk
area. Guests will pay a small admission fee for
the new museum. Part of the entryway lobby is
dedicated to a gift shop area with a collection of
books, items suited to kids and traditional souvenir-
like items such as Lincoln busts.
Pictures by
Nila Smith
and
Jan Youngquist
