The Lincoln Monument

There is no record of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, ever visiting Wabash, Indiana, either as president or when he lived in Indiana between 1816 and 1830. From the age of seven to 21, Lincoln resided in Spencer County, Indiana, in southern Indiana, about 240 miles from Wabash in the northern portion of the state. Yet a bronze statue of The Great Emancipator stands on the courthouse lawn in Wabash, Indiana.

Wabash native Alexander New had the statue commissioned in memory of his parents, Isaac and Henrietta New. The statue was donated to the city of Wabash in 1932, where it still stands.

The sculptor for the piece was Charles Keck of New York City. His architectural sculptures, monuments, and memorials number in the dozens and are in cities throughout the United States, including New York City, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Kansas City, Newark, Oakland, and tiny Wabash.

A few feet from the Wabash Lincoln statue is a plaque noting that on March 31, 1880, Wabash became the first electrically lit city. Not too bad for a city with a population of only 3,800 people in the 1880 United States census.