(Originally posted: February 27, 2013)
Sunday’s Oscars capped off a tremendous award season for Steven Spielberg’s historical drama Lincoln, with Daniel Day-Lewis capturing the Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln.  The film also continued a period of marked interest in the nation’s 16th president inspired by the bicentennial of his birth and the ongoing sesquicentennial anniversary of the American Civil War.

While President Lincoln’s national and international significance is well known, many are unaware that the story of Lincoln has a local angle as well.  Jennifer Myers extensively covered Abraham Lincoln’s connections to Lowell during his life in a November post in the Room 50 blog: http://room50.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/honest-abe-and-the-mill-city/   President Lincoln had visited Lowell in 1848 and as the Room 50 article details, news of the President’s assassination rocked the 19th century Mill City.

In March 1908, Lowell schoolchildren started saving their Lincoln pennies in hopes of raising $2,000 to build a monument for Lincoln’s 100th birthday on Feb. 12, 1909.  The monument, built at the corner of Lowell and Chelmsford Streets was ultimately dedicated on Memorial Day 1909 with a ceremony that attracted thousands, including civil war veterans who were members of the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic.

BEFORE:

As can be expected, a century of wear and tear did take its toll on the monument, and as Lincoln’s 200th birthday was celebrated throughout the nation, a group of Lowellians looked to provide a renewed tribute to the great emancipator.  In 2010, the Lowell Heritage Partnership partnered with the city of Lowell by providing $2,500 of the $4,000 cost to refurbish the 101 year old monument.  On June 10th, 2010, local officials, members of the LHP, and students from the nearby Abraham Lincoln School gathered at the monument to celebrate the re-dedication.

AFTER:

 

Recent travelers on Chelmsford St might have noticed a red, white and blue floral wreath at the site.  Lowell Heritage Partnership continued its tribute to Honest Abe this past president’s day weekend by installing a wreath to celebrate Lincoln’s 104th birthday.    As an organization dedicated to preserving, protecting, and celebrating Lowell’s heritage in the forms of architecture, nature, and culture, Lowell Heritage Partnership is proud to have played a major part in recognizing Lowell’s most famous presidential visitor.

(Special Thanks to Richard Howe for the photos of the pre-refurbishment monument and the 2010 dedication ceremony.)