Abraham Lincoln passed through Bement regularly while practicing law on the old Eighth Judicial Circuit and while campaigning in the 1850's. On one trip, he lost his gold watch, which young Fannie Fristoe Scott found near the livery on her way to school. After the livery man suggested it was Lincoln's, Fannie gave him the watch, and he returned it to Lincoln, who sent her a nice letter thanking her. Lincoln's last trip through Bement came on Monday February 11, 1861, as he traveled to Washington, D. C., with the train passing through a corridor of well-wishers. As it rushed into the countryside, brakeman Thomas Ross saw a man standing with a shotgun at a trestle, presenting arms as the train passed in a self-appointed effort to see that the President's train crossed safely; Clay Whig of the Chicago Daily Tribune called him one of the sturdy yeomanry of Piatt County. Lincoln had received threatening letters as soon as the presidential election results became official, and enemies openly bragged that Old Abe should never be inaugurated as President of the United States. During his February journey, rumors of assassination were widespread, especially in Baltimore, where secessionists were said to be waiting to kill him. Detective Allan Pinkerton confirmed the plot and urged Lincoln to avoid Baltimore; though unconvinced, Lincoln adjusted his plans and, accompanied by Ward Hill Lamon and Mr. Pinkerton, boarded a special train in a soft hat and old overcoat and arrived safely in the Capital.