An Enduring Symbol

John Russell Pope's neoclassical architecture reflected the nation's adulation of Abraham Lincoln and its budding interest in historic preservation after the Civil War. The Lincoln Farm Association constructed the Memorial Building between 1907 and 1911 to preserve what was thought to be Lincoln's birth cabin as a national shrine perpetuating his life as an abiding symbol of opportunity with which democracy endows men. In 1916, the site was designated the Abraham Lincoln National Park, fulfilling the association's goal. About 40 years later, further research revealed that the cabin was not the original Lincoln cabin, but it remained an icon of Lincoln's humble beginnings.

Kentucky · United States