Temporary Tombs

At Oak Ridge Cemetery, the public vault at the base of the hill behind the Lincoln tomb received the bodies of Abraham Lincoln and his son William on May 4, 1865. Because a permanent burial place was not yet ready, the National Lincoln Monument Association constructed a temporary tomb halfway up the hillside from the public vault. In December 1865, the bodies of Abraham and of his sons Edward and William, who had died before him, were placed there. Father and sons remained there until their removal on September 19, 1871, to the partially completed permanent Lincoln tombs.

Springfield, Illinois · United States