Connecticut Joins The Lincoln Celebrations

Back on June 13, I published a post about Hartford, Connecticut dedicating a sculpture garden to the memory of Abraham Lincoln. Now the entire state is going to join in for the celebrations for the bicentennial of his birth.

According to the July 26th edition of the Norwich Bulletin, a 14-member panel has been formed to help Connecticut plan its celebrations. The article describes a visit Lincoln made to Norwich back in March of 1860 to campaign for a friend, William Buckingham, who was running for governor of the state. Lincoln had made previous stops in Hartford and New Haven before arriving in Norwich. Thanks in part to Lincoln's campaigning, his friend won the governorship by 700 votes.

The image I've included in this posting shows a banner which was made in advance of Lincoln's visit. It still exists and is on display in Norwich City Hall. An interesting story from the article details how this banner was long thought to have been lost, until it showed up for auction in 1997 at a New York City auction house. A local Norwich group raised more than $35,000 to buy the banner, bring it back home, and restore it. A good story. The banner is lovely.

The other items in the image are of course the famous 1863 photo of Lincoln. The other small photo is of the hotel where Lincoln gave a speech while in Norwich.