Lincoln Farewell Tour – This Weekend at the Depot!
Following two successful years on display at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in the Depot in downtown Duluth, the Lincoln Funeral Car is leaving. A final chance to see this incredible exhibit will be Saturday and Sunday August 18th and 19th.
The St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center, the Depot, is hosting the Lincoln Farewell Tour. See the only authentic replica of the train car that was the pallbearer for our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. The Railroad Museum, St. Louis County Historical Society and Veterans Memorial Hall are collaborating to expand the experience of touring the car over its final weekend in Duluth.
Saturday & Sunday 9AM – 4PM (Depot open until 6PM)
Fritz Klein from the Lincoln Institute for Education, Springfield, IL. appears as Abraham Lincoln delivering Lincoln Talks and a daily performance of the (11:00AM Zelda Theatre)
Civil War Soldier’s Bivouac guarding the Car and the Civil War engine the
Live Musket Salute honoring Albert Woolson, last surviving member of the Grand Ole Army of the Republic and served in the Civil War.Mr. Woolson passed away in Duluth in 1956 at the age of 109.
(10:30AM – On Michigan Street in front of his statue at the Depot)
Additional displays from the archives of the St. Louis County Historical Society and Veterans Memorial Hall.
The Lincoln Funeral Car was built by Dave Kloke and volunteers over a five year period and was constructed for the Sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s Assassination. It toured the entire Eastern half of the United States before coming to Duluth for display at the Museum.
“The car has been an incredible draw,” said Railroad Museum Executive Director Ken Buehler. “It’s beautiful to see but it’s not just about the car. It’s about our 16th President of the United States during a time this Nation was trying not to be the United States and the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Also on display in the car is an original proclamation naming Frank Renz a Minnesota Land Commissioner signed by President Lincoln on the day after the bombing of Fort Sumter. Nearby is a gown worn by a woman who attended Lincoln’s second Inaugural Ball in 1865. A remaining piece of the original Lincoln Funeral Car, which burned to the metal in Columbia Heights Minnesota in 1911, is included in the exhibit.
All events are FREE with Regular Depot Admission.
The Lincoln Farewell Tour is sponsored by; The Duluth News Tribune, Veterans Memorial Hall, St. Louis County Historical Society and the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. The Lincoln Funeral Car is owned by Historic Railroad Equipment Association.
