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L-~J~ ^U UIk^ lif^ A History of the Administration of

Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home

by

Jill York OBright

National Park Service

1987

"THERE I GREW UP..."

A History of the Administration of

Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home

by

Jill York O'Bright

Regional Historian, Midwest Region

Recommende

Approved:

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Superln-tendent , Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (date)

(date)
Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2012 with funding from

LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation

http://archive.org/details/thereigrewuphistOOobri
ACKNOWLDEGEMENTS

Special thanks to those who assisted me in preparing

this account of the public memorial ization of Abraham

Lincoln's boyhood home. I am particularly grateful to those

who shared their recollections and insights with me: Don Adams; Charlotte Baird; Patsy Bates; Albert Banton, Jr.; Warren Beach; Robert Burns; George Hartzog, Jr.; Norman

Hellmers; William Koch; George Palmer; Jerry Sanders; Elmer

Stein; Hilda Taylor and Terri Thompson. Without their help,

an accurate history of Lincoln's boyhood home would have been

impossible

.

I would also like to thank those earlier participants in

the story with whom I could not speak. I came to know and

understand Paul Brown; Richard Bishop; Roy Combs; Elmer

Daniels; J. I. Holcomb; Donald Johnston; Richard Lieber;

Edson Nott; and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., through the

documents they left behind. May they rest in peace, knowing

their work and dreams continue to inspire countless visitors

to the Indiana Lincoln memorial. —Jill York O'Bright

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue 1

1. Early Efforts to Memorialize Nancy Hanks Lincoln ... 5 2. The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, Phase I 34

3. The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, Phase II 55

4. State Management of the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial . 86

5. The Creation of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. . .104

6. Administration and Staffing 119

7. Developing the National Memorial 139

8. Maintaining the Memorial 171

9. Interpretation 180

APPENDIXES

A. Act Authorizing Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial . .204

B. Maintenance Guide Prepared by Architect Richard

Bishop for the Memorial Building 205

C. Sumary of Land Acquisition 215

D. Partial Listing of Television Program Titles 236

E. Ministers Participating in the A Christian Ministry

in the National Parks (ACMNP) Program 238

F. Lincoln Day Speakers 239

G. List of Permanent Employees of Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial 242

H. Managers of the Indiana Lincoln Park 248

Bibliography 249

Index 259

PROLOGUEx

It was autumn 1816. For the third time since moving to Kentucky fourteen years earlier, a frustrated Thomas Lincoln

found himself a victim of the state's chaotic land laws;

defective titles cost Lincoln land or money in each of the

three cases. Thomas Lincoln struggled eighteen miles into

the Indiana wilderness and chose a site for his new home. In Indiana, he could purchase land directly from the government;

his title to the land would be clear. After marking his

claim, Thomas returned to Kentucky to gather his wife, Nancy

Hanks Lincoln, and their children, nine-year-old Sarah and

seven-year -old Abraham. By December, the Lincolns were settled in a half-faced camp on the Indiana property. The

winter passed and the family survived on game and the food

they brought with them from Kentucky.

As early as possible in the spring, the Lincolns built

the log cabin which served as their residence, prepared the

land and planted the first year's crops. The initial

hardships of establishing the new farm were just over when

"milk sickness" ravaged the small but growing Pigeon Creek

community in September and October 1818. Several died,

including Thomas and Betsy Sparrow, Nancy Brooner , and Nancy
Lincoln. They were buried in a new cemetery on a wooded

knoll one-quarter mile south of the Lincoln cabin.

The year following Nancy's death was trying for all her

family. Thirteen-year-old Sarah assumed management of the

household, and somehow the family got by. In December 1819,

Thomas returned to Kentucky to marry widow Sarah Bush

Johnston. Before long, Thomas' new wife and her three

children moved into the Lincoln cabin. The combined family

grew to maturity on Thomas Lincoln's Indiana homestead.

Formal education was an occasional instance for young

Abraham, as it was for most pioneer children. His first

teacher was Andrew Crawford, who operated an A-B-C school in the area for one year. Crawford introduced his students to "reading, writing, arithmentic, and the meaning of birch

rods." 2 At age fourteen, Abraham was taught by James Swaney.

Swaney stressed reading and writing skills, and Lincoln was quoted as saying that, under Sweeney's tutelage, "he had read

every book within fifty miles* of his home." 3 Perhaps his

best teacher was Azel Dorsey, a local office-holder who

probably encouraged Lincoln's interest in politics and math.

Another source cites the radius of Lincoln's reading

sources as thirty miles. Note, Jerry Sanders to author,

May 5, 1987.
The bulk of Lincoln's education was acquired outside the

classroom, however. As a boy, he traveled to all the

surrounding communities, enjoying the story-telling and

social life. For a time, he operated a ferry boat

crossing Anderson Creek. In 1828, James Gentry hired Abraham

as a bow-hand on a flatboat trip to New Orleans. What

Abraham didn't learn from experience, he learned from books.

Young Abraham loved to read, and was familiar with Aesop's

Fables , histories, adventures like Robinson Crusoe , the

Revised Laws of Indiana, Benjamin Franklin's autobiography,

and Parson Weems ' Life of Washington . In sum, Abraham

Lincoln's education was as good or better than that of the

average pioneer boy.

The Lincoln family remained in Spencer County, Indiana,

until March 1830. In the interim, Sarah Bush Johnston

Lincoln's daughters, Elizabeth and Matilda, married and

started families of their own. Prompted by reports of

productive farmland in Illinois, Dennis and Elizabeth Hanks

and Squire and Matilda Hall decided to relocate with their

children. In order to preserve the extended family, Thomas,

Sarah, and Abraham determined to move with the Hanks and

Halls to Illinois.
Abraham was twenty-one when he moved from Indiana.

There he had known his first great sorrows. There he matured

into an intelligent and compassionate man.

1. The background information is repeated in a variety of

sources, and may be considered general knowledge. The

account presented here was taken largely from three sources:

Charles E. Shedd, Jr., Historic Sites Survey: Lincoln State

Park and Nancy- Hanks Lincoln State Memorial, Spencer County,

Indiana (National Park Service , 1959) , 18-2 9 passim; Indiana

Department of Conservation, Division of State Parks, Lands,

and Waters, The Nancy Hanks Lincoln State Memorial (n.p.,

1959) ; and Note, Jerry Sanders to author, May 5, 1987.

2. Shedd, 3-4.

3. Ibid., 4.
CHAPTER 1 Early Efforts to Memorialize Nancy Hanks Lincoln

When "milk sickness" ravaged the Pigeon Creek community

in 1818, there was no church nor formal cemetery in the new settlement. Thomas and Betsy Sparrow, Nancy Hanks Lincoln's

uncle and aunt, were among the first to die from the

epidemic. A few days later, Nancy Hanks Lincoln died and was buried near the Sparrows on a knoll overlooking the Indiana

home she dearly loved. As others in the community died, they were placed beside the Sparrows and Nancy Lincoln in the

informal graveyard. Eight years later, in December 1825, the

Pigeon Creek Primitive Baptist Church set aside some of its

land one mile to the south of the graveyard for a formal

cemetery. Coincidentally , Abraham's sister, Sarah, and her

stillborn child were among the first buried in the church

graveyard; Sarah Lincoln Grigsby died in childbirth in

January 1828. 1

Thomas Lincoln moved his family to Illinois two years

later. The land changed ownership several times in the

decades following the Lincolns ' emigration, and the small

graveyard on the privately owned land was neglected. Over

the years, whatever "monuments" once marked the graves

disappeared. Little note was made of the humble graves of

ordinary pioneers who lost their lives settling the land. If
not for her son's infamous assassination and subsequent

memorialization, Nancy Hanks Lincoln's gravesite might have

remained lost to posterity.

Until Abraham Lincoln became President, there were probably few who paid much heed to the Lincolns' fourteen

years in southern Indiana. Thomas Lincoln's family was typical among pioneer families; Thomas was no richer nor poorer than most in the Pigeon Creek community. Although

Thomas Lincoln's carpentry skills were known and respected

throughout the community, the family did not stand out from

their neighbors. Even Abraham Lincoln's election to the

presidency in 1860 failed to draw visitors to the land where

Abe grew up.

Lincoln's assassination changed the situation somewhat,

as a smattering of curiosity seekers and true admirers of the

president sought Lincoln's Indiana home and his mother's

grave. In April 1865, some residents of the nearby town of

Elizabeth (later Dale) went to the Lincoln farm area and

posed for pictures taken in front of the 1830 cabin started

by Thomas and Abraham Lincoln.* Two sepia prints of that

Although Thomas and Abraham prepared logs and began

construction on a new cabin, it was finished by subsequent

residents after the Lincolns moved to Illinois. The Lincolns

never resided in the later cabin.
showing Mr. [?] Kelsey; Mr. George Medcalf; Mr. [?] Sanders,

the schoolteacher; Mrs. Clara Kelsey Ball; [Mrs.] Evelyn

"Siss" Miller, and Mrs. [?] Kelsey seated before the cabin

(see Figure 1-1) ; and one showing the men in the party

pretending to split logs in front of the structure. 2 Artist

John Rowbotham visited the farm in 1865, and commented that

the grave was unmarked, but named several people in town who

could direct visitors to it. Lincoln's Springfield,

Illinois, law partner, William Herndon, visited the farmsite

in September 1865 and talked with local residents about the

Lincolns.^ Rowbotham followed his visit with a drawing of

the Lincoln cabin (Figure 1-2) ; Herndon wrote some observations on the Indiana homestead.

Three years later, a Civil War veteran named William Q.

Cor bin visited the boyhood home of his former

commander-in-chief. Corbin was disgusted with the unkempt

appearance of the gravesite, and wrote a poem on the subject.

His poem, published in the Rockport Journal in November 1868, was among the first known public account of the grave's

condition

.

On December 24, 1869, some Gentryville businessmen met

to discuss erecting a suitable marker; in attendance were

J. W. Wartman, Dr. M. E. Lawrence, T. P. Littlepage, James
Figure 1-1. Photograph of Dale, Indiana, residents posing in

front of the 1829 cabin shortly after Lincoln's

assassination, 1865. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

photo files, negative no. 44 8, photographer unknown.
- --

*

Figure 1-2. Copy of John Rowbothom's drawing of the Lincoln

cabin as it appeared in 1865. Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial photo files, negative no. 446, photographer

unknown

.
Hammond, J. W. Lamar, N. Grigsby, James Gentry, J. H. Houghland, and J. M. Grigsby. No results of this meeting are recorded, but the creation of "Mrs. Lincoln's Monument Fund

Committee" in Rockport in the early 1870s indicates the grave

was still unmarked. The Rockport committee solicited funds,

but received few. They dropped the project and disbanded.

In the meantime, Henry Lewis, John Shillito, Robert Mitchell,

and Charles West, all of Cincinnati, bought a large parcel of

land from James Gentry. Originally called Kercheval, the

Cincinnati developers intended to use the property which

encompassed Thomas Lincoln's farmstead to create a new town.

Due to the efforts of Indiana Congressman James Hemenway, the

town became known as Lincoln City in 1881. 7

W. W. Webb ran an article in the June 2, 1874, Rockport

Journal commenting on the poor condition of Nancy Hanks

Lincoln's grave. 8 a month later, a meeting of "old settlers"

was called to arrange for a marker, but again, no action was taken. 9 Thoroughly disgusted, Rockport businessman Joseph D. Armstrong erected a two-foot tall marker inscribed simply

with the deceased's name, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Some other

Rockport businessmen may have contributed to the purchase. 10

When a newspaper reporter sought the gravesite five

years later, however, he found it unmarked, overgrown with

10
vegetation, and almost inaccessible. The reporter's article

deplored the gravesite's condition, and gained the attention

of Peter E. Studebaker, second vice president of the

Studebaker Company, Carriage Makers, of South Bend, Indiana.

Studebaker contacted Rockport Postmaster L. S. Gilkey with

instructions to buy the best tombstone available for $50.00

and have it anonymously placed on the gravesite. R. T. Kercheval contacted Henry Lewis, the trustee for the

Cincinnati firm developing Lincoln City, and the firm donated

the half-acre surrounding Mrs. Lincoln's grave to Spencer

County. On November 27, 1879, when the tombstone was laid,

Civil War Major General John Veatch of Rockport collected

another $50.00 (one dollar from each of 50 area residents) to erect a fence around the grave. 11 (See Figure 1-3.) The

following June, a commission including Joseph Armstrong,

Nathaniel Grigsby, R. T. Kercheval, James C. Veatch, Joseph

Gentry, John W. Lamar, L. S. Gilkey, I. L. Milner , Henry C. Branham, and David Turnham was formed to care for the

gravesite. 1 ^ Finally, it seemed, the grave would receive

proper care

.

For a time, it did. Then in the late 1890s, reports of

the gravesite's unkempt appearance circulated again.

Studebaker believed the reports were exaggerated, but decided

to have one of his employees investigate. 1 -^ Meanwhile,

11
Figure 1-3. The Studebaker gravestone and ornamental fence

erected at the Nancy Hanks Lincoln gravesite in 1879.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial photo files, negative

no. 6, photographer unknown.

12
Benjamin B. Dale, a Cincinnati attorney hired by the former owners of the gravesite property, visited the site and was shocked by the lack of maintenance. Spencer County citizens

asked Senator Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana to seek Federal

funds to provide for the maintenance of the gravesite, but

Governor James E. Mount objected, saying care of the

gravesite was a state responsibility. There was some talk of

moving Mrs. Lincoln's body to Indianapolis, but Spencer

County residents' objections ended that proposal. On

June 30, 1897, Governor Mount called a meeting of several

state patriotic agencies which resulted in the formation of

the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial Association, for the

purposes of soliciting funds for maintenance of the gravesite

and promoting an Indiana memorial to the Lincolns.

Unfortunately, after three years, the Memorial Association

had collected only $56.52. 14

That situation improved in 1900, when United States

Senator J. A. Hemenway donated $100 to the fund and Robert

Todd Lincoln gave $1000 for the care of his grandmother's

grave. This stimulated the appropriation of $800 to enable

the commissioners of Spencer County to purchase sixteen acres surrounding the gravesite from Robert L. Ferguson and his

wife, Carrie. A few months later, Spencer County transferred

the deed to the Indiana Lincoln Memorial Association, and

13
charged the Association with maintenance of the gravesite.

The property would revert to the county if not properly

attended

,

15

In 1902, following the completion of an elaborate

monument at President Lincoln's grave in Springfield,

Illinois, J. S. Culver resculpted a discarded stone from

Abraham's original monument and vault as a monument to Nancy

Hanks Lincoln. Governor Winfield T. Durbin, president of the

Memorial Association, accepted the massive stone and had it

placed in front of the Studebaker marker. (See Figure 1-4.)

The so-called "Culver stone" was dedicated in a graveside

ceremony on October 1, 1902. 16

Once again, it seemed the gravesite would receive proper

care. Once again, it was not so. By 1906, the small park was

in a deplorable state of disrepair, and Governor J. Frank

Hanley called on the organization to explain its inactivity.

Hanley's attempt to revitalize the Nancy Hanks Lincoln

Memorial Association was unsuccessful. 17 The Spencer County

commissioners deferred their option to repossess the acreage

they had donated to the Association until the state

legislature reconvened the following spring. In 1907, the

Indiana assembly dissolved the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial

14
Association, transferred its funds,* records, and property to

a newly established Board of Commissioners, and appropriated

$5000 for the erection of an ornamental fence around Mrs.

Lincoln's grave and other improvements. The Board consisted

of the Secretary of State on the Board of Forestry and two

individuals appointed by the governor, at least one of whom

had to be from Spencer County. 1 ** <phe Board of Commissioners

hired landscape architect J. C. Meyenburg of Tell City,

Indiana, to prepare design documents for site improvements.

In 1909, utilizing those plans, the state cleared the

sixteen-and-one-half-acre park of dead trees; erected an iron

fence around the property, including an elaborate entry gate,

and built a macadamized road from the highway to the

gravesite. The entryway featured life-size lions at the

highway entrance, with eagles perched on columns south of the

lions, closer to the gravesite. (See Figure 1-4.) Large

stone urns dotted the roadway to the cemetery. -^

Indiana celebrated its centennial in December 1916, and

Spencer County's hundredth anninversary was 1918.** Among

*The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial Association

transferred $925.37 of the total $115552 it collected to the

Board of Commissioners. The association had spent $231.15 to drill a well. Notes on Hanley meeting, Box 1, Folder 1. **When Thomas Lincoln staked his claim near Pigeon.

Creek, the land was in Warrick County. The county lines were redrawn in 1818.

15
Figure 1-4. The "lions and eagles" gate, circa 1929.

Department of Conservation photo, Nancy Hanks Lincoln

Memorial Papers, Indiana Department of Natural

Resources, Indianapolis, Indiana.

16
the centennial programs was a thrust to identify locations

important to the state's history. In 1917, John J. Brown and

John Chewning, members of Spencer County's centennial

commission, formed a committee to obtain the assistance of

older residents of the county in determining the exact

location of Thomas Lincoln's cabin. Twenty such residents

assembled on the historic Lincoln property on March 12. The

site was identified by Davis Enlow, Joseph Gentry, and "the

Lamars." This group pointed to the site they believed to be

correct, and the first shovelful of dirt revealed cobbles and

crockery. A marker was erected on the site on April 28,

1917, stating: "Spencer County Memorial to Abraham Lincoln,

Who Lived on this Spot from 1816-1830.

20

Shortly after the cabin site was identified, interest in

the historic Lincoln property escalated. Historian William

Barton made an editorial plea for the state to assume control

of the Thomas Lincoln farmstead in 1921, 21 and Claude Bowers

built on the idea with his editorial, "Where Indiana Fails,"

the following year. 22 The failure of Indiana to memorialize

Abraham Lincoln became a major theme of subsequent campaigns

to erect a state memorial honoring the Lincolns

.

Colonel Richard Lieber, director of the Indiana

Department of Conservation, was sympathetic to this issue.

17
The state park movement was very strong in the 1920s, and

Lieber hoped to develop a constellation of scenically

beautiful and historically significant parks. 23 A Lincoln

memorial fit perfectly into his plan. Lieber first addressed

the issue publicly in a 1922 speech before the Ft. Wayne

First Presbyterian Church Men's Club. 24 His support proved a vital factor in the eventual establishment of the Nancy Hanks

Lincoln State Memorial and Lincoln State Park.

In 1924, southern Indiana residents formed the Boonville

Press Club, which kept the memory of Nancy Hanks Lincoln

alive by having well-publicized picnics at the park annually.

In its first year, the club had just a handful of members; a decade later, membership was approximately 16,000. The club

claims its publicity was instrumental in the establishment of

the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial. 25

In response to the increased attention to an Indiana

Lincoln memorial, the state assembly passed an act creating

the Lincoln Memorial Commission on March 3, 1923. The

commission, which replaced former governor Hanley's 190 7 Board of Commissioners, comprised nine members appointed by

18
the governor for three-year terms.* All properties

previously owned by and powers once granted to the disbanded

Board of Commissioners were transferred to the new commission. Further, the act authorized the Lincoln Memorial

Commission to purchase land and build structures, as needed,

and "to prepare and execute plans for erecting a suitable

memorial to the memory of Abraham Lincoln at or near his

residence in the state. n2 ^ Responsibility for the care of

the gravesite was transferred to the Indiana Department of

Cons er va t i on . ^ 7

The commission's first attempt to acquire land for the

state, the forty-six-acre Patmore farm near Lincoln City,

raised a sticky issue: The sixteen-and-one-half-acre park

formerly managed by the Board of Commissioners was not owned

by the state. The land had reverted to Spencer County in

1907 when the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial Association failed

to maintain the gravesite properly. The Fergusons filled out

a form deeding the land to the state in 1907, but it was no longer theirs to give; it belonged to the county. Apparently

no one realized the state had been managing county-owned land

Applications for appointments to the commission are located in the park files. See Park files, Lincoln Related

Organizations: Commissioners of Nancy Hanks Lincoln Burial

Ground, 1907-1925, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial,

Lincoln City, Indiana.

19
for almost two decades. When the problem came to light in

1925, Spencer County quickly but quietly transferred

ownership to the state, and purchase of the Patmore property

was completed. The Lincoln Memorial Commission then operated

a 60-acre park. 28

Department of Conservation Director Richard Lieber

accepted responsibility for the care of the the Nancy Hanks

Lincoln gravesite enthusiastically. Lieber met informally

with Marcus Sonntag and Will Hays on July 19, 1926, to discuss the idea of a Lincoln "shrine." The three went to Governor Ed Jackson that evening to seek support for the

concept. Jackson did not disappoint them. 29 The following

December, Jackson invited 125 Indianans to form the Indiana

Lincoln Union (ILU) so "that the people of [the] state in

mighty unison [could] rear a national shrine" honoring the

Lincolns

.

30

Within days, C. G. Sauer requested a proposal for the

memorial park's development from the noted landscape

architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. 31 On January 24, 1927,

the state hired the Olmsted Brothers firm to prepare

preliminary designs for the memorial. Olmsted did not

delegate the project to one of his subordinates; instead, he

visited Spencer County the following March, then returned to

20
his office in Brookline, Massachusetts, to commence designing

.

When Olmsted made his initial visit to Lincoln City in

March 1927, he was pleased to discover the countryside had

not been altered irretrievably from the land where young

Abraham Lincoln lived. There were, of course, elements which

intruded on the historic scene. C. G. Sauer had warned

Olmsted of these when he first contacted the landscape

architect the previous December. 32 There were several

buildings on the site of the Thomas Lincoln farm. A railroad

crossed the land between the cabin site and Nancy Lincoln's

grave. A highway traversed the area, too, and a large

ornamental iron gate marked this current (i.e., 1927)

entrance to the gravesite. Exotic vegetation had been

introduced, compromising the historic southern Indiana

forest. Still, Olmsted was confident in Sauer' s prediction

that these intrusions could be removed and the "sacred land"

could be restored to its appearance of one century before. ^3

Olmsted's preliminary sketches were accompanied by

voluminous notes explaining his concept of the memorial, a monument of strength and simplicity, sentiment and reason.

He wanted the memorial to remain simple, so as not to overwhelm the "familiar associations" of the area with the

21
Lincolns. On the other hand, Olmsted was not satisfied to restore the area to its natural condition. Olmsted realized

some sort, of monumental expression was needed. That "frankly

and obviously monumental" landscape was his proposed allee,

extending from the plaza toward the gravesite. (See Figure

1-5.) Olmsted returned to Lincoln City to present his

preliminary concept on May 7, 1927. The delegation embraced

his ideas enthusiastically. 34

The May 7 meeting was also the occasion of the ILU's

first splashy attention-getting event. It was artfully

scheduled for just before Mother's Day, and began at 11:00

a.m. when the ILU met with its guests in an open field south

of the gravesite. As they gathered, a plane flew overhead

and dropped a message which the governor read at 11:15 a.m., after Mrs. Anne Studebaker Carlisle placed a wreath on Nancy

Hanks Lincoln's grave. Governor Jackson's speech was followed by an address in which Colonel Lieber reminded those

present (including the press) that Olmsted's plans were

secret. (This statement may have been made to encourage,

rather than discourage, press interest in the story.)

Olmsted then presented his design to the ILU's executive

committee, and, following a 2:00 p.m. luncheon in Dale, the

group dispersed. 35

22
X

3?- H

NANCY HANKS LINCOLN MEMORIAL

SPENCIP. COUNTY- INDIANA PRELIMINARY PLAN

«£ "»S5»CNUSCT

Figure 1-5. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. Preliminary Plan,

Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, Spencer County, Indiana,

April 1927. Frederick Law Olmsted Papers, Manuscript

Division, Library of Congress.

23
Soon thereafter, the Indiana Lincoln Union initiated its

campaign to raise funds for the memorial park. Theirs was a three-part plan aimed at raising support via a massive

newspaper advertisement and publicity campaign; enlistment of

schoolchildren (and their parents) by way of a speech

contest; and solicitation of funds by seeking pledges and by

door-to-door canvassing.

Frank C. Ball of Muncie was named state chairman for the

campaign. Marcus Sonntag of Evansville chaired fund-raising

activities in the southernmost portion of the state; Arthur

F. Hall and Henry Leslie were Sonntag' s counterparts in the

northern and central regions, respectively. Anne Studebaker

Carlisle chaired the school contest and promotions. The

closing statement on a handbill announcing the ILU's

committees stated the organization's philosophy: "Indiana

Should Do It; Indiana Can Do It; Indiana Will Do It." 36

The ILU hired George E. Lundy of the New York

advertising firm Hedrick, Marts, and Lundy, Inc. to promote

its cause. 7 Lundy deluged Indiana newspapers of all sizes

with advertisements. 38 The campaign focused on a series of

six ads to be featured on consecutive days. (See Figure

1-6.) Lundy also enclosed news spots to be featured as space

was available over a two-week period. The ILU later ran two

24
IfjpWKSKJEWaR^^

I Lincoln—the Hoosier I

(Number £ of a Scries)

Tht Jfonnier cabin home of Abraham Lincoln from a drawing made, in JSCO while the cabin wan

still standing. IN tlilH cabin, wlilcli ntood for many yenrH near (li<: hUo of Lin- coln City, Sponccr County, Indiana, Abrulium Lincoln lived an a l>oy. Ho helped hie father build thin cabin in tlio winter of 1810-17. From H ho burled JiIh mother, Nancy HnnliH Lincoln. The Kite of Lincoln's Indlnna homo l« marked

by n. iiltiljiln Hlnnn.

Fourteen States—SO Cities in tho United States—have Lin- %

coin Memorials—Indiuna has none \l What Will Indiana Do? |

Figure 1-6. One of the six advertisements designed by

Hedrick, Marts, and Lundy, Inc. to promote an Indiana

Lincoln Memorial. Indiana Lincoln Union Papers, Indiana

State Archives, Indianapolis, Indiana.

25
additional announcements, measuring five columns in width by

seventeen inches. Each advertisement concluded with the

theme: "Fourteen states —30 Cities in the United States

have Lincoln Memorials—Indiana has none What Will

Indiana Do?" 39

The Indiana Lincoln Union supplemented the advertisement

campaign with a massive mailing program. The ILU sent more

than 200,000 letters to Indiana citizens and institutions

soliciting support for the memorial. 4 ^ Among the

organizations targeted were a variety of travel-oriented

groups, such as the Hoosier State Automobile Association and

the Good Roads Board. 41 The letterhead used for these

mailings proudly boasted: "Lincoln was a Hoosier." 42 In addition, the ILU published a sixteen-page booklet in 1927

entitled "Lincoln Memorials." The document described other

memorials to Abraham Lincoln, and showed Frederick Law Olmsted's preliminary design for the memorial, as well as a structure designed by architect Thomas Hibben. 43 The

advertisements, mailings, and pamphlets saturated the state

with the memorial concept.

Further support for the memorial was engendered via an oratory contest. The ILU held competitions in each of the

three districts, and awarded prizes to the boy and girl in

26
each district who most convincingly stated the need for an Indiana Lincoln memorial. The city of Gary donated plaques

for the district winners, local businesses gave clothing, and

each district winner received a gold watch. The contest

culminated in a tournament featuring the six district

winners; the state champions each won a trip to the nation's

capital. 44

A vital aspect of the Indiana Lincoln Union's campaign

was fund-raising. The ILU solicited funds based on a quota;

each county was expected to contribute 0.00028 of its

December 1926 net value. 45 Canvassers sought funds

door-to-door. Those making pledges were expected to pay

one-fifth of the amount promised every six months over a two-and-one-half year period. 46 ILU Treasurer Thomas Taggart

sent reminders if payments were late. 47

Unfortunately, the onset of this nation's greatest

economic depression, which had a firm grip on agricultural

states by the late 1920s, made it impossible for many to meet

their pledges. When the ILU sent one gentleman a letter

stating, "[We believed] you were sincere in your voluntary

pledge to this enterprise, and therefore proceeded with the

execution of the memorial plans [,]" the gentleman responded,

somewhat bitterly:

27
I was sincere [emphasis his] when I made this

pledge. Though we were promised this unprecedented

wave of prosperity would continue, sometimes I did

not believe it —hence the pledge. But just as soon

as this period of prosperity abates —I will evoke

my remittance

.

[sic] "48

Many pledges made during a time of prosperity could not be met when the economy turned sour. Nevertheless, the ILU's

fundraising campaign was phenomenally successful.

While seeking public support for the memorial, the

Indiana Lincoln Union worked toward meeting the needs of the

proposed park. The ILU recognized the need for more information on the Lincolns' years in Indiana, and in 1928

the Union appointed the Historical Research and Reference

Committee to conduct research into the subject. 4 ^ The

appointment of the Southwestern Indiana Historical Society's

Bess V. Ehrmann as chair of the committee raised some controversy. Apparently Dr. Louis Warren, an expert on the

subject of the Lincolns in Indiana, discredited the

Southwestern Indiana Historical Society as a group of

"unreliable . . . interpreters." 50 An irate letter from

John E. Iglehart to ILU Executive Secretary Paul V. Brown

complained about Warren's statement; Brown's response spoke

of the Union's high hopes for the research committee, but

diplomatically avoided the Warren issue. 51

28
All of this activity represented continuing progress in

the establishment of an Indiana Lincoln memorial. Heartened

by popular enthusiasm for the concept, and based on the

pledges of financial support made, the state purchased

several additional acres in the Lincoln City area in the late

1 92 Os

.

The park project received a major boost in 1929, when

Frank C. Ball of Muncie, Indiana, purchased approximately

twenty-nine acres* of the historic Thomas Lincoln farm for

$32,000, then donated the land to the state. On June 6, 1929, Governor Harry G. Leslie gathered many of the state's

leading dignitaries to a ceremony at which he formally

accepted Ball's donation. In keeping with the Indiana

Lincoln Union's policy of recognizing such generous

donations, the ceremony received full press coverage.

Stories accompanied by photographs of Ball handing the deed

to Leslie appeared in newspapers throughout the state. 52 With Ball's donation, the Indiana Lincoln Memorial was well

on its way.

Correspondence refers to twenty-nine or thirty acres donated by Ball, but a 1937 report prepared by Virgil M. Simmons, then Director of the Department of Conservation,

cites the Ball donation as totalling 22.5 acres. See Simmons, Cost and Acreage Report, May 193 7. Park files, Land

Records, State Land Acquisition, 1920s, Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

29
CHAPTER 1 NOTES

1. Charles E. Shedd, Jr., "Historic Sites Survey, Lincoln

State Park and Nancy Hanks Lincoln State Memorial, Spencer

County, Indiana." (U. S. Department of Interior, National

Park Service, Philadelphia, 1959, Typescript), 18-25, passim.

2. John E. Santosuosso, A Survey of Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial and Lincoln City (Lincoln City: National Park

Service, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, 1970), 22; Bess

V. Ehrmann, The Missing Chapter in the Life of Abraham

Lincoln (Chicago: Walter M. Hill, Publisher, 1938), 82-83;

and Edward McM. Larrabee, "Preliminary Excavations at the

Cabin Site, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City,

Indiana" (U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park

Service, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1967, Typescript), 24. In a letter from Lincoln State Park Superintendent Joe Wiebe to Paul V. Brown dated December 31, 1931, Wiebe reported the

"tin tipes" [sic] were in the possession of the "Elliott

sisters" of Dale, Indiana. See Larrabee, p. 72.

3. Santosuosso, 86.

4. Ibid., 83.

5. Ibid., 86.

6. Ibid., 87.

7. Ibid., 116; Charlotte N. Baird, "The Making of a Memorial," Rockport-Spencer County Sesquicentennial (n.p.,

n.d.); and Park files, Cemetery History, Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

8. Park files, Cemetery History.

9. Santosuosso, 88.

10. Joseph D. Armstrong, "The Lincolns in Spencer County

(n.p., n.d.), 60-61; Baird, "Making of a Memorial"; and

Richard Lieber/Indiana Lincoln Union Papers, Indiana State

Library, Indiana Division, Indianapolis (hereafter cited as Lieber/ILU Papers) . Note that these sources contradict the

1870 date contained in the Indiana Lincoln Union report, The

Indiana Lincoln Memorial (Indianapolis: Indiana Lincoln

Union, 1935) , which was quoted in Jill York, Friendly Trees,

Hallowed Ground: An Expression of Sentiment and Reason

(Omaha: National Park Service, Midwest Regional Office,

1984) , 2.

30
11. P. E. Studebaker to Gov. James E. Mount, June 11, 1897,

Lieber/ILU Papers; Notes on meeting with Gov. J. Frank

Hanley, n.d., Lieber/ILU Papers; Santosuosso, 94-95; York, 2; and Clem Studebaker to Gov. James E. Mount, June 10, 1897,

Lieber/ILU Papers.

12. Santosuosso, 95. 13. P. E. Studebaker to Gov. James E. Mount, June 11, 1897,

Lieber/ILU Papers; Notes on Hanley meeting, Lieber/ILU

Papers; and York, 2. 14. York, 2-3; Santosuosso, 100; Constitution of the Indiana

Lincoln Memorial Association, Park files, Park Related

Organizations, Indiana Lincoln Memorial Association, Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City; ChronologicalOutline of Significant Events and Dates Relating to the

Development of the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, Presently

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Park files, Material on

the Creation of Lincoln Boyhood, Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial, Lincoln City; Notes on Hanley meeting; and

Fairbanks Manuscripts, Manuscripts Department, Lilly Library,

Indiana University, Bloomington.

15. Notes on Hanley meeting; Indianapolis News , September 8, 1925; York, 3; and Santosuosso, 101.

16. "Dedication of the Monument in Memory of Nancy Hanks

Lincoln" (Indiana Lincoln Union, Indianapolis, 1902,

Program); Evansville Cour ier-Journal , September 28, 1902; and

Lincoln Lore, June 12, 1933, Park files, Cemetery History.

17. Press Release, June 11, 1931, Park files, Clippings,

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City.

18. Notes on Hanley Meeting; Santosuosso, 101; and York, 3. 19. Rockport Journal , February 12, 1909; and Santosuosso,

101-102.

20. Notes on John J. Brown's recollections of identifying

the cabin site, circa 1930, Park files, Cabin Site, 1917

Spencer County Monument, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial,

Lincoln City; Notes on Hanley meeting; Park files, Clippings;

Santosuosso, 49-50; and York, 3-4.

21. Springfield [Illinois] Journal , February 13, 1921, Park

files, Clippings.

31
22. Robert Allen Frederick, "Colonel Richard Lieber

,

Conservationist and Park Builder: The Indiana Years."

(Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University, 1960) , 248.

23. Ibid., 275-277.

24. Ibid., 248.

25. Boonville Standard , October 15, 1970, Park files,

Lincoln Related Organizations: Boonville Press Club.

2 6. Notes on Hanley meeting.

27. Ibid.

28. Indianapolis News , September 8, 1925, Richard Lieber

Papers, Lilly Library, Manuscripts Department, Indiana

University, Bloomington.

29. Frederick, 251-252; Press Release, June 11, 1931, Park

files, Clippings; and York, 4. 30. Press Release, June 11, 1931; Indianapolis News, May 9, 1941, Clippings files, Indiana Biography, Nancy Hanks

Lincoln, Indiana State Library, Indiana Division,

Indianapolis.

31. C. G. Sauer to Frederick Law Olmsted [Jr.,],

December 9, 1926, Frederick Law Olmsted Papers, Manuscripts

Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.

32. Ibid.

33. York, 8. Much of this section is excerpted from the

author's earlier study, Friendly Trees, Hallowed Ground . Because the author is the same, quotations were not used even where the wording was the same as that used in the earlier

study.

34. York, 4-5, 8-9.

35. Handbill, September 9, 1927, Indiana Lincoln Union

Papers, Indiana State Archives, Indianapolis.

36. Ibid., and New York Times , May 8, 1927, Park files,

Lincoln Related Organizations, Indiana Lincoln Union.

3 7. P. V. Brown to Bayard M. Hedrick, April 6, 192 7; and G.

E. Lundy to Paul V. Brown, April 13, 1927, Lieber Lincoln

Memorial, Indiana State Archives, Indianapolis.

32
38. See Indiana Lincoln Union Papers, Indiana State

Archives.

3 9. P. V. Brown to W. 0. Feudner , Editor, Rushville

[Indiana] Republican , n.d., Indiana Lincoln Union Papers.

40. Press Release, June 11, 1931, Park files, Clippings.

41. Indiana Lincoln Union to Jonesville Times , April 5, 1928, Indiana Lincoln Union Papers.

42. Ibid., and Park files, Indiana Lincoln Union.

43. Indiana Lincoln Union, "Lincoln Memorials" (Indiana

Lincoln Union, Indianapolis, 1927, Pamphlet)

.

44. Indiana Lincoln Union Papers.

45. Ibid.

46. Evansville Courier and Journal , October 16, 1927, Park

files, Indiana Lincoln Union.

47. Thomas Taggart to Dr. B. F. Zimmerman, March 1, 1928,

Indiana Lincoln Union Papers.

48. J. W. Action to Indiana Lincoln Union, May 1930, Park

files, Indiana Lincoln Union.

49. Park files, Indiana Lincoln Union.

50. John E. Iglehart to Paul V. Brown, October 3, 1927,

State Parks-State Memorials Files, Indiana State Archives.

51. Paul V. Brown to John E. Iglehart, October 4, 192 7, State Parks-State Memorials files.

52. J. I. Holcomb to Ken R. Cougill, February 9, 1956, Park

files, Park Proposals: Proposal to Build a Memorial Drinking

Fountain, 1956.

33

CHAPTER 2 The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, Phase I

The land acquired, the state began its initial phase of

construction. Upon accepting Frederick Law Olmsted's

preliminary concept, the Department of Conservation assigned

one of its staff landscape architects, Donald B. Johnston,

the task of developing Olmsted's concept into a working

design. Johnston enthusiastically accepted responsibility

for the first phase of landscaping. Johston's working design

was fundamentally based on Olmsted's concept, although

Johnston changed the shapes of the plaza and the allee. (See

Figure 2-1.)

Extending roughly from 1927 to 1938, the first stage

involved the removal of several structures from the site of

the Thomas Lincoln farm, reforestation of that area, relocation of state Highway 162, grading, construction of the

plaza and parking lot, installation of a drainage system and

a water reservoir, and the initial planting of the plaza and

allee. 1

Among the Lincoln City structures removed were a restaurant, a garage, a hotel, a school, a church, eleven

houses, seven barns, and twenty outbuildings. The ILU bought

34
Figure 2-1. Donald B. Johnston. Planting Plan for Entrance

Area of Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial [1927]. Nancy

Hanks Lincoln Memorial Papers. Indiana Department of

Natural Resources, Indianapolis, Indiana.

35
two acres elsewhere in town which it donated for the

construction of a new school building, and financed the

construction of the new church.

2

After removing the structures from the memorial land,

the state fenced the memorial park's boundaries, regraded the

streets and alleys and the old entrance road, and planted

22,441 native trees and 15,218 native shrubs with the

assistance of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor.* (See

Figure 2-2.) The "lions and eagles gate" was removed. The

gate itself is presently located at the east end of the

plaza; the lions, now headless, rest in nearby Lincoln

(Buckhorn) Lake, and the fate of the gilded plaster eagles is

unknown. 3 The state erected a service building and

rehabilitated a remaining house for the park custodian. A small flower garden was planted near the service area (out of

public view) to provide flowers for Mrs. Lincoln's grave.

Clusters of sycamores, sugar maples, red oaks, tulip poplars,

and lindens were planted along the relocated state road,

which was routed through the plaza. Red oaks graced the

plaza interior, and six hawthorns lined each of the plaza's

southern diagonal walls. A semicircle of red cedars lining

*George R. Wilson of the Southwestern [Indiana]

Historical Society conducted research to determine what

species should be planted. Evansville Cour ier -Jour nal , February 2, 1930. Park files, Cemetery History.

36
LEAKING- GrRdUVD *r Ft>A&to**f'

Figure 2-2. Groundbreaking the plaza area, 1930. Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial photograph files, negative no.

7, photographer unknown.

37
a curved stone wall (the excedra) marked the center of the

southern plaza wall. (The State removed the excedra in 1940

when construction of the memorial building began.) A towering 120-foot tall flagstaff was placed in an island in

the center of the plaza. (See Figure 2-3.) Governor Harry

G. Leslie presided over the flagstaff's dedication ceremony

at the Boonville Press Club's annual picnic on July 12, 1931.

Johnston's allee featured a central lawn flanked by

gravel walks, their exterior sides each lined with ninety

dogwood shrubs spaced four feet apart. Two rows of trees

also lined the allee: an inner row of tulip poplars, ten trees per row, spaced thirty feet apart and measuring

seventeen feet from the outer edge of the walks; and an outer

row of sycamores spaced thirty feet away from the walks, and

measuring thirty feet between each tree. Each sycamore was planted at the halfway point between the tulip poplars.

Additional sycamores were planted outside the formal rows, making a transition from the formal allee to the restored

forest. 5

By 1932, the Department of Conservation had completed

its demolition program and accomplished most of the formal

planting. In 1933, the Department budgeted $34,000 for the

installation of a water supply system, fabrication of a

38
Figure 2-3. The flagpole and plaza shortly after their

construction, 1932. Department of Conservation photo,

Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial Papers, Indiana

Department of Natural Resources, Indianapolis, Indiana.

39
bronze memorial to be placed at the historic cabin site, and

construction of a walking "Trail of Twelve Stones"

commemorating various aspects of Abraham Lincoln's life. 6

The Indiana Lincoln Union began planning the memorial

trail in 1931. They intended

to memorialize important episodes in Lincoln's life by the placing of some memento,

preferably a stone, along a certain trail where one will be led to appreciate the "stepping stones" in Lincoln's career.'

The ILU identified several possible sources for memorial

stones, and began collecting them. The stones eventually

placed along the one-mile winding trail included (1) a rock

from a spring near Abraham Lincoln's birthplace at Hodgenville, Kentucky; (2) a monument erected years earlier

by Spencer County to mark the Indiana cabin site; (3) a rock

from the Jones store at Jonesboro, Indiana, where Lincoln

worked as a clerk; (4) a slab from the foundation of the

Western Sun and Commercial Advertiser in Vincennes, Indiana,

where Lincoln, on his way to Illinois, first saw a printing

press; (5) a foundation stone from the Berry-Lincoln store at New Salem, Illinois, (6) four bricks from Mary Todd Lincoln's

Lexington, Kentucky, home; (7) a stone from the White House

in Washington, D.C.; (8) a stone from the Anderson cottage at the National Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C., where

Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation; (9) a boulder

40
from the Gettysburg battlefield; (10) a stone from the old

capitol building in Washington, D.C., where Lincoln gave his

second inaugural address; (11) a portion of a red sandstone

column taken from the porch at the house where Lincoln died;

and (12) the Culver stone (discussed earlier), salvaged from

the construction of the Lincoln tomb in Springfield,

Illinois, and placed at his mother's grave in 1902.

Boonville Press Club picnickers were the first to walk the

Trail of Twelve Stones in late August 1933. The following

year, at the suggestion of Lincoln historian Louis Warren,

the Indiana Lincoln Union added descriptive bronze plaques

near each of the twelve stones.**

Also in 1933, the Department utilized CCC labor to plant

57,000 trees and 3,200 shrubs. 9 * Additionally, CCC labor

developed a campground and picnic area, parking, shelters, a caretaker's cottage, roads and trails work, erosion control,

and landscaping around the cabin site memorial. (Much of

this work was accomplished in what is now Lincoln State

Civilian Conservation Corps Camp No. 1543 was stationed

at Lincoln City from July 1933 to June 1934. (See Figure

2-4.)

41
**r«fuj: I -

£• fitoTr UM J —

r

J^.

ft] i * 4

Figure 2-4. Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Lincoln

City, 1933. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

photograph files, negative no. 465, photographer

unknown

.

42
Park.) The busy CCC crew also accomplished a boundary survey

and a topographical survey of the state lands. 8*

Of all the projects undertaken by the Indiana Lincoln

Union, the fabrication of the bronze cabin site memorial was fraught with the most problems. Believing it would be inappropriate to construct a replica of the Lincoln cabin,

the state hired architect Thomas Hibben, a native of Indiana

then working in New York city, to design an appropriate

monument to mark the site. The state planned a bronze

casting in the shape of the historic cabin sill and hearth,

to be surrounded by a stone wall. The area was to be formally landscaped. 11 **

*Also in 1933, the park's first superintendent, Joe Wiebe , was replaced by W. R. Ritchie, and Department of

Conservation Director Richard Lieber was demoted, although he

retained control of his state parks. State park positions in

Indiana were subject to the governor's approval, and changes

in the controlling political party frequently resulted in mass firings and replacements of state park personnel. Such was the case in 1933, when Democratic Governor Paul McNutt

replaced Republican Harry G. Leslie. On July 5, 1933,

frustrated by the firing of park superintendents statewide

and by his own demotion, Col. Lieber notified Governor McNutt

he would retire ten days later. His diary entry for that

date stated simply, "Tired." Letter, Joe E. Wiebe to Dr. Louis Warren, Lincoln National Life Foundation, May 8, 1933,

State Parks-State Memorials Files, Indiana State Archives,

Indianapolis. See also Park files, Clippings.

**As stated above, the landscaping was begun in 1933.

43
The Department of Conservation awarded the bronze

casting project to C. W. Hatcher of Indianapolis for $4200;

Hatcher subcontracted the project to the International Art

Foundries of New York, New York. International Art

Foundries, in turn, subcontracted the project to Priessman,

Bauer, and Company in Munich, Germany. 12

In May 1933, the CCC crew located the historic

hearthstones, which were situated in a T-conf iguration and

comprised three layers of stones measuring roughly eighteen

inches square and five to six inches deep. (See Figure 2-5.)

The crew, under the supervision of Horace Weber, excavated

the 300 hearthstones without the assistance of heavy

equipment in order to protect the stones. The crew then

constructed the stone wall around the site and landscaped the

grounds (Figure 2-6) ; this phase of the project was completed

by June 1934. 13 The area was ready for the bronze monument.

Unfortunately, the bronze monument was not yet cast.

For some reason never made clear to the Department of

Conservation, Priessman, Bauer, and Company suffered a series

of delays in completing the project. In addition to the

frustration—plans to dedicate the bronze memorial in the summer of 193 4 had to be cancelled because the monument was not ready when expected—the delays caused increased expenses

44
Horace Weber, supervisor of the Civilian

working at Lincoln City,

Lincoln cabin hearthstones.

site memorial was placed on the

historic stones. Lincoln

photograph files, negative

V. Brown.

Figure 2-5. Conservation Corps crew kneeling over the historic

The bronze cabin

location of the

National Memorial

photographed by 0.

Boyhood

no. 13,

45
Figure 2-6. Construction of the wall surrounding the cabin

site memorial, 1934. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

photograph files, negative no. 31, photograped by Horace

Weber

.

46
due to devaluation of the dollar. By enlisting the aid of

the German consulate and agreeing to extend the initial due

date, the Department of Conservation lessened the amount of

the added costs. 14 The Department was patient for two years,

corresponding with the numerous parties involved, and

changing its plans to meet the ever-changing schedule. The

situation finally came to a head in May 1935, when the

International Art Foundries tried to get more money from the

State of Indiana to settle a dispute with the Foundries'

subcontractor, Priessman, Bauer and Company. The state

responded firmly that there would be no more money for the

project, and that the bronze casting was to be delivered to Lincoln City no later than June 15, 1935, or the contract

would be terminated, and no additional payments made. 15 The

monument was delivered by that date, and was laid in place in

July. 16 * Although Indiana Lincoln Union Executive Committee

*In 1955, Robert D. Starrett of the Department of

Conservation authorized the expenditure of $70 for a bronze

tablet to replace one which was stolen from the site in 1950.

The text read:

LINCOLN CABIN SITE

A symbol of the exact size of the Lincoln cabin and

the original hearthstones--where as a boy Abraham

Lincoln studied by the light of the burning logs.

Indiana Lincoln Union

On the purchase order, Starrett substituted the name of the

Indiana Lincoln Union in place of the Indiana Department of

Conservation. Statement of account, George J. Mayer Company

of Indianapolis, November 16, 1955.

47
m m

*' .- " .- ;" V

s " ' ' '

Figure 2-7. The bronze cabin site memorial. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial photograph files, negative no. 3, photographed by Albert W. Banton, Jr . , circa 1968.

48
member J. I. Holcomb had advised Governor Paul McNutt to contact President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's office to invite him to dedicate the memorial and view the CCC work in

the park, 17 McNutt apparently never acted on Holcomb'

s

suggestion. The final cost of the bronze marker was $5,797.40 in American currency. 1 ®

Activity continued in 1937 and 1938. The state

purchased the James F. Holstein farm and developed the

intersection at Gentryville in accordance with Frederick Law Olmsted's preliminary plan; surveyed and marked the Eli

Grigsby farm, and replanted trees which failed to survive the

193 7 floods. The state erected signs which had been made by

the National Park Service, which supervised the CCC crew at Lincoln State Park. The Indiana Lincoln Union continued to seek funds for the construction of a memorial building. 19

Paul V. Brown accepted a position with the National Park

Service, apparently in 1935, as an administrator of Civilian

Conservation Corps programs. At first he worked in

Indianapolis, later in Omaha, Nebraska. Brown continued as executive secretary of the ILU, even after he left Indiana.

The Lincoln park was close to his heart, and his trips "home"

frequently included meetings with his friends at the

Department of Conservation and sometimes jaunts to the

49
Lincoln park. 2 *-* At Lieber's request, Brown accepted a leave

of absence from his National Park Service duties from

May 10-31, 1937, so he could write a brief history of the

Lincoln park. 21 Noting that Brown's history, while

excellent, failed to acknowledge Brown's personal

contributions to the effort, Lieber asked the NPS Region II Historian Philip Auchampaugh to review the document. On

Lieber's suggestion, Auchampaugh transmitted the draft study

to Dr. Louis Warren of the Lincoln National Life Foundation,

a noted Lincoln scholar, to revise the study to include a better reflection of Brown's efforts. 22 The ILU published

Brown's history, The Indiana Lincoln Memorial in Spencer

County, Indiana , in 1938. It contains an excellent summary

of the Union's activities in promoting and developing the

park through 1937. 23

Although retired from state government since 1933,

Richard Lieber remained active in matters related to the

management of state parks and continued to hold a particular

interest in the Indiana Lincoln Memorial. He was president

of the National Conference on State Parks in 193 6; also on

its board of directors were C. G. Sauer, who had been

involved in the initial planning for the Lincoln park, Conrad

Wirth of the National Park Service, and former NPS director

Horace Albright. Acting NPS Director Arthur Demaray

50
authorized Service funds to cover Lieber's travel expenses

for the 1936 Regional Conference on State Parks. 24

In 193 7 Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes appointed

Lieber to the Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic

Sites, Buildings and Monunents. 25 In a letter congratulating

Lieber on the appointment, Paul Brown observed Lieber's

unique opportunity to seek national recognition for the

site. 2 *> "Despite a [National] Park Service opinion that

[Abraham] Lincoln was amply represented by the Federal

government, and [fear] that a national recognition would lead

to similar proposals for sites related to the mothers of

other great men," Lieber "led the Board to find the memorial

nationally significant in 1939. " 27

51
CHAPTER 2 NOTES

1. Jill M. York, Friendly Trees, Hallowed Ground; An Expression of Sentiment and Reason (Omaha: National Park

Service, Midwest Regional Office, 1984), 6; and Press

Release, June 11, 1931, Park files, Clippings, Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

2. Press Release, June 11, 1931, Park files, Clippings.

Note that an Evansville Courier -Journal report on September 30, 1934, that the two acres was for a new church

was incorrect.

3. Press Release, June 11, 1931.

4. York, 25.

5. John E. Santosuosso, A Survey of Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial and Lincoln City (Lincoln City, Indiana: National

Park Service, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, 1970), 102.

6. Park files, Lincoln Related Organizations: Indiana

Lincoln Union.

7. [Indiana Lincoln Union,] "Indiana Lincoln Reservation"

(Typescript, May 4, 1933), Park Files, Grounds, Trail of

Twelve Stones.

8. Ibid.; Richard Simons, "The Lincoln Story Told in Stone"

(n.p., February 12, 1950); and Evansville Courier-Journal

September 1, 1933; all in Park Files, Grounds, Trail of

Twelve Stones.

9. Joe Wiebe to J. I. Holcomb, April 13, 1933, Hilda Taylor

Photographs, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City.

10. P. V. Brown to Richard Lieber , January 31, 1940, Park

files, Memorial Visitor Center, Planning in 1930s and 1940s,

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City; and

Santosuosso, 57, 64. 11. [Paul V. Brown,] The Indiana Lincoln Memorial, Guarding

the Grave of Nancy Hanks Lincoln and the Site of the Cabin

that was Abraham Lincoln's Hoosier Home from his Seventh to

hi s Twenty-First Year (Indianapolis: Indiana Lincoln Union,

1938), 35.

52
12. Paul V. Brown to Ed Pearson, February 1, 1933; and

Indiana Lincoln Union to International Art Foundries, May 23,

1935, Park files, Cabin Site Memorial, Copies of

Correspondence on Bronze Log and Hearthstone Memorial,

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City.

13. Horace Weber, interview by Bill Bartelt, May 9, 1970,

transcript, Park files, Oral History Interviews, Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City; and Albert W. Banton

to Horace Weber, November 25, 1969, Park files, Cabin Site

Memorial, Horace Weber, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial,

Lincoln City.

14. Miscellaneous correspondence between Ed Pearson and Paul

Brown, October 1933-January 1934, Park file, Cabin Site

Memorial, Copies of Correspondence on Bronze Log and

Hearthstone Memorial.

15. Indiana Lincoln Union to International Art Foundries,

May 28, 1935, Park files, Cabin Site Memorial, Copies of

Correspondence on Bronze Log and Hearthstone Memorial.

16. Horace Weber to Al Banton, n.d. [circa October 30-

November 25, 1969], Park files, Cabin Site Memorial, Horace

Weber; and Weber interview.

17. J. I. Holcomb to Gov. Paul McNutt, May 8, 1955,

Lieber/ILU Papers.

18. Invoice of Merchandise, April 29, 1935, Park files,

Cabin Site Memorial, Copies of Correspondence on Bronze Log

and Hearthstone Memorial.

19. "Report of the Building and Plans Committee of the

Indiana Lincoln Union" (Indiana Lincoln Union, Indianapolis,

n.d. [1936], Typescript), Park files, Lincoln Related

Organizations, Indiana Lincoln Union.

20. Mention of these visits occurs frequently in

correspondence between Brown and Holcomb, sometimes on National Park Service letterhead. See Paul Brown to J. I. Holcomb, February 13, 193 7, Lieber/ILU Papers.

21. Paul Brown to Mrs. Richard Coons, March 29, 193 7, Lieber/ILU Papers.

22. Richard Lieber to [Philip] Auchampaugh, n.d.; and

Auchampaugh to [Louis] Warren, June 8, 193 7, Lieber/ILU

Papers.

53
23. See [Brown,] The Indiana Lincoln Memorial.

24. Richard Lieber to Paul Brown, January 15, 1937, Paul V. Brown Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indiana Division,

Manuscripts Division; and A. E. Demaray to Richard Lieber,

August 18, 1936, Brown Manuscripts.

25. Richard Lieber to Paul Brown, January 15, 1937, Brown

Manuscripts.

26. Paul Brown to Richard Lieber, January 29, 1937, Brown

Manuscripts

.

27. Note, Barry Mackintosh to author, June 4, 1985.

54

CHAPTER 3 The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, Phase II

The recognition of the site's national significance

coincided with the transition from the first phase of the

memorial's construction, as detailed in Donald B. Johnston's

landscaping plans, to the second phase, involving the

erection of a memorial building/ visitor center and attendant

modifications to the landscape.

The Department of Conservation debated over two possible

sites for the memorial building for a decade. Donald

Johnston's sketches sometimes showed a building at the north

end of the allee near the gravesite, and sometimes it was pictured south of the plaza. 1 Finally, in 1938, the

Department decided to place the structure south of the plaza,

away from the gravesite, so it would not detract from

that significant location.

Thomas Hibben, the New York-based architect who designed

the bronze cabin site memorial, also prepared preliminary

designs for a memorial building under the terms of the

original agreement with the Indiana Lincoln Union. 2 In 1930,

the ILU issued a second contract for further development of

the ideas presented in Hibben's preliminary plans. 3 Hibben's

proposed structure included four square courts totalling 200

55
square feet surrounding a 150-foot tall tower housing a large

pipe organ. The courts were to be connected with cloisters

decorated with frescoes and sculptures; the tower would be

painted with murals. Hibben's design provided for restrooms

and even a small restaurant for the convenience of visitors. 4 Newspaper articles about the memorial park frequently

included pictures of Hibben's proposal (See Figure 3-1), and

it seemed to be well received by the public.

Nevertheless, some members of the Department of

Conservation and the Indiana Lincoln Union were uncomfortable

with Hibben's design, and correspondence between Colonel

Lieber , then chairman of the ILU's Executive Committee, and

ILU president J. L. Holcomb, often discussed possible

alternatives to Hibben's proposal. 5 This position was most

eloquently stated by Lieber, who feared the structure would

pose a "monumental imposition"*3 on the humble gravesite. In

a letter to Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., he expressed his concerns

One thing has become clear. The original plan is out. . . . Beautiful as it is, . . . [Hibben's

design] still appears much too elaborate and

therefore!,] to some of us [ ,

] not at all in harmony

with the spiritus loci. 7 Lieber asked Olmsted to comment on the Hibben plans when they

met in Lincoln City to review the first phase of landscaping,

which was finally completed. Olmsted agreed with Lieber, and

56
LINCOLN WAS A "HOOSIER"

LINCOLN MEMORIAL

TO BE INDIANA'S TRIBUTE

Figure 3-1. Sketch of Thomas Hibben's Proposed Lincoln

Memorial. Park Files, Memorial Visitor Center, Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

57
the ILU rejected the Hibben design and ended their contract

with him on May 1, 1939. 8

Ready to commence the second phase of development, the

ILU found itself with neither a design for its central

element nor an architect to prepare such plans.

Because of his dissatisfaction with the Hibben proposal,

Colonel Lieber had contacted a professional acquaintance,

National Park Service architect Richard E. "Louie" Bishop in

1937, requesting Bishop's thoughts on a proper memorial

expression for the Lincoln memorial. Bishop's response

largely reflected the preliminary concept for the park

developed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., a decade earlier,

and included the observation that "no towering or otherwise

imposing buildings should be introduced." 9 Lieber had his own concept of an appropriate visitor center, and

communicated it to Bishop in 1938. At Lieber 's request,

Bishop prepared an esquisse based on Lieber 's description.

Bishop sketched a structure showing two square buildings

joined by a semicircular cloister, much like the structure

which was eventually built, except that the square buildings

were set at an angle. 10 This was probably the sketch Lieber

included in his July 26, 1938, letter to Olmsted. 11

58
Lieber did not contact Bishop again until a year and

one-half later. In December 1939, the ILU asked Bishop for

suggestions on how to locate an architect for the project.

Bishop suggested a competition, but the ILU rejected the idea

because of the extra costs and time involved. 12 In a personal letter to Lieber dated December 14, 1939, Bishop

asked to be considered for the job. 13 The following day

Paul Brown wrote Lieber and Holcomb a letter commenting on

the excellent work Bishop had done for the Park Service, and

recommending him for the Lincoln park job. 14 The ILU needed

no further persuasion; the Union hired Bishop on January 12,

1940. 15 Citing the opportunity for further cooperation

between the Indiana Department of Conservation and the

National Park Service, Lieber requested that Region II grant

Bishop a six-month leave of absence to work on the project.

Lieber hoped the Service would continue to pay Bishop's

salary, but agr.eed the ILU would pay it if the NPS could

not. 1 ^ Regional Director Thomas J. Allen, Jr., granted

Bishop a six-month leave of absence (subsequently extended an additional fourteen months) without salary to work on the

project .17

Bishop clearly understood the qualities Lieber desired

in the memorial building. Describing his thoughts on the

subject, Bishop wrote:

59
There should be no false construction or fake

design. Materials should be native and largely

hand worked. Design should be suggested by the

best practice of the days when Nancy Hanks was a young woman. Not a design suggestive of the log

cabins she lived in, but of a type of structure

that might have been built by one of the best

builders of the period, [sic] to commemorate an illustrious pioneer. 18

Further, Bishop felt his work should "be carefully related to work done previously in an attempt to provide a unified

result." 19 *

In an effort to keep the structure simple, Bishop

analyzed the functional requirements and identified three

basic needs: a central memorial feature, a small hall

suitable for public meetings, and a large room with simple

facilities for the comfort of visitors. He translated these

needs into the three architectural units of the building:

the central memorial court, the Abraham Lincoln Hall

(suitable for formal gatherings) and the less formal Nancy

Hanks Lincoln Hall, which included restroom facilities. 20

As originally conceived, the Memorial Court was to include a semicircular wall supporting sculptured panels.

Bishop's project notes are located in the Indiana State

Library, Indiana Division, Lieber Papers, Box 2, Folders 2-4.

These would be particularly useful to future research on the

Historic Structure Report for the memorial building.

60
Bishop was dissatisfied with this concept because he wanted

all aspects of the memorial building to be useful as well as decorative. He developed the idea further, and finally

decided to make the wall a covered passageway between the two

halls (see Figure 3-2) , which would prove useful in inclement

weather. He designed the cloister to bear five sculptured

panels, separated by four large openings. He used straight

line segments for these nine elements (five panels and four

entryways) rather than a true semicircle, because it was more functional and seemed more appropriate to the rugged pioneer

theme. The panels would represent Lincoln's life in

Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Washington, with the fifth

panel representing the deceased president's significance to all Americans. Above the panels and the doorways, passages

from Lincoln's speeches would be carved in stone.

The design for the court itself featured a brick walkway

surrounding an oval bed of turf. Three stone steps led from

the plaza to the walkway; five additional steps led from the

walkway into the cloister. Bishop included the steps to ensure the sculptured panels' visibility from the plaza and

allee

.

Bishop designed the memorial to be made as completely as possible of Indiana materials which would have been available

61
Figure 3-2. The cloister joining the Nancy Hanks Lincoln and

Abraham Lincoln halls, 1960. Nancy Hanks Lincoln

Memorial photograph files, negative no. 32, photographer

unknown

.

62
in the early nineteenth century. The exterior walls were to

be handcut Indiana limestone, with windows of a size

appropriate to the historic period. The roof would be of

sheet copper

.

Bishop planned the Abraham Lincoln hall (which he also

called "the chapel") to measure thirty by sixty feet and hold

about 250 people. Entrances to the small vestibule were from

the memorial court and the cloister. The interior walls were

to be of St. Meinrad sandstone with a cherry wainscot, except

in the rear of the room, where the paneling extended to the

ceiling. He designed a rostrum at one end of the room and a balcony at the other; these and the pew-type seats were to be

fabricated of native yellow poplar and black cherry. The

finished wooden ceiling would leave structural members

exposed. Hardware was to be appropriate for the early

nineteenth century. (Figure 3-3 shows the Abraham Lincoln

hall, as constructed.)

The Nancy Hanks Lincoln hall, also with a small

vestibule, featured a thirty by forty-five foot room with a large stone-arched fireplace. The walls would also be of St. Meinrad sandstone; the heavy wood beam ceilings would be plastered. A rear entrance would lead to the restroom

facilities and the parking area. (See Figure 3-4.)

63
Figure 3-3. The Abraham Lincoln hall, 1965. Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial, photograph files, negative no. 2, photographer unknown.

64
Figure 3-4. The Nancy Hanks Lincoln hall, 1964. Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial, photograph files, negative

no. 10, photographed by Robert L. Burns.

65
Bishop started work on the design on February 15, 1940.

The Indiana Lincoln Union hired Claude Coyne from the

Department of Conservation to assist Bishop with tne project.

Coyne's assistance and the close cooperation of the

Department of Conservation, particularly Assistant State

Engineer Denzil Doggett and State Parks Director Charles

DeTurk, who provided mechanical and structural engineering

services for the project, made it possible for Bishop to work

quickly. At a meeting attended by Governor Clifford Townsend

and several representatives of the ILU and the Department of

Conservation, preliminary plans for the building and a model

of the sculptured panels were approved without change less

than five months after Bishop reported for duty. The ILU

approved the construction drawings on October 7, 1940. 21

The ILU opened the bids for the construction contract on October 30. It awarded the general contract to W. A. Armstrong of Terre Haute and the plumbing and heating

contract to Tri-State Plumbing and Heating of Evansville on November 18, 1940. Armstrong's firm broke ground the

following December 10. Claude Coyne served as onsite

construction supervisor for the project. Bishop visited the

project frequently . 22

66
Sare Hoadley Stone Company of B looming ton , Indiana,

prepared the handout stone for the structure. The Department

of Conservation furnished the native timbers and finish

lumber. On his own time and at personal expense, park

custodian Walter Ritchie personally scoured southern Indiana

to locate timber for the project. The remainder was supplied

under a contract with Carnahan Lumber Company of Loogootee,

Indiana. Adams Westlake Company of Elkhart, Indiana,

custom-made the aluminum sash windows for the structure.

William Hermann and Son of Indianapolis custom-made the

cherry table, chairs and benches and the chapel pews.

The Pierson-Lewis Hardware Company of Indianapolis

furnished the hardware, including the custom-designed brass

locks for the entrance doors. Leonard Kord of Indianapolis

fabricated the bronze grilles and light fixtures, using molds

prepared at the State Reformatory at Pendleton, Indiana. The

large bronze exterior lanterns were redesigned and rebuilt

from fixtures originally designed for use at George Rogers

Clark [State] Memorial in Vincennes , Indiana. These exterior

fixtures had already been shipped when the War Production

Board halted production of the bronze interior lanterns. The

Board rejected the state's requests for permission to proceed

with the fabrication of the bronze lights, and Kord could not

work on them for several months. Frustrated, but not

67
overcome, Bishop studied alternatives for the lanterns and

eventually developed a design replacing the bronze frame with

cherry wood. Kord completed the interior fixtures according

to the revised design.

Using materials supplied by the Seymour, Indiana, Woolen

Mills, the Richmond State Hospital at Easthaven, Indiana,

fabricated the braided rugs. Seymour Woolen Mills held the

United States Government contract for white Navy blankets,

and cut excess blankets into two-and-one-half-inch strips,

which they then dyed according to specifications for the

rugs. Department of Conservation architect Ernest Jackson

designed the rugs, the largest measuring twenty-one feet in

diameter, two smaller rugs measuring five by eight feet, and

four bench pads measuring two feet by seven and one-half

feet, under Bishop's supervision. 23

Integral features of the memorial building were the

sculpted panels facing the memorial court. The ILU had hired

Indiana sculptor Elmer H. "Dan" Daniels to prepare a model of

Bishop's plans for the building to be presented with the

drawings at a meeting of the Union. As reported above, the ILU and the Department of Conservation accepted

Bishop's design and the sculpted panels concept on June 11,

1940, but the panels had not been designed nor a sculptor

68
selected at that time. The ILU may have chosen Daniels to prepare the model on the strength of a bust of Abraham

Lincoln Daniels sculpted in 1939, which the ILU purchased for

display in the memorial building. 24 After the ILU approved

Bishop's design, Daniels prepared sketch proposals for the

five panels, although he was not under contract to do so. Bishop's report on the memorial's construction stated the ILU

received the proposals favorably, 25 but correspondence shows

at least one significant person, ILU President J. I. Holcomb,

did not like Daniels' work and hoped the ILU would hire a nationally-known sculptor for the panels. 26 Lieber disagreed

with Holcomb' s advice to find a well-known artist for the

job, and indicated it would be a perfect project for a talented young artist to make a name for himself. 27

Apparently not wishing to be at odds with Lieber, Holcomb

sent a hand-written note to the colonel, inferring his

secretary had added the statement criticizing Daniels, and

saying he would agree with Lieber 's analysis of Daniels'

competence. 28 In May 1941 the ILU sought the professional

opinion of nationally-known artist Lee Lawrie, who reviewed

Daniels' proposals and some samples of his work, and informed

the ILU Daniels was quite able to tackle the project. 29

Still, the ILU delayed hiring a sculptor. Bishop's final

report on the memorial states a lack of available funds and

the unwillingness of any single person to accept

69
responsibility for such an important decision as the probable

causes for the added delay.

As time passed, the delay in hiring a sculptor became more and more uncomfortable. Although funding was still not available, by the spring of 1941 the building was growing

daily, and several ILU members feared that if the sculpture

was not begun soon, that aspect of the memorial might be delayed indefinitely. They worried the sculpture might be

finished by someone at a later date who was not sympathetic

to the ILU's fifteen-year plans for the memorial, or, worse

yet, perhaps it would never be finished.

About this time, Frank N. Wallace replaced Virgil

Simmons as acting commissioner of State Parks. Wallace was deeply concerned that the failure to begin work on the

sculpture would result in an unfinished memorial. Wallace

enlisted Governor Henry F. Schricker's aid, and the governor

called for a review of the Department of Conservation's

1940-41 budget. In light of other Conservation projects

postponed because of low funding levels, the governor agreed

to commit $30,000 acquired from park fees to pay for the

sculpture. On the ILU's recommendation, the Department of

Conservation hired Elmer H. Daniels as project sculptor at a salary of $12,000 per year for two years. 30 The Department

70
also purchased a $5000 life insurance policy on Daniels from

Lincoln National Life Insurance Company at a cost of $46.45

per year. 31 At Holcomb's request, the Department of

Conservation also hired Lee Lawrie as a consultant. 32

Daniels set up a studio in Jasper, Indiana, in September

1941. His first step in designing the panels was the

preparation of detailed pencil sketches. The terms of his

contract required that Daniels' work receive frequent review

by a committee composed of Governor Schricker, consultant Lee Lawrie, and several representatives of the Department of

Conservation and the Indiana Lincoln Union. Lieber obtained

permission from National Park Service Director Newton Drury

to submit samples of Daniels' work to Ned Burns, Chief of the

Service's Museum Division, for comment. At Lawrie 's suggestion, Daniels prepared "definitive sketches" —actually

sixteen by twenty-seven-inch clay models (see Figure 3-5) —of

each panel. The sculpture committee discussed these clay

models until they reached agreement on the final appearance

of the panels. Then Daniels prepared half-scale clay models

of each panel, from which plaster casts were made. The

Department of Conservation hired stone carvers to work from

the plaster casts; the Department of Conservation subtracted

their $65 per week salaries from Daniels' contract. The

committee approved the half-scale models in May 1941, and the

71
Figure 3-5. Sculptor Elmer H. Daniels posing with his clay

model of the Kentucky panel, 1941. Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial, photograph files, negative no. 4, photographer unknown.

72
ten-ton, eight-foot tall by thirteen and one-half-foot wide

Indiana limestone panels were completed one year later. 33

The committee exercised great care in ensuring the

details in the panels were appropriate. For example, they

researched carefully and consulted a variety of sources before selecting types of foliage used in the panels. 34

Daniels apparently became frustrated with the committee's

watchfulness over minute details which delayed installment

payments on his contract. To the Department of

Conservation's embarrassment, the artist expressed his

frustration to members of the press in January 1942. The

following day, Daniels received orders to conduct no further

interviews without prior permission from the Department. 35

Richard Bishop decided early in the design process that

the spaces above the panels and cloister entryways must not

compete for attention against the sculptured panels. To achieve this goal, and in keeping with his desire to design a simple but elegant memorial structure, he determined that

carved quotations, excerpted from Lincoln's addresses, were

suitable for this portion of the cloister. Certainly there

was a wealth of Lincoln sayings from which to choose. The

problem, Bishop discovered, was the selection of nine sayings

of approximately equal length to fit in the space available.

73
Figure 3-6. E. H. Daniels selecting limestone panels at the

quarry near Bedford, Indiana. Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial, photograph files, negative no. 43,

photographer unknown.

74
Assisted by Indiana State Library Chief Cataloguer Nellie

Coats, Bishop compiled a list of potential quotations, all

expressing Lincoln's fundamental belief in democratic

principles and morality. Colonel Lieber sent copies of the

list to Dr. Louis Warren of the Lincoln National Life

Foundation and Paul Angle of the Illinois State Library.

After a second consultation with Warren and Angle, the ILU

selected nine quotations. Bishop then prepared full scale

drawings of the quotations which Sare Hoadley used in carving

the stone. 3 *5

Some time later, the National Park Service prepared

sheets explaining the panels and summarizing the

inscriptions. That information is repeated below:

KENTUCKY PANEL; 180 9-1816. The Childhood Years of

Lincoln.

The Kentucky panel illustrates the years of

Lincoln's life spent on the Sinking Spring and Knob

Creek farms. On the far left dressed in the style

of the frontier is Jesse LaFollette, grandfather of

Wisconsin Senator Robert M. LaFollette and neighbor

of the Lincolns at Knob Creek. Beside him stands

Thomas Lincoln, father of the President. Seated is Dr. Christopher Columbus Graham, doctor, scientist,

and visitor at the Lincoln home. His stories

fascinated Abe, who is pictured here at the age of seven. Behind the boy is his mother, Nancy Hanks

Lincoln. Sarah, his only sister, stands at the

churn. On the far right is Caleb Hazel, Lincoln's

second schoolteacher.

75
INDIANA PANEL: 1816-183 0. The Boyhood Days of

Lincoln

.

This panel depicts Lincoln as a youth, but fully

grown and capable of doing a man's job. At the

extreme left is James Gentry, wealthy farmer and

merchant. Abe was a frequent visitor in his home.

Next to him is Josiah Crawford. Lincoln worked for

him three days to pay for a book he borrowed which

was damaged by rain. Behind Abe, "The

Railsplitter ," holding a hewn log are Aaron

Grigsby, husband of Lincoln's sister, and Dennis

Hanks, his mother's cousin. To the right is James

Gentry's son, Allen, who was Lincoln's companion on

a trip down the Mississippi River to New. Orleans.

Beside him is Thomas Lincoln's second wife, Sarah

Bush Lincoln.

ILLINOIS PANEL: 183 0-1861. The Years of Political

Ascendancy.

Here Lincoln is shown receiving congratulations

from his friends and associates on his election to the United States House of Representatives in 1846.

John Stuart, his first law partner, is on. the left.

Next is Stephen T. Logan, a later law partner.

Grasping Lincoln's hand is his close friend, Joshua

Speed, the merchant. Between Lincoln and Speed is

William Herndon. To the right and behind the

beardless Lincoln sits editor Simon Francis. The woman behind him is Mary Todd Lincoln, and the last

figure is Lincoln's friend, Orville H. Browning,

who served as United States Senator and in the

cabinet of Andrew Johnson as Secretary of the

Interior

.

WASHINGTON PANEL: 1861-1865. The Years of

Command

.

In the Washington panel the sculptor has chosen

Lincoln's career as Civil War President for his

subject. The President is pictured with General

Ulysses S. Grant at Grant's headquarters in

Petersburg, Virginia, near the close of the war.

The other figures are soldiers symbolic of the many

brave men who made victory possible.

76
:

Figure 3-7. The Indiana panel, memorial building.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, photograph

files, negative no. 1, photographer and date

unknown

.

77
CENTRAL PANEL: "And Now He Belongs to the Ages."

These historic words of the President's Secretary

of War, Edwin M. Stanton, are a reminder of the

heritage left to the men and women of all time to come. The figures in the panel represent some of

the people to whom Lincoln will forever belong —the

farmer, the laborer, the family, the freedman. At

the right of Lincoln stands Cleo, Muse of History,

holding a scroll on which the deeds of the

Emancipator are recorded. Beside her is Columbia

offering the wreath of laurel, tribute of a nation

to its leader. In the background a cabin and the

White House serve as symbols of American

opportunity.

[The inscriptions:]

No. 1. A SUPREME BEING

And having thus chosen our course, without guile,

and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in

God.

Message to Congress, July 4, 1861.

No. 2. PEACE

To do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and

lasting peace among ourselves, and with all

nations.

Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.

No. 3. LABOR

Labor is the great source from which nearly all, if

not all, human comforts and necessities are drawn.

Cincinnati Address, September 17, 1859.

No. 4. LIBERTY

Surely each man has as strong a motive now, to preserve our liberties, as each had then, to establish them.

Message to Congress, July 4, 1861.

78
No. 5. DEMOCRACY

And that government of the people, by the people,

and for the people, shall not perish from the

earth

.

Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863.

No. 6. FRIENDSHIP

We must not be enemies. Though passion may have

strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861.

No. 7. LAW AND ORDER

It will then have been proved that among free men

there can be no successful appeal from the ballot

to the bullet.

Letter to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863.

No. 8. RIGHT AND DUTY

Have faith that right makes might, and in that

faith, let us to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.

Cooper Institute Address, February 27, 1860.

No. 9. THE UNION

I hold that, in comtemplation of universal law and

of the Constitution, the Union of these States is

perpetual.

First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861. 37

Plans for the landscaping of the area south of the

plaza, including some modifications to the allee and plaza, were accomplished almost simultaneously with the preparation

of designs for the memorial building. The Department of

Conservation assigned landscape architect Edson L. Nott to

79
the task of preparing this second phase of landscape design

for the park. Study of the Nott drawings is somewhat

disconcerting, because an analysis of historic photographs

and existing conditions verifies only one certainty: no single Nott design (or at least no design uncovered during

the course of this research) was fully implemented. Rather,

it seems the State of Indiana never selected a single Nott

plan for the entire area south of the plaza. Nott proposed a circular walk to surround the flagstaff, which was to be

relocated to the hill at the top of the allee; the flagstaff

was moved in 1944 (see Figure 3-8),* but the circular walk

never was constructed. Nott's designs resulted in the

removal of the red cedar excedra, taken out to prepare the area south of the plaza for the court and building; and

removal of four large oaks from the plaza, which were cleared

to provide an unobstructed view of the building from the

allee and plaza. The Department of Conservation moved the

stone benches from the cabin site memorial to the corners of

the plaza. 38 j n accordance with Nott's designs, some of the

sugar maples Johnston placed south of the plaza were removed

to create an open grassy area behind the cloister, but the

*The flagstaff was moved up the allee on sets of wheeled

axles, as shown in this sketch. Owen Taylor to Don Adams,

1985.
Figure 3-8. The flagstaff and allee, 1973. Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial, photograph files, negative

no. 2, photographed by Richard Frear

.

81
remaining trees were Johnston's sugar maples, not the even mix of sugar and red maples Nott proposed. The southern

plaza diagonal walls were cut as Nott showed, but existing

conditions demonstrate that two hawthorns remained on either

side of the cuts, not one on each side as Nott designed.

In the memorial court, Nott's detail planting plan was more carefully followed. The state planted the central oval

with grass, and the beds near the cloister with periwinkle.

Euonymous flanked the doors of the Nancy Hanks and Abraham

Lincoln halls. Historic photographs and the memory of

retired maintenance worker Elmer Stein indicate the area immediately in front of the memorial building was once lushly

planted, probably in accordance with Nott's detail.-^ 9

By 1943, the end of construction was in sight. Daniels

and his stone carvers completed their work on the panels.

The building was nearly finished, as was the landscaping.

When the Department of Conservation began construction of the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial's final phase in 1940, they

planned to dedicate the memorial building as soon as it was completed. 40 On January 24, 1944, however, Department of

Conservation Director Hugh Barnhart issued a press release

announcing the dedication would be postponed until after the

end of the Second World War. 41 There is, however, no record

that a dedication ceremony ever took place.

82
CHAPTER 3 NOTES

1. See Jill M. York, Friendly Trees, Hallowed Ground: An Expression of Sentiment and Reason (Omaha: National Park

Service, Midwest Regional Office, 1984), 19-20.

2. Paul Brown to Thomas Hibben, September 10, 192 7, State

Parks-State Memorials Files, Indiana State Archives.

3. Paul Brown to Thomas Hibben, February 1, 1930, State

Parks-State Memorials Files.

4. Indianapolis Star , n.d. [circa 1937.]

5. J. I. Holcomb to Richard Lieber , January 29, 1939, Park

files, Memorial Visitor Center, Planning in 1930s and 1940s.

6. Richard Lieber to Frederick Law Olmstead, June 13, 1938.

Park files, Memorial Visitor Center, Planning in 1930s and

194 0s.

7. Ibid.

8. J. I. Holcomb to Richard Lieber, May 23, 193 9. Lieber/ILU Papers, Indiana.

9. [Richard E. Bishop,] "Architect's Report to the Indiana

Lincoln Union, Executive Committee" (Indianapolis, Indiana

Lincoln Union, January 21, 1941, Typescript) , 1-2.

10. Ibid., 2. 11. Richard Lieber to Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., July 26,

1938, Park files, Memorial Visitor Center, Planning in 1930s

and 1940s.

12. "Architect's Report", 2-3.

13. Richard E. Bishop to Richard Lieber, December 14, 1939.

Lieber/ILU Papers.

14. Paul Brown to Richard Lieber and J. I. Holcomb,

December 15, 193 9. Lieber/ILU Papers.

15. "Architect's Report," 3. 16. Richard Lieber to Thomas J. Allen, Jr., January 16,

1940. Park files, Memorial Visitor Center, Planning in 1930s

and 194 0s.

83
17. Thomas J. Allen, Jr., to Richard Lieber , January 22,

1940. Park files, Memorial Visitor Center, Planning in 1930s

and 194 0s. 18. "Architect's Report," 3. 19. Ibid., 5. 20. Ibid., 6-7.

21. Ibid., 7-8.

22. Richard E. Bishop to Richard Lieber, August 20, 1947,

Lieber/ILU Papers; Clippings files, Indiana Biography,

Abraham Lincoln, 1930-1939, Indiana State Library; and

[Bishop,] handwritten note, n.d., Lieber/ILU Papers.

23. Handwritten note, Lieber/ILU Papers; "Minutes of Joint

Committee Meeting, Indiana Lincoln Union and Indiana

Department of Public Works, November 16, 1940, Park files,

Memorial Visitor Center, Planning in 1930s and 1940s;

Richard E. Bishop to Richard Lieber, March 5, 1941; and

Bishop, The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial (Indianapolis,

Indiana Lincoln Union, 1944).

24. [Paul V. Brown,] "Secretary's Report" (Indiana Lincoln

Union, Indianapolis, January 5, 1942, Typescript), Park

files, Memorial Building Visitor Center Sculptured Panels,

Panel and Bust Sculpting.

25. Ibid.; and Bishop, The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial , 54. 26. J. I. Holcomb to Richard Lieber, October 29, 1938,

Lieber/ILU Papers.

27. Richard Lieber to J. I. Holcomb, January 5, 1939,

Lieber/ILU Papers.

28. J. I. Holcomb to Richard Lieber, January 3, 1959,

Lieber/ILU Papers.

29. "Secretary's Report; and Bishop, The Nancy Hanks Lincoln

Memorial , 54-55.

30. Employment agreement, Department of Conservation,

August 4, 1941, Park files, Memorial Building Visitor Center,

Sculptured Panels, Panel and Bust Sculpting. Records of

payments show Daniels ultimately received $25,000 for

84
the project. See Park files, Memorial Building Visitor

Center, Sculptured Panels, Panel and Bust Sculpting.

31. Invoice/Voucher, State of Indiana, February 16, 1942.

Park files, Memorial Building Visitor Center, Sculptured

Panels, Panel and Bust Sculpting.

32. "Secretary's Report;" and Bishop, The Nancy Hanks

Lincoln Memorial , 57. 33. Bishop, The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial , 57; and E. H. Daniels to Hugh Barnhart, January 14, 1943; and Hugh Barnhart

to E. H. Daniels, Memorial Building Visitor Center,

Sculptured Panels, Panel and Bust Sculpting.

34. Bishop, The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial , 55-59.

35. Richard E. Bishop, "Minutes of the Sculpture Committee"

(Indiana Lincoln Union, Indianapolis, January 7, 1942,

Typescript); and Hugh Barnhart to E. H. Daniels, January 8, 1942, Park files, Memorial Building Visitor Center,

Sculptured Panels.

36. Bishop, The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial , 31-39.

37. U. S. Department of Interior, National Park Service,

"The Sculptured Panels of the Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial" (n.p., n.d., Flier).

38. Richard E. Bishop to Milton Matter, March 13, 1946, Park

files, Memorial Building Visitor Center, State Maintenance of

Memorial.

39. See York, Friendly Trees, Hallowed Ground for a full

discussion of the Nott plantings.

40. Indianapolis Star , February 12, 1942, Clippings files,

Indiana Biography, Abraham Lincoln, 1940-1949, Indiana State

Library

.

41. Hugh Barnhart, press release, January 24, 1944,

Clippings files, Indiana Biography, Nancy Hanks Lincoln,

Indiana State Library.

85

CHAPTER 4 State Management of the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial

The Department of Conservation's management of the Nancy

Hanks Lincoln Memorial was fairly simple. The memorial was managed by a custodian who reported to the superintendent of

Lincoln State Park.* Architect Richard E. Bishop and

Robert D. Starrett, Supervisor of Memorials and Museum

Curator for the Department of Conservation, summarized the

custodian's duties in a one-page note:

DUTIES

1. Day-to-day janitor work.

2. Cleanup courtyard and cloister.

3. Polishing brass.

4. Keep rest rooms clean.

5. Scrubbing limestone floors in lobbies (2 - chapel & hall) .6. Guide service for public.

7. Sell: Bird Books 10c Turn money & Tree Books 20c record over to Memorial Booklet 25c Superintendent

Post Cards 5c each each week during

Photo Packet 25c summer. Map $1.00

8. Cut grass - Courtyard & in front of memorial.

*The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, consisting of the

memorial building, the formally landscaped areas, the cabin site

memorial, and the land between the cabin site and the allee, was managed as a subunit of the Lincoln State Park.

86
9. Look after shrubbery as directed by landscape men from

central office. Keep limbs and trash out of graveyard

10. Keep personal appearance good. Uniform is required.

11. Ask Kennedy questions and write down information which

you could use later

.

12. Call on Superintendent for assistance.

13. Work Sunday but you get a day off during week in lieu

of Sunday. Select day to suit you and Supt . 2 weeks

vacation with pay during year. Advise this office a month in advance. Work it out with Supt. Vacation

must be taken in calendar year.

VACATION LEAVE IS NOT ACCUMULATIVE. [sic] 1

Bishop transmitted these directions with some maintenance instructions he had prepared to guide the care of

the memorial structure. The guideline addressed care of the

building's floor, the various floor surfaces, woodwork, brass

and aluminum elements, and other building elements. It also

provided instructions for the maintenance of the plumbing and

heating systems. 2 A copy of Bishop's maintenance guide is

contained in Appendix B.

Grounds maintenance consisted simply of mowing the lawn

around the building, allee, and cemetery about once every two

weeks. In 1961, the park superintendent instructed the

memorial maintenance man to remove the scattered footstones

in the small cemetery because they interfered with the

87
mowers. 3 Whether from lack of direction regarding care of

plant materials or from lack of time and staff to control the

trees and shrubs, by the late 1950s the vegetation in front

of the memorial building obscured the main facade of the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln halls.

While funds for maintenance activities were never abundant and the park had to make do with its limited staff,

the Department of Conservation accomplished at least one project under contract: the painting of flagstaffs.

Tri-State Structural Painting Company of Evansville, Indiana,

painted all of the state's flagstaffs in 1953 for a total of

$119.70, $70 of which was for materials (probably paint and new ropes). 4 In 1955, contractor K. L. Bains agreed to paint

all the Indiana park flagstaffs "for the sum of [$]15. 00 Apiece Except the one at Lincoln State Park at Lincoln,

Indiana, and that one will be ($45.00) as it is to far away

and it's about 125 ft. high [sic]." 5

Shortly thereafter, Starrett issued a note to Department

of Conservation files specifying the use of nylon flags

measuring 12- by 18-feet or larger at the Nancy Hanks Lincoln

Memorial; he hoped these would whip less in the wind, and

thus last longer. Shortly thereafter, Ken R. Cougill,

Director of State Parks, notified Bob Starrett that the large

88
flag at the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial was disheveled, and

wondered if they should "ask N. P. S. to replace?"**

(Apparently they frequently made such small requests of the

National Park Service.) Several months later, Starrett noted

that the National Park Service had sent eight wool flags, and

asked Lincoln State Park Superintendent Horace Weber and

laborer Elmer Stein to let him know in a year if the wool

flags wore better than the nylon.

?

Although development ceased, for the most part, when the

building was completed in 1944, a few changes in furnishings

occurred in the decade that followed. In 194 5 the park

placed Clifton Wheeler's painting of the Ohio River above the

fireplace in the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Hall; the Indiana

Lincoln Union had commissioned the painting for that

purpose. 8 This quiet action gave little indication of the

controversy which preceded the ILU's decision to hire

Wheeler

.

Frank Ball, whose donation of $32, 000-worth of land

"kicked off" the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial's land

acquisition program in 1928, wanted a memorial to his

donation placed in the park. ILU President J. I. Holcomb had

promised to recognize generous contributions, and Ball hoped

to commission a painting of himself presenting the deed for

89
the donated land to Governor Leslie. Ball wanted the

painting placed above the fireplace in the Nancy Hanks

Lincoln Hall. Holcomb believed his photographic and press

coverage of the event had adequately recognized the Ball

Brothers' contribution. 9 In a letter to Ball, Holcomb

responded:

What we are undertaking at Lincoln City is to

be a monument to Abraham Lincoln and his mother.

It is not going to be a monument to any other

individual, be it architect, sculptor, Governor, or donor. . . . 10

In November 1942, Frances F. Brown, Vice President of

the Muncie Art Association, contacted Colonel Lieber to inform him that her organization wanted to donate a mural or painting of Ball presenting the deed to Leslie. Mrs. Brown's

letter indicated an artist, Hill Sharp, had already been

selected for the job. Bishop and Lieber objected vehemently,

and Holcomb concurred. (Sculptor Elmer Daniels supported the

idea, and was severely reprimanded for speaking out in

contradiction to the "official" opinion of the Indiana

Lincoln Union.) On December 30, 1942, Colonel Lieber

informed Mrs. Brown of the Indiana Lincoln Union's decision

to reject her association's offer. A week later, Ball

contacted Lieber, informed him of his disappointment in the

ILU's decision, and requested a meeting with the colonel. A series of letters between the two followed, in which each

90
politely argued his position. At one point, Lieber suggested

the installation of a drinking fountain, with a plaque

dedicating it in thanks to all those who generously donated

to the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial. Lieber subsequently

dropped this idea. Apparently Lieber never met with Ball to discuss the issue.

H

Another addition to the furnishings was the. acquisition

of an organ for the Abraham Lincoln Hall in 1956. This

purchase may have been precipitated by a Mrs. Warner's offer

to sell her Hammond electric organ, valued at $600, for

one-tenth that amount. After careful consideration, the ILU

decided to reject Mrs. Warner's offer because the organ was

too large for the small hall; it was rather old (built in

1937) ; it required at least $100 in repairs; and it was not

as easy to play as a spinet model. In sum, the ILU felt it was not a good buy. 12

In the ensuing years, however, they researched various

types and brands of organs, and in 1955, they purchased a Hammond church model organ for $22 93. The organ was installed on January 27, 1956, and was dedicated in the

Lincoln Day ceremony on February 12th. The organ was graced

with a plaque stating:

91
This Organ is a Gift from the Indiana Lincoln

Union, who, together with the Conservation

Department of the State of Indiana, developed and

built the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Sanctuary as a permanent Memorial to Abraham Lincoln and his

Mother. 13

In a handwritten note to Ken Cougill, Bob Starrett

inquired as to who would be allowed to take the free lessons

which came with the organ purchase; the answer is not

recorded. Starrett' s note directed that the organ be made

available to qualified organists on a "by request" basis, and

that students be allowed to use the organ to practice,

provided they had a note from their instructors, and the

superintendent's permission. 14

In spite of a February 1952 article featuring "Lincoln

Land" in National Geographic , 15 life at the Nancy Hanks

Lincoln Memorial remained relatively serene. Use of the

Abraham Lincoln hall for formal ceremonies, and use of the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln hall for group meetings were the primary

functions of the memorial building during the two decades the

state managed it. The only recorded attempt at regular

interpretation of the Lincolns' life in Indiana occurred in

1959, when the Indiana Lincoln Foundation employed Mrs.

Thalia S. Woods, president of the Lincoln Club of Southern

Indiana, to present lectures in the Abraham Lincoln hall.

For an indefinite period, Mrs. Woods gave four fifteen-minute

92
lectures each Monday through Friday between 10:00 a.m. and

5:00 p.m. The State also provided her with office space

within the building, where she could study and prepare her

talks. 16 Mrs. Woods' lectures were apparently the first

regular interpretive program at the Nancy Hanks Lincoln

Memorial.

Visitor use of the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial was, then, generally limited to quiet walks, reflection, and

occasional use of the building for meetings or assemblies.

There were Lincoln Day activities, usually held in the

Abraham Lincoln hall, every year around the twelfth of

February, and various historical societies sponsored services

at Nancy Hanks Lincoln's gravesite, usually around Mother's

Day. More active recreation was pursued in the state park,

where fishing, camping, hiking, and other pursuits were common throughout the visitor season. On at least one occasion, however, Lincoln State Park sponsored an activity

so large that its overflow onto the usually solemn memorial

grounds was inevitable.

In mid-May, 1959, the Spencer County Sesquicentennial

Commission, the Indiana Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission,

and the Indiana Lincoln Foundation sponsored a statewide Boy

Scout camporall as part of the state's 150th anniversary

93
Figure 4-1. Four thousand boy scouts on the allee during the

Boy Scout camporall, May 16, 195 9. Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial, photograph files, negative no. 151,

photographer unknown.

94
celebration. In spite of rainy weather, daytime attendance

swelled to more than fifty thousand. The two-day event began

on Saturday, May 16, with camper registration scheduled from

8:0Q a.m. until noon. At 1:30 p.m., visitors joined or watched the Rockport-Lincoln parade, which ended at the

Lincoln Pioneer Village, a collection of Lincoln cabin

replicas in Rockport, Indiana. Governor Harold W. Handley

gave an address at the Pioneer Village at 2:20 p.m., and

"distinguished guests" stayed in Rockport for a banquet at 6:00 p.m., while the campers and others returned to Lincoln

State Park. The day's events culminated in a campfire

program for the scouts and other guests; the program, held on

the shore of Lake Lincoln, featured a pageant on the life of

the Lincolns in Indiana as well as more traditional campfire

entertainment.

Sunday's activities began with nondenominational church

services at 9:30 a.m. The "city" of tents was opened for

public inspection, allowing visitors to see how well the

campers arranged their sites and to watch them prepare their

breakfasts. At 11:30 a.m. sponsors invited some of the

guests to a banquet at Santa Claus, Indiana. Two hours

later, a parade of floats and marching groups traveled from

east of Lincoln State Park to a reviewing stand in front of

the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial. Following the parade,

95
various speakers addressed the gathering. Thereafter, the

camporall disbanded. 17

The sesquicentennial stimulated proposals for changes to

the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial. One result was the

placement of stone markers at the four corners of the eighty

acres Thomas Lincoln owned when he left Indiana in 1830. lf* The state moved an old thirty-foot square auditorium,

composed of steel posts on concrete pillars with benches and

a roof, once located about forty feet west of the flagstaff

(post-1944 position) , to the other side of State Highway 162

sometime during the 1950s. 19

The biggest of the sesquicentennial proposals was the

Department of Conservation's plan to build a museum at the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial. The museum would fill a need

for exhibit space and would include a library and research

room. The Department of Conservation had considered adapting

the Nancy Hanks Lincoln hall for this purpose in 1957; that

proposal would have placed forty-eight-inch wide cabinets

around the perimeter of the room and three table cases in the

center. The department scrapped the idea of altering the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln hall, however, for lack of the $5000

needed to purchase the cases. 20

96
Those who made the decision not to adapt the existing

room in 1957 were certainly cognizant that a strong

opportunity existed to push for a museum addition as a sesquicentennial project two years later. Indeed,

sesquicentennial project planning was already underway

throughout the state when the adaptation concept was rejected. The Indiana Lincoln Foundation and the Department

of Conservation used the sesquicentennial "fever" to promote

the concept of a thirty-six-foot, six-inch by

seventy-eight-foot, six-inch structure to be centered on the

south side of the cloister. 2 ^ (See Figure 4-1.)

The Foundation prepared preliminary sketches of the

proposed museum, which they initially hoped could be constructed for $150,000. The Indiana Lincoln Foundation

hired architect Edward D. Pierre of Indianapolis to design

the museum addition. By that time the estimated cost had

risen to more than one-half million dollars. 22 State Auditor

Roy T. Combs hoped the project could be funded via

schoolchildren' s contributions, and issued an open memo "To

the Educational Leaders of the State of Indiana" soliciting

educators' help in raising funds for the project. 23 The

state approved a permit for the project on March 24, 1959;

the Conservation Department hoped work could begin later the same year

.

24

97
L i n Co

ft) Q, exuL<r

Lincoln, Fund

Solicitations Are Approved

Solicitation of $1 bills from

Ind.ana's 985.000 school chil- dren for use in construction

of a Lincoln ' Memorial was

approved yesterday by the State Board of Education. The plan was advanced by Roy T. Combs, chairman of

the. Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission and Indiana Lin- coln Foundation, and William

E. Wilson, state superintendent of public instruction. Starting next fall, pupils In public, parochial and private schools will be asked to earn

$1 each to be contributed to- ward the memorial at Lincoln

City i n Spencer County. F°r lower cost results rely on STAR and NEWS Quick-Action

| WANT ADS—MElrose 8-2411

fie fcrrr^ti-c^ in

Figure 4-1. Handwritten note from Robert D. Starrett (RDS) to Ken Cougill (KRC) concerning the proposed museum

addition. Starrett suggested the building "be attached

to the cloister for control and maint [enance ] reasons."

Park files, Park Proposals: Proposal to Build a Museum

onto the Memorial Building, 1959, Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

98
It did not. For reasons not explained in the Department

of Conservation's records, the project which seemed so certain in March of 1959 was abandoned less than three months

later. Apparently some of the parties involved in the

project were equally confused; on June 11, 1959, Department

of Conservation Engineer Henry Prange wrote Bob Starrett

asking, "What is to be done about this project????????" 25

The following day, Starrett wrote Ken Cougill, recommending

that the project be abandoned "in view of the silence

'received* from some quarters." 26

In fact, the handwriting was on the wall weeks before

the state's March 24 approval of the addition's building

permit. On February 11, 1959, United States Senator Vance

Hartke (a Democrat from Evansville, Indiana, who began his

first term on January 3, 1959) announced his plans to introduce a bill the following day requiring the Secretary of

the Interior to investigate and report to Congress concerning

the feasibility of establishing a national monument at Lincoln City. Stating that "the Indiana monument is not an adequate tribute to the Great Emancipator [,] " Hartke

introduced S. 1024 on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, as promised, then announced the action at a sesquicentennial

celebration. 27 Two weeks later, the Indianapolis Star

reported Vice President Richard Nixon and House Speaker Sam

99
Rayburn had been invited to speak at Lincoln State Park, 2 ** but neither came. On the very day the state approved the

building permit for the proposed museum addition, the

Evansville Courier ran an editorial favoring national

recognition for the Lincoln park. The Courier editorial

heralded a flurry of similar articles statewide promoting the

concept of national park status for their Lincoln memorial.

The editorials cited the appropriateness of national

recognition and forecast benefits to state tourism as the reasons all Indianans should support the cause. 29

If Department of Conservation Engineer Henry Prange and

others were surprised by the decision not to spend additional

state funds developing Lincoln State Park and its subunit,

the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, they should not have been.

Bob Starrett knew the future of state management of the

memorial was in question. Starrett' s vague reference to others in state government indicates that those in power were prepared to wait and see what results Hartke's study would

produce

.

100
CHAPTER 4 NOTES

1. Intra-Departmental Memorandum, Richard E. Bishop to A. V. Bailey, November 11, 1942, Park files, Memorial Building

Visitor Center, State Maintenance of Memorial.

2. Ibid.

3. 0. V. Brown Collection, Indiana State Library, Indiana

Division, Manuscripts Division, Indianapolis. Some of the

footstones are now in the Lincoln Boyhood museum collection.

They will be returned to the cemetery.

4. Invoice, Tri-State Structural Painting Co. to Indiana

State Parks, Land and Waters, January 19, 1953, Park files,

Grounds, Flagstaff.

5. K. L. Bain to Indiana State Parks, July 2, 1953, Park

files, Grounds, Flagstaff.

6. Robert D. Starrett to files, April 17, 1957; and

handwritten note, K. R. Cougill to R. D. Starrett, October 1, 1961; Park files, Grounds, Exhibit Shelter.

7. Robert D. Starrett to files, September 7, 1962; and K. R. Cougill to Horace Weber and Elmer Stien [sic], October 10,

1962, Park files, Grounds, Flagstaff.

8. Richard E. Bishop to Milton Matter, March 13, 1946, Park

files, Memorial Building Visitor Center, State Maintenance of

Memorial.

9. J. I. Holcomb to K. R. Cougill, February 9, 1956, Park

files, Park Proposals: Proposal to Build a Memorial Drinking

Fountain, 1956.

10. J. I. Holcomb to Frank C. Ball, January 24, 1940, Park

files, Memorial Visitor Center, Planning in 1930s and 1940s.

11. Richard E. Bishop to Richard Lieber , November 24, 1945;

Richard Lieber to Virgil Simmons, November 15, 1942; E. H. Daniels to Richard Lieber, November 15, 1942; Richard Lieber

to E. H. Daniels, November 17, 1942; Richard Lieber to Frances Brown, December 30, 1942; and Frank C. Ball to Richard Lieber, January 7, 1943;, all in Lieber/ILU Papers;

Richard E. Bishop to Richard Lieber, November 24, 1942, Park

files, Memorial Building Visitor Center, State Maintenance of

Memorial; and J. I. Holcomb to K. R. Cougill, January 18,

101
1956, Park files, Memorial Building Visitor Center, Abraham

Lincoln Hall Organ.

12. Handwritten note, J. I. Holcomb, June 14, 1951; K. R. Cougill to J. I. Holcomb, July 12, 1951; and handwritten note

R. D. Starrett to K. R. Cougill, n .d . , all in Park files,

Memorial Building Visitor Center, Abraham Lincoln Hall Organ.

13. Handwritten note, R. D. Starrett, n .d . ; and copy of

Hammond Catalog and order form, in Park files, Memorial

Building Visitor Center, Abraham Lincoln Hall Organ.

14. Handwritten note, R. D. Starrett to K. R. Cougill,

January 21, 1956, Park files, Memorial Building Visitor

Center, Abraham Lincoln Hall Organ.

15. National Geographic CI No. 2 (February 1952)

.

16. K. R. Cougill to Eugene Ayer , August 5, 1959, Park

files, Lincoln Related Organizations: Lincoln Club of

Southern Indiana.

17. Preliminary program, Lincoln Memorial Program, n.d.,

Park files, Special Events, Lincoln Sesquicentennial

.

18. K. R. Cougill to Henry Prange , November 4, 1957, Park

files, Grounds, 1959 Marking of Lincoln Farm Corners. The

action was proposed in 1957, but not accomplished until 1959.

19. John Varner, interview by John Santosuosso, June 18,

1970, Park files, Oral History Interviews.

20. E. K. Marlin to Roy T. Combs, August 29, 1957; and K. R. Cougill to Roy T. Combs, November 4, 1957; Park files, Park

Proposals: Proposal to Build a Museum onto the Memorial

Building

.

21. Handwritten note, R. D. Starrett, May 11, 1959; and

Henry C. Prange to Colonel Marlin, November 21, 195 7, Park

files, Park Proposals: Proposal to Build a Museum onto the

Memorial Building.

22. Indianapolis Star , August 7, 1958, Clippings files,

Indiana Biography, Abraham Lincoln, 1950-1959, Indiana State

Library

.

23. See [Roy T. Combs], "Open Memo to the Educational

Leaders of the State of Indiana," (Indiana Lincoln

Foundation, Indianapolis, n.d., Typescript), and Indianapolis

102
Star , May 9, 1959, Park files, Park Proposals: Proposal to Build a Museum onto the Memorial Building.

24. Interdepartmental Memo, Henry C. Prange to R. D. Starrett, June 11, 1959, Park files, Park Proposals:

Proposal to Build a Parking Area by the Cabin Site.

25. Ibid.

26. Handwritten note, R. D. Starrett to K. R. Cougill,

June 2, 1959, Park files, Park Proposals: Proposal to Build

a Museum onto the Memorial Building.

27. Indianapolis Times , February 11, 1959, Goshen, Indiana,

News-Democrat , February 12, 1959; and Evansville Press , February 29, 1959, all in Indiana Lincoln Foundation

Scrapbooks, Indiana State Library.

28. Indianapolis Star , February 28, 1959, Indiana Lincoln

Foundation Scrapbooks, Indiana State Library.

29. Evansville Courier , March 24, 1959; and Tell City News , March 27, 1959, Indiana Lincoln Foundation Scrapbooks,

Indiana State Library.

103
CHAPTER 5 The Establishment of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Senator Vance Hartke's Lincoln day bill (S. 1024)

providing for a new area study to determine whether Lincoln

State Park and the Nancy Hanks Lincoln State Memorial were nationally significant and thereby suitable for inclusion in

the National Park System became law on April 22, 1959. The

National Park Service (NPS) assigned Charles Shedd, Jr.,

Historic Sites Historian for the Service's Region Five

headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to do the study

as part of the nationwide Historic Sites Survey.

Shedd's study contained a critical analysis of the site,

a historical narrative about the Thomas Lincoln farm, several

maps and photographs, and other data. 1 Shedd expressed his concerns that the locations of both the gravesite and the

cabinsite were based on "human memory which, although in

accordance with probability, cannot be considered as final

and conclusive proof." 2 Although Shedd's report contained no specific recommendation concerning the park's addition to the

National Park System, it observed that the state managed the area well (" . . . and there is every reason to believe that

present high standards will be maintained" 3 ); that most

visitors were from southern Indiana; and that there were

104
already more units in the National Park System associated

with Abraham Lincoln than with any other individual.

Although Shedd's study failed to specifically recommend

against the inclusion of all or part of Lincoln State Park to the System, it certainly did not promote the addition.

Local entrepreneur William Koch, however, did promote

the concept; in fact, it was his idea. Koch's father had

built an amusement park centered around a Christmas theme

only five miles from Lincoln State Park in the first quarter

of the twentieth century, and Bill Koch assumed management of

Santa Claus Land (now Holiday World) following his service in

the Second World War. Koch grew up in southern Indiana, and

had a sincere desire to preserve Lincoln history in the area. A competent and influential businessman, Koch also recognized

the potential boon to tourist trade in southern Indiana which

national park status would bring, and asked Eighth District*

Congressman Winfield K. Denton to introduce legislation

proposing the establishment of a National Park Service unit

at Lincoln City. 6

Indiana's Eighth District encompasses both Lincoln

State Park/Lincoln City and Santa Claus Land/Santa Claus.

105
Congressman Denton embraced the plan with enthusiasm.

He agreed with Koch's evaluation that national park status

would increase tourist traffic in southern Indiana, and was

eager to do what he could to improve his district's sagging

economy. What's more, Denton, a member of the House

Appropriations Committee, wanted some of the Department of

the Interior funds spent in his state. 7

In March 1960, Denton expressed his dissatisfaction with

the Shedd report to National Park Service Director Conrad

Wirth. Denton was successful in gaining Wirth's attention,

for the director met with Bill Koch in Lincoln City to discuss the advantages of NPS presence in the area later that

month. In May, two Service representatives from the

Philadelphia office visited Lincoln State Park, apparently to conduct a preliminary investigation of the site. The

following month, NPS Assistant Regional Director George A. Palmer* notified Indiana State Parks Director Ken Cougill

that he was sending Frank Barnes and Andrew Feil of the

Philadelphia office and Herbert Kahler from Washington to study the park further, and asked if someone could show them

around. One week later, Cougill informed park Superintendent

* Because George Palmer was from Indiana, he was the

regional office's "lead man" for matters concerning Lincoln

Boyhood and Indiana Dunes. George A. Palmer to author,

May 22, 1987.

106
Eugene Ayer of the impending visit and instructed him to assist the NPS personnel, as needed. 8

On September 8, I960, as a result of these studies

(which may well have been influenced by Denton's position on

the powerful Appropriations Committee) , Region Five Regional

Director Ronald Lee recommended to Director Wirth that a park

in southern Indiana be included in the System, but under the

Advance of the Frontier theme rather than the Civil War theme. (Shedd's study had analyzed Lincoln State Park in the

Civil War perspective.) 9 Having won Wirth' s support, Denton

introduced H.R. 2470 proposing the establishment of Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial on January 11, 1961. Denton's bill

proposed the transfer of the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial to the National Park Service.

About the same time, Senator Vance Hartke introduced

legislation to transfer the entire Lincoln State Park to Federal management. The State of Indiana supported Denton's

proposal, but wanted to keep the recreational portion of

the park under state control. Denton's bill received the

most attention in the press, including a series of editorials

in the Evansville Courier promoting the Federal park. Most

area residents, indeed, most Indianans, supported the

transfer of the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial. There were a

107
few exceptions; some employees of the Department of

Conservation felt the park was, and should continue to be

,

Indiana's tribute to her most noted resident. 10

One Conservation Department employee firmly opposed to

the transfer was Robert D. Starrett, Supervisor of Memorials.

In a handwritten note notifying Ken Cougill of the visit by

two unnamed Park Service employees in May I960, Starrett

exclaimed: "Someone keeps 'stirring this * pot'! I don't

imagine Indiana will surrender this memorial without a fight.

It's a lot of tommyrot! * [sic]" 11 * Starrett could not

have been more mistaken. Indiana Governor Harold Handley

favored the transfer of the memorial,** and apparently made

it clear he wanted no opposition to the proposal voiced. 12

There was no dearth of voices favoring Denton's bill.

State newspaper editorials resoundingly promoted the bill on

the basis of its presumed economic benefits and its

*Starrett's notes included printed asterisks, apparently

intended to replace expletives.

**While Governor Handley favored the transfer of the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial to Federal management, he was simultaneously fighting a proposed transfer of a portion of

Indiana Dunes State Park to the National Park Service.

Newspaper editorials from across the state referenced the

state's different attitudes concerning the two proposals.

For example, see the Bicknell [Indiana] News, 1 April 1960.

108
appropriateness in recognizing the significance of Lincoln's

Indiana boyhood. They pointed out the cost (one million

dollars), was small when spread over the several years it

would take to establish and develop the park. The Indiana

Lincoln Foundation's campaign to raise funds for an international education center they hoped to construct near Lincoln State Park also benefited the National Park

proposal.* Bill Koch and State Auditor Roy T. Combs

conducted a vigorous campaign for passage of Denton's bill;

their correspondence and personal visits with key people in

the state government and in Congress ensured steady progress

toward the bill's passage.

Although the Indiana Lincoln Foundation (ILF) claimed

credit for coordinating support for the Lincoln Boyhood bill,

their papers, housed in the Indiana State Library in

Indianapolis, demonstrate that their primary concern was the

education center, not the Lincoln Boyhood proposal. Indiana

Lincoln Union Scrapbooks, Indiana State Library, Indiana

Division, Indianapolis.

George Palmer of the National Park Service met with

representatives of the Indiana Lincoln Foundation and Indiana

State Parks on three occasions to discuss possible Foundation

involvement at the proposed memorial. At the first meeting,

the ILF offered to operate the memorial from a structure to

be located onsite. At the second meeting, the Service

informed the ILF of its intention to operate the memorial

itself, but offered to cooperate with the Foundation if they

located their headquarters in the Lincoln City area. At the

final meeting, the ILF acknowledged the poor prospects of

raising funds to -construct the education center/headquarters

building, and decided to drop the matter. This was the last

formal communication between the ILF and the National Park

Service. George A. Palmer to author, May 22, 1987.

109
In fact, the passage of Denton's bill was really never

in danger. The proposed Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

was noncontroversial. The handful of Indianans opposed to

the concept deferred to the governor's wishes. Koch's and

Combs' activities were effective in keeping the proposal in

the public eye and kept the proposal moving steadily through

the hearings and debates. Their work enabled the complex

series of events required to accomplish the transfer of the

Nancy Hanks part of the Lincoln Memorial to the Department of

Interior to be accomplished smoothly and in relatively short

time

.

The spirit of cooperation was set in the State of

Indiana's March 6, 1961, Joint Resolution (H.C.R. 11)

affirming the State would work with the Federal government

to accomplish a smooth transition. Two days later, the

assembly passed H. 85 authorizing the conveyance of the Nancy

Hanks Lincoln Memorial to the Federal government. A provision limiting the amount of land which could be transferred to 200 acres reflected the State's desire to transfer only the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, not the

entire Lincoln Park. 14

On April 27, 1961, Assistant Secretary of the Interior

John M. Kelley informed Congressman Wayne N. Aspinall,

110
Chairman of the House Committee on Interior and Insular

Affairs, of the Department of Interior's support for H.R. 2470. 15 .

The House passed H.R. 2470 on August 22, 1961, with only

one dissenting vote. 16 * By this time, Senator Hartke's S. 376 proposing the transfer of the entire Lincoln State Park

to the National Park Service was dropped. The Senate passed

an amended version of Denton's bill on February 8, 1962; the

Senate version established funding limits and required the

transfer of state lands by donation, while the House bill had no funding limits and would have permitted transfer by

purchase. The Conference Committee retained the funding

ceiling and replaced the donation requirement with a limit on

the amount which could be spent for land acquisition.

President John F. Kennedy signed the act authorizing the

establishment of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (P. L. 87-407, 76 Stat. 9) on February 19, 1962. 17

Echoing the restrictions of Indiana's March 8, 1961, law

permitting the transfer of land, P. L. 87-407 limited the size

Representative H. R. Gross of Iowa claimed a memorial

to the taxpayers would be more appropriate, since they would

have to foot the bills. Gross wanted the Federal budget

balanced before any new expenditures were assumed.

Ill
of Lincoln Boyhood to 200 acres;* established a funding

ceiling of $1,000,000 (with a limit of $75,000 to be spent on land acquisition);** and stated the memorial would be

established when an "administrable unit" was acquired; and

such was announced in the Federal Register. 18

Implementation of P.L. 87-407 required several steps.

First the State of Indiana conducted a boundary survey of the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, which the newly elected

governor, Matthew E. Welsh, approved. Then the Department of

the Interior designated boundaries for the newly authorized

*As stated earlier, the major differences between

Denton's and Hartke's bills was in the amount of land to be transferred to the National Park Service; Denton wanted only

the property associated with Thomas Lincoln's farm, Nancy

Hanks Lincoln's gravesite, and the memorial buildings to become a unit of the National Park System. Since Denton's

bill reflected Governor Handley's wishes, and met the needs

of Bill Koch and others hoping to increase tourist traffic,

it was the only proposal seriously considered by the

Congress. The 200-acre limit specified in P.L. 87-407 was included to ensure that Lincoln Boyhood remain only large

enough to protect and preserve the land associated with the

Lincolns' farm and- the state's tribute to Abraham and his

mother. The present size of Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial, 197 acres, includes only half of the land Thomas

Lincoln once owned. If the National Park Service is to preserve "the original Thomas Lincoln farm, the nearby

gravesite of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and such adjoining land as

[the Secretary of the Interior] deems necessary. . . ,"as

intended by the authorizing act, it may be necessary to increase the acreage limitation.

**P. L. 92-743 subsequently raised the funding ceiling

from $1,000,000 to $1,320,000, and the land acquisition

ceiling from $75,000 to $395,000.

112
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, and Secretary of the

Interior Stuart Udall approved them. On June 11, 1963,

Governor Welsh and Department of Conservation Director Donald

Foltz signed the deed transmitting 114.49 acres to the United

States of America. The deed was verified by the Department

of Justice, and transmitted to the Attorney General with

preliminary title insurance on the twenty- four th of June. On

August 9, Udall signed the Notice of Establishment; the

Department of the Interior filed Doc. 63-8731 with the

Federal Register on August 14, 1963, and the Register

published the notice the following day. The Federal Register

notice completed the requirements for establishment of

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. 19

The National Park Service did not wait for the national

memorial's establishment to announce its presence in

Indiana's first authorized unit of the System. On March 26-28, 1962, Supervisory Park Landscape Architect Hodge

Hanson and National Park System Planning Chief Andrew Feil of

the Washington Office, and Assistant Northeast Regional

Director George Palmer visited the Memorial with Bob

Starrett* to begin the boundary study and initiate plans for

*In spite of his earlier opposition to National Park

Service operation of the former Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial,

Starrett was very cordial and cooperative at this meeting.

George A. Palmer to author, May 22, 1987.

113
a dedication ceremony. At this meeting, the parties also

determined they would relocate Highway 162 south of the

memorial building. 2 ^

Bill Koch of nearby Santa Claus Land and Roy Combs,

State Auditor and Indiana Lincoln Foundation President,

planned the dedication ceremony. The National Park Service

sent George Palmer to Lincoln City a few days before the

ceremony to see that satisfactory arrangements had been made.

The National Park Service promised to reimburse the State of

Indiana for any costs it incurred in planning and execution

of the dedication ceremony, and in planning for the road

relocation. (Congress' $75,000 appropriation for Lincoln

Boyhood was for fiscal year 1963, which began July 1, 1962.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial would have no budget until

then.) 21 Senator Vance Hartke asked President Kennedy to speak at the dedication, but the schedule could not be worked

out. 22 The dedication ceremony took place in front of the

memorial building on July 10, 1962. Interior Secretary

Stuart Udall presided over the ceremonies, which featured

Governor Matthew Welsh's formal presentation of the land

deed* to Secretary Udall, and brief talks by Senator Hartke

*The governor did not present Udall the actual deed.

Rather, he presented the Secretary of the Interior a blank

sheet of paper tied with a red ribbon, furnished for the

ceremony by George Palmer. George A. Palmer to Ron Cockrell,

May 28, 1987.

114
(also Master of Ceremonies for the event) and Congressman

Winfield Denton. The program for the dedication ceremony

listed poet Carl Sandburg as Honorary Chairman of the

dedication committee, but there is no evidence of Sandburg's

involvement in the planning, nor did he attend the

ceremony. 23

While working together on passage and implementation of

the authorizing act and on the dedication ceremony, the State

of Indiana and the National Park Service reached several

cooperative agreements. In addition to agreeing to relocate

Highway 162 south of the memorial building, the Service

promised to replace the Lincoln State Park entrance with a "unified entrance treatment," 24 and to build a gatehouse at the new state park entrance. The state, in turn, fabricated

entrance signs for Lincoln Boyhood (which the Department of

Conservation charged against Lincoln State Park's

account). 25 Lincoln Boyhood's first superintendent,

Robert L. (Bob) Burns, worked closely with state park

superintendent Charles Weber, setting a pattern for

cooperation between the two parks which continues to the

present.

115
CHAPTER 5 NOTES

1. See Charles E. Shedd, Jr., "Historic Sites Survey:

Lincoln State Park and Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, Spencer

County, (Philadelphia: National Park Service,

1959) . Indiana"

2. Ibid. , 12, 17,

3. Ibid. , 36--3 7. 4. Ibid.,, 35--38.

5. William Koch, interview with author, July 10, 1985, Santa

Claus, Indiana.

6. Ibid.

7. Indianapolis Star , March 24, 1963, Clippings files,

Indiana Biography, Abraham Lincoln, 1960-1969, Indiana State

Library; and note, Barry Mackintosh to author, June 4, 1985.

8. Fort Wayne, Indiana, News-Sentinel , March 31, 1960,

Indiana Lincoln Foundation Scrapbooks, Indiana State Library,

Indiana Division, Indianapolis; and handwritten note, R. D. Starrett to K. R. Cougill, [May I960]; Assistant Regional

Director George A. Palmer, Region 5 to K. R. Cougill, June 8, 1960; and K. R. Cougill to Eugene Ayer , June 15, 1960, both

in Park files, Material on the Creation of Lincoln Boyhood,

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

9. Regional Director [Ronald F. Lee], Region 5 to National

Park Service Director Conrad Wirth, September 8, 1960, Park

files, Material on the Creation of Lincoln Boyhood.

10. Superintendent Al Banton to Joseph Blatt, May 17, 1967,

Park files, Legislative History; Charlotte N. Baird,

interview with author, July 11, 1985, Lincoln City; and

unidentified news clipping, January 11, 1961, 0. V. Brown

Collection, Indiana State Library, Indiana Division,

Indianapolis.

11. Handwritten note, R. D. Starrett to K. R. Cougill,

May 16, 1960; Park files, Material on the Creation of Lincoln

Boyhood

.

116
12. Bicknell [Indiana] News , April 1, I960, Indiana Lincoln

Foundation Scrapbooks, Indiana State Library.

13. See the Evansville Courier , August 6, 1961, 0. V. Brown

Collection, Indiana State Library; and Indianapolis News , July 6, 1962; Indianapolis Times , July 10, 1962, and Indiana

Teacher , November 1962, all in Clippings files, Indiana

Biography, Abraham Lincoln, 1960-1969, Indiana State Library.

14. H.C.R. 11, Ch. 35, Acts of 1961 of the Indiana General

Assembly; and H. 85, Ch. 189, Acts of 1961 of the Indiana

General Assembly, both in [Albert W. Banton, Jr.,] "Lincoln

Living Historical Farm" (Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial,

National Park Service, 1969, Typescript); and Park files,

Legislative History.

15. Assistant Secretary John M. Kelley to Hon. Wayne N. Aspinall, Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular

Affairs, House of Representatives, April 27, 1961, Park

files, Legislative history.

16. Albert W. Banton, Jr., interview with author,

September 19, 1985, Indianapolis; and Indianapolis Times , August 23, 1961, Clippings files, Indiana Biography, Abraham

Lincoln, 1960-69, Indiana State Library.

17. Al Banton to Joseph Blatt, Director of [Indiana] State

Parks, May 17, 1967; and Report from the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, House of Representatives,

September 11, 1961, both in Park files, Legislative History.

18. P. L. 87-407, 76 Stat. 9, "An Act to Provide for the

Establishment of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in the

State of Indiana, and for Other Purposes, approved

February 16, 1962."

19. Al Banton to Joseph Blatt, May 17, 1967; Acting

Superintendent Warren D. Beach to [National Park Service]

Assistant Director, Cooperative Programs [Ben Butterf ield ]

,

Northeast Region, January 17, 1973; and Secretary of Interior

Stuart Udall to Sen. Birch Bayh , August 9, 1963, all in Park

files, Legislative History.

20. Director [Conrad Wirth] to Acting Regional Director

[George Palmer], Region 5, April 19, 1962, Park files, State

Memorial Inventory and Transfer of Property; and telephone

conversation, George A. Palmer to Ron Cockrell, May 28, 1987.

117
21. Handwritten note, R. D. Starrett to Henry C. Prange

,

[1962], Park files, State Memorial Inventory and Transfer of

Property.

22. Handwritten note, R. D. Starrett to K. R. Cougill,

April 16, 1962, Park files, State Memorial Inventory and

Transfer of Property.

23. Indianapolis Times , July 10, 1962; Indianapolis Star , July 11, 1962; _ program for dedication ceremony, and

miscellaneous correspondence, all in Park files, Dedication

of Lincoln Boyhood.

24. George Palmer to K. R. Cougill, April 19, 1962, Park

files, Dedication of Lincoln Boyhood.

25. Ibid., handwritten note, R. D. Starrett to Bob Burns,

September 19, 1963; and Dale, Indiana, News , March 6, 1964,

all in Park files, Dedication of Lincoln Boyhood.

118

CHAPTER 6 Administration and Staffing

Bob Burns was superintendent at Perry's Victory and

International Peace Memorial when he agreed to come to Lincoln City to assist with preparations for the dedication

ceremony. That job done, he returned to Perry's Victory

after the ceremony. Months later, he accepted the position

of first superintendent at Lincoln Boyhood; he entered on duty there on August 27, 1963.

Among his first duties was hiring a staff for N the

fledgling national memorial. The Department of Conservation

had agreed to pay a maintenance worker, Elmer Stein, until

the end of the month. Burns liked Stein's work, and asked

him to stay on as a National Park Service employee* when his

state employment terminated. 1 Charlotte Baird entered on duty as a clerk-stenographer (GS-4) in October; she continued

as the administrative technician for Lincoln Boyhood until

her retirement in 1983. 2 Burns' hiring of John Santosuosso

as park historian (GS-9) in November 1963 completed Lincoln

Boyhood's original permanent staff. Seasonal rangers and

laborers were added during the summer months. 3

*The caretaker position at Lincoln Boyhood was not graded .

119
Burns' major goals during his super intendency were to acquaint Indianans with the National Park Service and the

newly established Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, and to acquire the privately-owned land within the Memorial's

authorized boundaries. Another significant accomplishment

was the selection of a design and a location for the visitor

center

.

Identification as a unit of the National Park System was

a significant problem for the new park. Area residents were accustomed to frequent changes in the Lincoln State Park

superintendency; those positions were political, and changed

each time control of the state government changed parties.

Most failed to distinguish between the Department of

Conservation and the National Park Service. When Burns first

set foot in Dale, Indiana (about five miles from the park)

,

in his National Park Service uniform, residents mistook him

for a "revenuer." Burns set out immediately to educate the

public concerning the Park Service and its presence in

southern Indiana.

Bob Burns' golden opportunity arrived a few months

later. In February 1964, he was invited to appear on an Indianapolis talk show commemorating Lincoln's birthday.

Burns contacted the Southwestern Indiana Historical Society

120
in Evansville, which allowed him to borrow a wooden box

Lincoln made during his years in Indiana and a casting of

Lincoln's hands. Burns took these with him to the June Ford

Show, and with them he initiated his message to a broad

regional audience. After the show, Ms. Ford suggested that

Superintendent Burns contact Bish Thompson, an editorialist

for the Evansville Press . She knew Mr. Thompson supported

the National Park Service, and believed he would be happy to help Burns advertise the Service's role in southern Indiana. 5 Thompson wrote a good article on the newly established

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, and followed up with

positive editorials on the memorial and the Park Service for

years to follow.

Equally important, Bish Thompson referred Superintendent

Burns to Bob Edelman at WTVW, an Evansville television

station. Thompson was aware of Edelman 's involvement in a locally-broadcast half-hour public interest show, and

believed Edelman would provide Burns with another opportunity

to reach the area's television viewers. Burns contacted

Edelman, who agreed to feature the superintendent and Lincoln

Boyhood historian John Santosuosso on one show. It went so well, Burns and Santosuosso were invited to do shows on a weekly basis for two years. Edelman invited them to continue

the programs for a third year, but Burns transferred and

121
Santosuosso resigned before the third year was negotiated.^

Newly appointed Superintendent Albert W. Banton, Jr., chose

not to renew the programs.

The television programs were successful in introducing

the National Park Service and Lincoln Boyhood to the region.

Burns invited guests such as Lincoln State Park

superintendent Charlie Weber and employees of Hoosier

National Forest; these programs helped viewers learn the

differences between the National Park Service, the state

Department of Conservation, and the U. S. Forest Service.

Burns usually conducted the first half of each show on the

Service in general, Lincoln Boyhood, or other National Park

Service areas; during the remaining fifteen minutes

Santosuosso presented information on Abraham Lincoln, usually

focusing on Lincoln's life in Indiana. 7

Publicity was only one of Superintendent Burns'

accomplishments. He also worked closely with lands officers

from the regional office to acquire privately-owned lands

within the park's boundaries. Burns accompanied the lands

officer when he contacted the property-owners, handled other

legwork (delivered checks, had deeds recorded, saw that the

needed stamps were bought and affixed to documents), and

assisted elderly sellers with various needs. Burns recalled

122
that the sellers generally supported the Park Service's

presence at Lincoln Boyhood, and the relationships between

the sellers and the Service were good . 8

Another need, recognized immediately upon assuming

management of the memorial, was additional space for

administrative functions and visitor contacts. Although

construction was accomplished during Al Banton's tenure as superintendent, selection of a site and design for the

visitor center was Bob Burns' concern.

The Eastern Office of Design and Construction (EODC)

resurrected the idea of a building near the gravesite

(although there is no indication the EODC was aware of the

Indiana Lincoln Union's and Department of Conservation's

decade-long debate and ultimate rejection of the gravesite

area when they were choosing a site for the Nancy Hanks

Lincoln Memorial building during the 1920s and 1930s)

.

Whether consciously or coincidentally , Burns opposed the

construction of a visitor center near the gravesite for the same reasons the Indiana Lincoln Union had rejected it

decades before; he argued that the building would be an intrusion on the humble gravesite the Service was charged to protect, and that clearing the area of vegetation would alter

the natural setting and thus destroy the atmosphere of the

123
area. According to Burns:

The Washington Office and the Regional Office in

Philadelphia and the Eastern Office of Design and

Construction and I went round and round about that

location. I finally wrote a letter to the Regional

Director and said that the only basis upon which I would accept that location was for him to call me directly and tell me to back down —that the EODC

selection was the right one. Well, within 24 hours

there was a letter in the mail to me saying that

the Regional Office would notv under any

circumstances, accept that location.

The interested parties discussed several other proposals

and finally agreed to wrap the visitor center around the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial building. 10 Hoping to "test the

waters" locally on the idea, Burns contacted his landlady, a local reporter by the name of Grace Brown. The

superintendent told Ms. Brown the Park Service needed space

for administrative needs and interpretive exhibits, and was considering adding to the existing building. He asked her to mention the idea in one of her weekly columns, so he could

see whether area residents supported the concept.

The conversation took place in February 1965, and the

Dale News was looking for a Lincoln-related topic to coincide

with the President's birthday celebration. The publisher

decided to add a picture of the Memorial Building and an attention-grabbing headline: "LINCOLN BOYHOOD PLANS

REVEALED." Burns was surprised by the headlines and

attention, and sent a copy of the article to the regional and

124
Washington offices with an explanation of what had taken

place. He wanted both offices to be informed in case there

were any inquiries on the article. In spite of his concern,

the article did not generate any questions —at least not

immediately.

Months later, shortly before Burns transferred to Nez

Perce National Historical Park, Idaho, he received a frantic

call from Washington asking about n, a picture in some paper

about some building.'" 11 Senator Vance Hartke ran across the

article while researching another issue in the Dale News . Hartke assumed from the article that plans for the visitor

center had been released to the public without prior

notification of the congressional delegation. Ordinarily,

the delegation is notified first so they can announce such a plan, and receive credit for the project. The unidentified

staff person, apparently confused, denied there were such

plans. According to Superintendent Burns, Hartke, impatient

and upset, sent his copy of the article to the Washington

office asking "'If there isn't, what in the Hell is this?'" 12

Before long, the situation was unraveled and explained to Senator Hartke. Expecting to be reprimanded for the

incident, Burns reminded Assistant Regional Director George

Palmer that he had furnished the Region and Washington with

copies of the article when it was published. No reprimand

was issued. 13

125
Shortly thereafter, in August 1965, Bob Burns accepted

the superintendencey of Nez Perce. He and his small staff

had set the stage. It was up to the next superintendent to oversee the development of facilities and programs.

Albert W. Banton, Jr., left his position as supervisory

park ranger at Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi,

to become Lincoln Boyhood's second superintendent on October 10, 1965.* He left there seven years later, on

October 29, 1972.

On July 23, 1966, with the establishment of George

Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Vincennes , Indiana,

Banton became supervisor of an entity known as the Southern

Indiana Group. During this period, he lived at Lincoln City

An acting superintendent, Gettysburg historian Milton

Thompson, served at Lincoln Boyhood in the interim between

Burns' departure and Banton 's arrival. Lincoln Boyhood

historian John Santosuosso had only worked for the Service

for two years, and had little administrative experience. In contrast, regional officials considered Thompson to be excellently suited for park management. Acting Regional

Director [J. Carlisle Crouch], Northeast Region to Director

[George B. Hartzog, Jr.], National Park Service, August 12,

1965. See also Regional Director [Ronald F. Lee], Northeast

Region, to Regional Director [Edward A. Hummel], Western

Region, August 6, 1965, and George A. Palmer to author,

May 2, 1987.

126
but traveled each Thursday to Vincennes to oversee operations

there. Beginning September 10, 1967, Robert L. (Bob)

Lagemann was appointed management assistant for George Rogers

Clark; Lagemann oversaw day-to-day events in Vincennes, while

reporting to Superintendent Banton. Lincoln Home National

Historic Site, Illinois, was authorized in August 1971; the

following December, the cluster was renamed the IndianaIllinois Group, with Banton as superintendent. 14

During the 1960s and 1970s, clustering of administrative

duties was fairly common for small cultural parks in

geographic proximity. Banton recalled the arrangement as highly successful. It was convenient; one superintendent was able to represent the Indiana-Illinois Group at meetings with

the regional office or with other agencies. It also enabled

the superintendent to spend more time on major problems such

as budgeting and development, and not get bogged down in the

day-to-day problems such as scheduling staff. As stated

above, Banton traveled to Vincennes one day each week. When

Lincoln Home was added to his duties, he traveled to Springfield, Illinois, on overnight trips as needed. 15

Lincoln Boyhood's Charlotte Baird did the purchasing and most

other paperwork for the three Indiana-Illinois Group areas, although George Rogers Clark had a typist, too. 16

127
This arrangement ended abruptly in November 1972.

Director George Hartzog ordered Banton to Springfield, and

appointed him superintendent of Lincoln Home.* A new superintendent, John C. W. (Bill) Riddle, was selected for

the Southern Indiana Group; Bob Lagemann continued as management assistant at George Rogers Clark.

7

Banton' s major accomplishments at Lincoln Boyhood were

the completion of major construction projects (the visitor

center, two houses, and a maintenance area), and development

of the living historical farm. These are discussed in

greater detail in the sections of this report covering

development and interpretation.

The staff at Lincoln Boyhood grew slowly but steadily

during Banton's tenure, primarily through the addition of

seasonal interpreters and laborers. The staff was generally

*A1 Banton believed the transfer resulted from pressure

placed on the Director by the Illinois congressional

delegation. Assistant Northeast Regional Director George

Palmer did not recall any undue pressure from Congress, nor did he consider the decision sudden. The lack of a full-time

superintendent in Springfield resulted in the need for Palmer

to travel there frequently. Palmer believes Regional

Director Lemuel Garrison and Director George Hartzog had

discussed the transfer of Superintendent Banton to Springfield for several months, and simply waited to inform

Banton of the decision until the Lincoln Home National

Historic Site dedication in October. See Albert W. Banton,

Jr., Interview with Author, September 19, 1985; and George

Palmer to author, May 22, 1987.

128
adequate, although the superintendent was sometimes

frustrated by his inability to accomplish research or initiate programs because of staffing limitations. 1-**

John C. W. "Bill" Riddle left the super intendency of

Hopewell Village National Historic Site, Pennsylvania, to

succeed Banton as superintendent of Lincoln Boyhood on November 12, 1972. Riddle retired from the position on October 21, 1978.

Bill Riddle completed the first phase of land

acquisition at Lincoln Boyhood, but the bulk of his energies

were spent at George Rogers Clark. In 1972, he oversaw an extensive rehabilitation of the Clark Memorial. 19 He subsequently turned his attentions to the development of a visitor center and preparation of management plans for George

Rogers Clark. 20

Staff additions at Lincoln Boyhood included Donald

Breo's transfer from the U. S. Forest Service to become

general facilities and equipment maintenance foreman in 1973,

and Geneva Van Winkle's addition to the maintenance staff

the same year

.

21

129
On January 6, 1974, Indiana became part of the Midwest

Region, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Midwest Regional

Office visitors to Lincoln Boyhood that year included Deputy

Regional Director Merrill D. "Dave" Beal; Assistant Director

for Cooperative Activities Bill Dean; operations evaluation

team members Pat Miller and Tom Weeks; regional law

enforcement team members Phil Turner and Denny Sarah; Ralph

Dierks, Dave Clary, Vance Kaminski, and Dan Wilson of the

office of Planning and Resource Preservation; Safety Officer

Stan Broman; and Jim Schaack, Ben Miller, and Mike Conen of

the office of interpretation. 22 The influx of regional

visitors was quite a change from the traditional relationship

between Lincoln Boyhood and the Philadelphia office; contacts

with the Northeast Region were generally limited to telephone

conversations and an occasional trip by the superintendent to Pennsylvania. 2 ^

Nineteen seventy-four was also the first year in which

the superintendent reported National Historic Landmarks

inspections among his duties. 24 Whether the assumption of

this responsibility was related to the shift in regional

lines or was coincidental is not clear.

Gasoline shortages forced the closing of area gasoline

stations following the 1973 oil embargo, and Lincoln

130
Boyhood's interpretive programs were closed on Sundays and

Mondays from January 6, until April 1, 1974, in response to

the lower visitation levels. Office staff continued to work

their regular Monday through Friday schedules. 25

Bill Riddle handled the demands of managing Lincoln

Boyhood and George Rogers Clark well. He continued

established programs at Lincoln Boyhood, enlarged the staff

slightly to meet ever increasing maintenance and interpretive

needs, and he was heavily involved in the development of

facilities at George Rogers Clark. It was a fitting

culmination of thirty-two years of service, and Riddle

appeared content when he announced his plans to retire in

September 1978. 26

Warren D. "Denny" Beach first served Lincoln Boyhood as

its interpretive specialist from July 1972 until July 1973.

He left to become management assistant at Edison National

Historic Site, New Jersey, and subsequently became

superintendent at El Morro National Monument in New Mexico.

He returned to Lincoln City as superintendent on October 22,

1978, and remained until August 23, 1981, when he assumed the

super intendency of Morristown National Historical Park, New Jersey.

131
When Beach became super intendend of Lincoln Boyhood, the

maintenance and interpretive programs were well in place, and

development was complete. He "finalized" the Master Plan,

and completed the acquisition of land, bringing the park to

its present boundaries. Beach also worked out an agreement

with the United States Postal Service to locate the Lincoln

City post office in the visitor center.

The need for a location for a post office to serve the area resulted from the Service's acquisition of the old

Lincoln City post office location in the late 1970s. The

Postal Service intended to eliminate the Lincoln City

postmark, and arrange for another nearby office to assume service to the Lincoln City area. In 1979, Superintendent

Beach arranged an agreement by which the Lincoln City post

office continues to operate out of a small space in the

visitor center. 27

The staff had grown slowly with the small park. By

1980, Lincoln Boyhood had a superintendent (GS-11) ; a supervisory park ranger (GS-9) ; four park technicians (one

GS-6 and three GS-4's); three WG-6 demonstration farmers; a maintenance worker foreman (WS-5) ; and a janitor (WG-2) on

the permanent staff. Nevertheless, Superintendent Beach was frustrated by his inability to hire more interpreters for the

132
spring and fall. This would have allowed his interpretive

staff to spend more time doing research, and Beach saw this

as the best way to improve the park's interpretive

programs. 2 **

Norman D. Hellmers was promoted to the super intendency

at Lincoln Boyhood in 1981, following his service as chief of

interpretation (with frequent duties as acting

superintendent) at Grand Portage National Monument,

Minnesota. His primary emphasis has been on improving

interpretation and resources management at Lincoln Boyhood by

upgrading the quality of programs, working with the Lincoln

Boyhood Drama Association for the development and advancement

of a play portraying Lincoln's life in Indiana, accomplishing

research, and restoring the historic structures and grounds

to their historic appearance. These topics are discussed in

detail in the appropriate chapters, below. 2 ^

During Hellmers' tenure at Lincoln Boyhood, the staff

size has remained fairly constant: the park had 13.8 FTE*

when he arrived in 1981, and has 14.2 FTE as of December

1986. The allocation of staff members by division has

remained constant, with 3.0 FTE assigned to administration

*FTE, or "Full-Time Equivalency" is the authority to hire the equivalent of one person for one year.

133
(including the superintendent), 6.2 in operations

(interpretation and resources management), and the remaining

5.0 in maintenance.

There have, however, been some significant changes in

grades and the nature of several positions. These changes

included the promotion of several positions to higher grades

(superintendent from GS-11 to GS-12; secretary from GS-4 to

GS-5; administrative technician from GS-6 to GS-7; park

ranger, interpretation, from GS-6 to GS-9; park ranger,

protection from GS-5 to GS-7; maintenance worker from WG-6 to WG-8; and seasonal ranger-historian from GS-4 to GS-5) . The

promotions reflect Hellmers' conscious effort to increase the

professionalism of the staff and to better define each

position

.

Another important change was the creation of two

positions, a chief of operations and a resoures management

specialist, by dividing the duties formerly assigned to the

chief of interpretation. Until 1985, the chief of

interpretation was responsible for all matters relating to information, interpretation, visitor services, protection,

and cultural and natural resources management. Those duties

are now split so that the chief of operations is in charge of

interpretatiion and information, visitor services, and law

134
enforcement,* and the resources management specialist is

responsible for activities related to cultural and natural

resources management.

Like his predecessors, Superintendent Hellmers has been

frustrated by staffing levels insufficient to his needs,

particularly in the fields of maintenance and interpretation.

While existing interpetive staff levels allow for staffing of. the desk in the visitor center and at the living historical

farm, he is unable to provide traditional interpretive

"basics" such as guided tours. Interpreters in permanent

positions are required to spend considerable time in

day-to-day visitor activities, and have little time to develop new programs and exhibits or accomplish research.

Neither permanent nor seasonal interpreters have much time

for special activities. Similarly, the involvement of the

permanent maintenance staff in care of the public areas

(which are maintained to a commendable level) has precluded

their ability to provide adequate care to the non-public

facilities, such as park residences and utilities, and to adequately document the work accomplished on the park's

cultural and natural resources. 3 ^

None of the superintendents of Lincoln Boyhood reported

law enforcement as a problem.

135
Hellmers has shared the previous superintendents'

frustration over insufficient funding, also. Lack of money

has prevented several desired projects, including the

relocation of the roads bisecting the park, the relocation of

the parking area near the living historical farm,

construction of comfort facilities near the farm,

undergrounding of power lines, and relocation of the visitor

center parking area. In Hellmers' view, even the relocation

or removal of the railroads traversing the park "is

ultimately a matter of insufficient funding. "31

136
CHAPTER 6 NOTES

1. Robert L. Burns to author, January 1986; and Elmer F. Stein, interview with author, July 9, 1985, Lincoln City.

2. Charlotte N. Baird, interview with author, July 11, 1985,

Lincoln City, Indiana; and Burns to author, January 1986.

3. Burns to author, January 1986.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid. See also Park files, Publications and Interpretive

Services, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City,

Indiana.

7. Burns to author, January 1986. See Appendix B for a list

of the first season's television program topics.

8. Burns to author, January 1986; and Park files, Land

Records

.

9. Burns to author, January 1986.

10. United States Department of the Interior. "Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial: The Design and Development."

Typescript, Briefing statement, n .d

.

11. Burns to author, January 1986.

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid.

14. Acting Superintendent [Warren D. Beach], Lincoln

Boyhood, to Assistant Director, Cooperative Programs [Ben

Butterf ield] , January 19, 1973, in Park files, Chronological

Reports: Reports to Region.

15. Albert W. Banton, Jr., interview with author,

September 19, 1985, Indianapolis; and Acting Superintendent

[Warren D. Beach] to Assistant Director, Cooperative Programs

[Ben Butterf ield ] , January 19, 1973.

16. Baird interview.

137
17. Acting Superintendent [Warren D. Beach], Lincoln

Boyhood, to Assistant Director, Cooperative Programs [Ben

Butterf ield] , January 19, 1973; and Superintendent [John C.

W. Riddle], Lincoln Boyhood, to Assistant Director [George A. Palmer], Northeast Region, Feburary 8, 1974, both in Park

files, Chronological Reports: Reports to Region.

18. Banton interview; and Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle], Lincoln Boyhood, to Assistant Director [George A. Palmer], Northeast Region, February 8, 1974.

19. Acting Superintendent [Warren D. Beach], Lincoln

Boyhood, to Assistant Director, Cooperative Programs [Ben

Butterf ield] , January 19, 1973.

20. Baird interview.

21. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle], Lincoln Boyhood, to Assistant Director [George A. Palmer], Northeast Region,

February 8, 1974.

22. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle], Lincoln Boyhood, to Assistant Director [George A. Palmer], Mid-Atlantic Region,

February 3, 1975.

23. Banton interview. Assistant Regional Director George A. Palmer recalled that Northeast (later called Mid-Atlantic)

Regional staff involvement was greater than Banton

remembered. Palmer took frequent trips to various parks in

the Region, particulary those in Indiana, his native state.

24. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle], Lincoln Boyhood, to Assistant Director [George A. Palmer], Mid-Atlantic Region,

February 3, 197 5. 25. Ibid.

26. Baird interview.

27. Evansville Journal , February 21, 1980; and Banton

interview.

28. Warren D. Beach, letter to author, December 1985.

29. Norman D. Hellmers, letter to author, December 5, 1986.

30. Ibid.

31. Ibid.

138
CHAPTER 7 Developing the National Memorial

The transfer of 114.49 acres from the State of Indiana

to the United States government in June 1963 effected the

establishment of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. The land

donated by the state was the largest parcel acquired by the

National Park Service, and formed the core of the new national memorial. Nevertheless, the National Park Service

must acquire several privately-owned tracts in the immediate

vicinity and remove the improvements on those tracts to achieve the desired atmosphere at Lincoln Boyhood.

By the time Superintendent Bob Burns transferred to Nez

Perce in 1965, the National Park Service owned an additional

14.2 acres. Still, of the total 128.69 acres composing

Lincoln Boyhood at that time, only 25 were part of the

historic Thomas Lincoln farm. 1 Unfortunately, Burns' purchases utilized most of the $75,000 for land acquisition

authorized by the park's authorizing act. While the act permitted a total of 200 acres, the National Park Service

could not purchase the remaining authorized 71.85 acres unless Congress raised the land acquisition ceiling. 2 On

December 8, 1966, the National Park Service initiated action

to obtain the needed increase. One month later, support data

139
for the request was submitted to the Assistant Director for

Cooperating Activities, Theodor R. Swem. Finally on April 11, 1972, Congress granted the National Park Service

permission to spend an additional $319,286 for land

acquisition

.

The National Park Service acquired sixteen parcels

totalling 10. 6 acres in 1973, most of which was needed for

development of the living historical farm.^ By the close of

1976, the National Park Service's holdings in Spencer County

were very near the authorized limit of 200 acres. The

Service cleared the land of improvements and had a tree

planting crew temporarily assigned to the memorial in 1977.

By the end of that year, the area finally achieved the

predominantly natural atmosphere the Park Service desired. 4

Although some individuals had problems over the sale of

their land as detailed in the Summary of Land Acquisition

(see Appendix C) , land acquisition at Lincoln Boyhood

generally went smoothly. Superintendent Al Banton felt that some landowners demanded more than their land was worth, ^ but

records indicate the National Park Service obtained most

properties at slightly below their appraised values. 6 Land

acquisition at Lincoln Boyhood did not create widespread

antagonism toward the National Park Service, as it has in

140
other areas. Most of those whose homes the Service purchased

moved to other locations within Carter Township. ^ The

community graciously accepted the Park Service's presence in

its midst

.

Most of the physical development of Lincoln Boyhood

occurred under the supervision of the first two

superintendents, Bob Burns and Al Banton. In addition to his

involvement with the first phase of land acquisition, Burns oversaw the relocation of State Highway 162, the construction

of water and sewage systems, and the selection of a location

and design for the memorial's visitor center. Banton

supervised the construction of the visitor center, two

residences, and the maintenance facility, and developed one

of the park's most popular interpretive facilities, the

living historical farm.

During the decades the Indiana Department of

Conservation managed the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial,

Highway 162 routed traffic directly into and through the

plaza immediately north of the memorial building. Although

there is no record of major problems resulting from this

arrangement, by around 1960 the state identified the

situation as a potential hazard to pedestrians leaving their

cars parked in the plaza lot. 8 As part of the discussion of

the transfer of the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial to the

141
Figure 7-1. An aerial photograph of Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial, circa 1962. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

photograph files, negative no. 9, photographer unknown.

142
National Park Service, the Service agreed to finance the

relocation of Highway 162 to a location north of the memorial

building, where Lincoln Boyhood and Lincoln State Park met.

The work was accomplished at a cost of $142,214 in 1964.9 to screen the road from the rear of the memorial building, Burns

planted red buds, dogwoods, and tulip poplars along its

length. 10

Burns also oversaw the construction of a residential

road and a utilities and a water/sewage system in 1964, and

construction of a water reservoir in the state park providing

water for both Lincoln State Park and Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial in 1965. The total cost of these projects

was $56,300. 1:L

Bob Burns' proudest accomplishment was the selection of

the site and design of the visitor center. The issue was one

of few really controversial decisions in the memorial's

history, and continued a debate which originated in the

1920s, when the State of Indiana selected its site for the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial building. As discussed earlier,

designs for the state memorial wavered between a gravesite

location and the selected location immediately south of the

plaza. The debate recurred in 1964 when, in agreement with

the Lincoln Boyhood draft Master Plan, the National Park

143
Service's Eastern Office of Design and Construction (EODC)

proposed a separate visitor center facility to be built near

the Nancy Hanks Lincoln grave. Burns aggressively opposed

the EODC proposal, arguing that Thomas Lincoln had buried his

wife in the wilderness, and that the wilderness setting

should be preserved. He pointed out that the change was an unnecessary contradiction to the Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.,

plan for the area. He also feared the separate visitor

center facility would compete with the Nancy Hanks Lincoln

Memorial building for attention, and would stretch his tiny

staff beyond its capabilities to serve the public. Northeast

Regional Director Lemuel A. Garrison agreed with Burns'

assessment of the situation (which was largely reflective of

the arguments used in the selection of the site for the Nancy

Hanks Lincoln Memorial decades earlier). 12

The National Park Service decided to adapt the existing

memorial building to meet the needs (100-seat auditorium,

lobby, exhibit space, and restrooms) identified in the

Lincoln Boyhood draft Master Plan. The addition would be "complimentary [sic] to the unique workmanship of the

original structure" and "leave the basic appearance of the

original Memorial Building unaltered." 13 To accomplish these

objectives, the Service designed an addition which enclosed

the cloister into a lobby area with a visitor contact desk

144
and sales area and some interpretive space. The design

showed an auditorium, office space, a library, and storage

room added to the rear of the cloister. Additional restrooms

and a public telephone were added for the convenience of

visitors. A new central heating and air conditioning unit

completed the changes to the building. Materials would match

those used in the original structure. 14

The construction package included two residences, a utility building and service area, an exhibit shelter close

to the historic farmsite, a small parking lot near the

exhibit shelter, and temporary entrance and site location

signs. 15 The initial bids for the package came in

considerably over the amount available, and the Service

considered frame construction for the residences rather than

stone houses (as designed) to match the memorial building.

Congressman Winfield Denton, member of the House

Appropriations committee, instructed the National Park

Service to build them with St. Meinrad sandstone, and

promised the money would be available. 16 Denton was as good

as his word. Rev. Peter Behrman, 0. S. B. , and Rev. Tobias

Colgan, O.S. B. later informed the park that they bid

extremely low on the cost of the stone because they were determined that the addition and other structures be built of

the local stone. 17

145
One of the ideas Burns proposed in his discussions of

the visitor center addition design was the replacement of the

brick walks in the memorial court (immediately in front of

the building) with stone walks to match the building itself.

Freeze/thaw action caused the bricks to split and crack,

making the walks unsightly and unsafe. Burns contacted

Richard Bishop, architect of the original Nancy Hanks Lincoln

Memorial building; Bishop fully supported the change. 18 The

Eastern Office of Design and Construction rejected Burns

suggestion, but later implemented it. The visitor center,

when finished, looked largely as Burns proposed it should.

Superintendent Albert Banton oversaw the implementation

of Burns' visitor center vision. Deig Brothers construction

company was general contractor for the work; Chester Deutsch

and Julian Cornwall supervised the construction of the

visitor center addition. 19 Construction went smoothly, and

the Deig Brothers firm completed the project on schedule.

The addition was dedicated in 1966. 20 (See Figure 7-2.)

On August 8, 1966,. Morrell-Felin Co. of Philadelphia

loaned a series of twelve Lincoln paintings done by Isa Barnett to Lincoln Boyhood for the dedication ceremony.

Apparently, there was some misunderstanding over the term of

the loan, for the National Park Service failed to return them

146
Figure 1-2. The ribbon-cutting ceremony at the dedication of

the visitor center addition, August 21, 1966. Standing

left to right are Northeast Regional Director Lemuel

Garrison, Congressman Winfield Denton, Senator Vance

Hartke, Birch Bayh , Sr . , Lincoln Boyhood Superintendent

Albert Banton, Jr., and National Park Service Director

George Hartzog, Jr. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

photograph files, negative no. 20, photographer unknown.

147
until 1970. Copies were made for permanent exhibit in the

visitor center lobby. 21 In 1970, Banton ordered rugs from

Richmond State Hospital in Richmond, Indiana; the original

five- by eight-foot handwoven rugs made in 1943 were extremely worn and ready for replacement. 22

The National Park Service hoped to obtain the extensive

collection of Lincoln materials from a local collector, 0. V. ("Orrie") Brown, but was unable to negotiate an agreement for

the donation of the entire collection because Brown wanted

the collection to be exhibited in his home township, Carter

Township. In fact, at a meeting at his home, Brown suggested

to Superintendent Banton and Assistant Regional Director

Palmer that the National Park Service acquire his home and

display the collection there intact. Because the Brown home

was outside the park boundary, such action would have

required an Act of Congress, and was not seriously

considered

.

2 ^

Only a portion of the memorial is located in Carter

Township: the cabin site memorial and the actual Lincoln

farm. To meet Brown's request without changing the park

boundary and purchasing the residence would have required the

removal of the bronze cabin site memorial and construction of

an exhibit facility on the approximate location of the

148
historic Lincoln farmstead. The National Park Service was unwilling to take such action.

In 1965 Brown donated part of his collection to Lincoln

Boyhood (see Figure 7-3) ; the Service acquired a few other

objects after his death shortly thereafter. 24 Although the

National Park Service was unfortunate in its inability to obtain the entire 0. V. Brown collection, the portion the

Service acquired formed the heart of its museum collection

during the early years.

The decision to provide for visitors' needs by adding to

the existing Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial included the

construction of an exhibit shelter (Figure 7-4) near the

historic farmsite. When commenting on the initial design for

the shelter, Superintendent Banton noted he liked the layout,

but was concerned it would not provide enough light to enable

visitors to enjoy the exhibits. In response, the design was revised to include skylights, which proved quite effective in

eliminating the potential problem Banton anticipated. 18 In 1966, Washington office historian Roy E. Appleman visited the

park, and observed that the exhibits there did little to help

visitors understand the Lincolns ' life in Indiana.

Superintendent Banton ordered two new panels for the shelter,

one with a portrayal of virgin Indiana forest, and one

149
fi Vv*

Figure 7-3. 0. V. Brown and National Park Service historian

John Santosuosso looking over a Lincoln. National Park

Service photograph files, negative no. 41, photographer

unknown

.

150
Figure 7-4. The exhibit shelter, circa 1966. National

Park Service photograph files, negative no. 4, photographer unknown.

151
showing the Lincolns clearing the land. 26 The shelter

exhibits were revised again in 1970, when an artist used

Historian Edwin C. Bearss' Historical Base Map as the basis

for a presentation of the Pigeon Creek community. 27

While Al Banton very effectively oversaw the fulfillment

of development designed during Burns' tenure as superintendent, his favorite project was the creation of

Lincoln Boyhood's living historical farm. Historian Roy

Appleman informed Superintendent Banton of Marion Clawson's

(Foundation Resources for the Future) concept of a nationwide

series of living historical farms representing a variety of

regions and time periods. National Park Service Director

George Hartzog liked the idea, and had ordered Appleman to investigate the suitability of living historical farms at Lincoln Boyhood and at George Washington Birthplace,

Virginia. 28 Represented by Historian Appleman, the Service

was working with the Department of Agriculture and the

Smithsonian Institution in a joint venture to establish a system of farms in accordance with Clawson's concept. 29

Banton wanted to build a cabin near the historic farmsite to give visitors something to see when they walked the trail

past the cemetery toward the historic farm, and was no doubt

very pleased that his longtime friend, Hartzog, shared his

enthusiasm. In November of 1966, Hartzog's office instructed

152
Banton to take action "as soon as possible to plan a development ... of that part of the Park which incorporates

the original Thomas Lincoln farm as a period farm of the

1 81 6-183 [s ].

30 When Director Hartzog, Regional Director

Lemuel Garrison, and Associate Regional Director George

Palmer visited Lincoln Boyhood in 1967, Banton suggested

building a living historical farm near the location of

Lincoln's farmstead. He estimated the cost of the project at $10,000. 31 Although Hartzog made no commitment during his

visit,* Banton's timing was right. By this time, Director

Hartzog was hoping to develop living historical farms in

National Park Service areas before the Smithsonian

Institution could initiate a similar program; he feared the

Smithsonian would take the lead in historical environmental

education. 32 In 1967, Hartzog actively supported living

history developments at George Washington Birthplace and

Booker T. Washington National Monument, Virginia, and Hartzog

had no problem promoting a living historical farm at Lincoln

Boyhood

.

*While Director Hartzog made no commitment to Superintendent Banton during the visit, while en route to the

airport at Evansville he informed Regional Director Garrison

and Assistant Regional Director Palmer that he would see that

his office approved the project. Palmer recalled no opposition to the living historical farm on the regional

level; he said the resistance to the concept was in the

Washington office. See George A. Palmer to author, May 22,

1987.

153
Banton continued to discuss the idea with staff of the

Northeast Regional Office. Apparently, the regional office

considered two options: a living historical farm "oriented

to the bronze foundation" as a symbol of the 1817 foundation;

or a "period" farm based on the report Historian Ed Bearss

prepared at Hartzog's request. 33 House Appropriations

Committee member Winfield Denton supported a living

historical farm for Lincoln Boyhood, believing it would

attract tourism. Finally, in early 1968, Banton got his

long-awaited call from Associate Regional Director Palmer.

"'You've got the money,'" Palmer told Banton. "'Go!!'" 34 *

Robert (Bob) Utley, Assistant Director for Park Historic

Preservation, noted some restrictions on the project based on

Park Service policies. He observed that the demolition of

the wall surrounding the cabin site memorial and the

relocation of the Trail of Twelve Stones would have a negative impact on Lincoln Boyhood's historic resources, and

could not be undertaken. He also warned against the

reconstruction of the springhouse, which would violate

policies governing reconstructions. He admonished that the

*For additional information about living history in the

National Park Service, see Barry Mackintosh, Interpretation

in the National Park Service: A Historical Perspective

(Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, History Division,

1986) , 54-67.

154
farm must be considered an "interpretive development" and

reminded those involved that the memorial's primary resources

remained the site and the memorial structures. 35 Regional

Director Lemuel Garrison agreed to limit the project to the

portion of the historic farm north of Highway 345, and not to remove the cabin site memorial. 36 Generally, Banton had no problem with these restrictions.* He intended the farm as a device through which farms like Thomas Lincoln's (and not

Lincoln's, specifically) would be interpreted. 37

The site of the living historical farm was tested for

archeological material, but no remnants of the historic farm were located. This was not surprising, since four feet of

grading occurred when the state installed the bronze

memorial. 38 Ground clearing for the farm began on February 25, 1968, and the buildings and fences were standing

on the site by the end of April. 39

In a discussion with Superintendent Banton and Director

Hartzog about appropriate materials for the farm's

There was one restriction Banton ignored. Believing

six of the stones in the Trail of Twelve Stones interfered

with the farm, Banton ordered them moved from the north to

the south side of the railroad tracks in 1967.

Superintendent Norm Hellmers had them moved back to their

historic locations in 1986. See note to files, Don F. Adams,

Interview with Elmer Stein, March 22, 1985.

155
construction, Assistant Regional Director George Palmer

insisted that local logs be used. Elsewhere in Northeast

Region parks, "period" log cabins built of new logs had been

constructed, and Palmer found these unsatisfactory because

they did not look historic. Banton agreed; in fact, he

wanted only aged logs for the farm. 40 Maintenance Worker

Elmer Stein searched the area for old farm buildings, and

purchased the old Bryant house near Gentryville and a barn

from the Reiss Family near Chrisney, Indiana. He went to Hodgensville, Kentucky, to study the appropriate construction

techniques, and hired Oatis Tribbie and Abner Crews to lead

the work crews. The park hired eight others,* all unemployed

local residents, to disassemble the structures and rebuild

them on the farmsite.

Generally, it took one day to knock down a structure,

another day to move it, and approximately two weeks to rebuild it on site. When completed, the complex included a hewn log cabin (see Figure 7-5) , hewn log barn with shed, a smokehouse, a corncrib, a chicken house (added later), and a

*The crew members were Fred Smith, Robert Longabaugh,

Thomas Richards, Russel Frickes, Orville J. Day, Mason W. Bryant, Wayne Byers, and Donald Byers. Crews, Tribbie,

Smith, and Longabaugh were rehired to work at the farm in

1969.

156
Figure 7-5. The reconstructed cabin at the living historical

farm, 1973. National Park Service photograph files,

negative no. 1, photographed by Richard Frear

.

157
workshop, all enclosed by split rail fences. The project

cost $9, 597. 28. 41

Ed Bearss' report and Ida Tarbell's The Life of Abraham

Lincoln , Volume 1, provided the information needed for the

selection of appropriate crops. 42 The farm featured oats,

corn, flax, and cotton, cabbage, tobacco, peppers, corn, pumpkins, kidney beans, radishes, tomatoes, beets, rutabagas,

cucumbers, potatoes, muskmelons, watermelons, and gourds. ^ Banton purchased open-pollinated yellow dent corn advertised

in the Prairie Farmer magazine from Gordon Neal of Mount

Vernon, Iowa. 44 * Northrup, King, and Co. of Minneapolis

furnished the flax, 45 and the New York State Historical

Association provided guidance in "growing flax based on nineteenth century practices." 46 Banton contracted with the

Smithsonian Institution to study appropriate furnishings for

the living historical farm in 1969, 47 and in 1977,

Superintendent Bill Riddle contracted with Hank Waltmann of

Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, to study period

livestock aYid poultry. 48 Mia Feightner of Iowa State

*When a corn blight attacked southern Indiana in 1970,

all the farmers' fields turned brown within three days,

except Lincoln Boyhood's yellow dent corn. Banton enjoyed

teasing the local farmers by displaying some of his healthy

corn in the rear window of his car. Albert W. Banton, Jr.,

Interview with author, Indianapolis, Indiana, September 19,

1985.

158
University, Ames, Iowa, did a thesis on "Clothing and

Accessories Available to Pioneers of Southern Indiana,

1816-1830" and a "Handbook for Contemporary Reproduction of

Pioneer Indiana Dress" complete with patterns in that same

year

.

4 ^

Banton used the information gathered by the Smithsonian

to guide his maintenance staff in the construction of

appropriate reproduction furnishings during the winter. Most

were in place by the 1969 visitor season. 5 ^ (See Figure

7-6.)

In 1982, a visitor brought to the attention of the

Lincoln Boyhood staff the existence of a log cabin displayed

at Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition in 1933-34. The

cabin, billed as "Lincoln's Indiana home," was purchased by

Charles Garfield King. In 1945, King moved the cabin to Lake

Forest, Illinois. The National Park Service has not been

able to verify the cabin's authenticity. 51 Coincidentally,

the Indiana Lincoln Union had considered the purchase of the

Century, of Progress cabin in 1935, but rejected the idea

believing it would be better to construct a representative

period structure than place one of questionable significance

on the site. 52 That reasoning is still valid.

159
Figure 7-6. Some of the cabin furnishings, 1967. National

Park Service photograph files, negative no. it,

photographed by Albert W. Banton, Jr.

160
Interestingly, many of the issues discussed prior to construction of the living historical farm and other

development rose again when the Denver Service Center

prepared a second draft Master Plan for Lincoln Boyhood in

1973-74. 53 The second draft also contained some new ideas.

Among the alternatives proposed by the Service Center were

the relocation of the bronze cabin site memorial outside of

Lincoln Boyhood; partial demolition of the cabin site

memorial; relocation of the Trail of Twelve Stones and

placement of the stones around the plaza wall; utilization of

wagon carts to transport visitors from the visitor center to

the farm; and adaptation of the Nancy Hanks Lincoln hall as a museum on Pigeon Creek life, including recordings of "Dennis

Hanks" recalling life in the small community. Other issues

included the possible relocation of the railroad traversing

the park; relocation of County Road A west of the memorial,

and closure of County Road B through the park. The Service

Center dropped the alternative proposing adaptation of the

Nancy Hanks Lincoln hall, and cost factors eliminated the

wagon ride proposal. 54 Compliance and policy review restated

the conclusions reached almost a decade earlier regarding the

cabin site memorial and the Trail of Twelve

161
Stones;* that is, they must remain in place. 55 Historian Roy

Appleman's summary of the position merits quotation:

[At issue is] the ethical question of what

liberty the Service may have in treating in the

future the already developed memorial areas in the

park as inherited from the State of Indiana. In general, . . . the Service should respect

previously planned and executed memorial

developments in an area, unless it can be demonstrate [d ] beyond any doubt that a major error

of information is involved. A previous generation,

in these instances, has spent its money, energy,

time, and veneration and love in these works, and

they should not lightly be tampered with, [sic]

Especially, they should not be bothered if only a difference in artistic taste is involved. 5 *5

The policy review also addressed the presence of the

living historical farm. The Assistant Director for Park

Historic Preservation, Robert M. Utley, and Midwest Regional

Director Merrill Beal shared the concern that the farm

detracted from the park's primary resources. Nevertheless,

they felt it was acceptable as long as an appropriate level

of attention was paid to the various resource types. As Utley stated:

If the living farm, in its present form, can continue to be operated in a way that does not

detract from the park's legislated purpose as a memorial and does not jeopardize existing historic

resources, its continuation may be justified. But to the extent that the farm's enhancement has now become the park's primary purpose and is being

undertaken at the expense of historic structures

[such as the proposal to move the stones and the

Apparently the regional office, Washington office, and

Denver Service Center were unaware that park staff moved six

of the stones several years before.

162
cabin site memorial] and legislated theme, we recommend that a new planning effort be undertaken

based on existing policies and actual park resources

.

57

Utley's position, with which Midwest Regional Director

Merrill Beal concurred, forced a major revision of the draft

plan. Proposals to relocate or remove resources put in place

by the Indiana Department of Conservation were dropped. In response to Utley's remarks, the Denver Service Center

planning team considered adding an alternative proposing the

elimination of the farm, but decided it was not feasible. 58

The major remaining issues focused on the closure and/or

removal of roads and the railroad tracks. The early proposal

concerning the railway recommended relocating the tracks so they would parallel the north/south boundary of the park.

Further study showed that, while this would accomplish

physical removal of the tracks from the park proper, it would

not eliminate the visual and audible impacts of the railway.

Further, the location of Heritage Hills High School 0.3 miles

east of Lincoln Boyhood's eastern boundary precluded the safe

relocation of the Cannelton spur to the proposed location

paralleling the north/south boundary of the national

memorial. Finally, the likelihood of the National Park

Service obtaining sufficient funding to accomplish the

relocation was extremely poor.

163
The Park Service's initial proposals concerning roads

within the memorial boundary included the relocation of

County Road A outside the west boundary of the park and the

closure and obliteration of County Road B. Spencer County

recommended that County Road A remain the same from the

memorial's north boundary to Lincoln City, and that it follow

an existing right-of-way within town. A third proposal

suggested closing Road A from its intersection with County

Road B to parking lot near the living historical farm. 52

These issues drew considerable discussion at public

meetings held in the visitor center on January 16, 1980.

Public objections to the proposals centered around the safety

issue and on potential interference with bus traffic to Heritage Hills High School. As a result of public comment,

the National Park Service worked with Spencer County

officials to develop the approved course of action. The

General Management Plan provides for the relocation of County

Road B to a site at the north end of the park-owned portion

of the historic Lincoln farm; closure was deemed unfeasible

because the road provided access to nearby Heritage Hills

High School. Relocation of the railroad spur was determined

equally unfeasible. The road leading from the visitor center

to the interpretive shelter will remain, as will the existing

164
entrance road.*50 Approval of the General Management Plan in

1981 ended discussion of major development issues at Lincoln

Boyhood

.

Within the first decade of its establishment,

Superintendents Bob Burns and Al Banton accomplished all the

major physical development planned for Lincoln Boyhood. The

job that remains is the management and maintenance of the

park's physical resources, and its interpretation of the

Indiana Lincoln story.

165
CHAPTER 7 NOTES

1. Superintendent [Robert Burns] to [Regional] Director

[Henry G. Schmidt], Northeast Region, March 1, 1971, Park

files, Legislative History.

2. See 92nd Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives,

Report No. 92-743, December 10, 1971, pp. 9-10.

3. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Assistant Director

[Ben Butterf ield ] , Cooperative Programs, February 8, 1974.

4. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Regional Director

[Merrill D. Beal] , Midwest Region, February 22, 1977; and

Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Regional Director

[Merrill D. Beal], May 26, 1977, Park files, Grounds, Olmsted

Report.

5. Albert W. Banton, Jr., interview with author,

September 19, 1985, Indianapolis.

6. See Park files, Land Acquisition files.

7. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Programs Officer,

Midwest Region, April 10, 1974.

8. E. Kenneth Marlin to John Peters, n .d . , Park files,

Relocation of Highway 162.

9. Dale News , April 10, 1964; Park files, Clippings.

10. Robert L. Burns, letter to author, January 1986.

11. Unidentified document, 1965, Park files, Legislative

History.

12. Albert W. Banton, Jr., interview with author,

September 19, 1985, Indianapolis; U. S. Department of

Interior, "Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: The Design and

Development" (National Park Service, ca . 1965, Briefing

statement); Burns, letter to author, January 1986; and

Regional Director [Lemuel Garrison], Northeast Region to Chief [Robert G. Hall], Eastern Office of Design and

Compliance, August 27, 1964, Park files, National Park

Service Planning of the Visitor Center.

13. U.S.D.I., "Lincoln Boyhood: Design and Development."

14. Ibid.

166
15. Park files, Chronological Reports: Reports to Region.

16. Banton interview.

17. Note to files, Charlotte N. Baird, Park files,

Clippings.

18. Elmer F. Stein, interview with author, July 9, 1985,

Lincoln City; Burns, letter to author, January 1986; and

Superintendent [Robert Burns] to Richard E. Bishop, May 18,

1964; and Richard E. Bishop to Robert L. Burns, June 11,

1964, both in Park files, Park Proposals: Proposal to Build

a Museum onto the Memorial Building.

19. Charlotte N. Baird, interview with author, July 10,

1985, Lincoln City.

20. Evansville Courier and Press , Park files, Yearly

Activities, 1966.

21. Superintendent Al Banton to Mrs. William M. Dickson,

September 23, 1966; D. F. Blackburn to Superintendent Al

Banton, August 9, 1966; and Ralph H. Lewis to Morton H. Broffman, March 2, 1970, all in Park files, Memorial Visitor

Center, Morrell Prints.

22. Note to files, Supervisory Park Ranger Don Adams,

November 9, 1983, Park files, Memorial Visitor Center,

Construction, 1941.

23. George A. Palmer to author, May 22, 1987.

24. Burns to author; Baird interview; and Park files,

Chronological Reports: Reports to Region.

25. Superintendent [Albert W. Banton, Jr.] to Chief, Eastern

Museum Laboratory, March 4, 1966; and Shelter Exhibit Plan,

1966, both in Park files, Grounds, Exhibit Shelter.

26. Superintendent [Albert W. Banton, Jr.] to Regional

Director [Fred C. Fagergren], Midwest Region, August 21,

1966, Park files, Grounds, Exhibit Shelter.

27. Superintendent [Albert W. Banton, Jr.] to Chief, Branch

of Exhibit Production, n.d., Park files, Grounds, Exhibit

Shelter

.

167
2 8. Roy Appleman to Superintendent [Albert W. Banton, Jr.],

August 12, 1966, Park files, Living Historical Farm, Farm and

Related

.

2 9. Report, Roy E. Appleman, October 10, 1966, Park files,

Living Historical Farm, Farm and Related.

30. Acting Assistant Director, Operations [Harthon L. Bill]

to Superintendent [Albert W. Banton, Jr.], November 4, 1966;

Park files, Living Historical Farm, Farm and Related.

31. Banton interview.

32. Palmer to author, May 22, 1987.

33. Frank Barnes to Al Banton, December 18, 1867, Park

files, Living Historical Farm, Farm and Related; and

telephone conversation, Ed Bearss to author, July 5, 1985.

34. Banton interview; and Barry Mackintosh, Interpretation

in the National Park Service; A Historical Perspective

(Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, History Division,

1986) , 58.

35. Telephone conversation, Ed Bearss to author, July 5, 1985; and Barry Mackintosh to author, June 4, 1985.

36. Regional Director [Lemuel Garrison], Northeast Region to Director [George Hartzog], February 2, 1968, Park files,

Living Historical Farm, Planning.

37. Banton interview.

38. Ibid.; Edward McM. Larrabee, "Preliminary Excavations at the Cabin Site, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln

City, Indiana (National Park Service, Midwest Archeological

Center, 1967, Typescript), 1; and Appleman Report.

39. Superintendent [Albert W. Banton, Jr.] to Director

[George Hartzog], January 30, 1969, Park files, Publications

and Interpretive Services.

40. Palmer to author, May 22, 1987.

41. Progress Report, Living Historical Farm, June 6, 1968,

Park files, Living Historical Farm, Construction and Staff;

Banton interview; Stein interview; and Report of Property

Transaction, May 1, 1968, Park files, Living Historical Farm,

Farm and Related.

168
42. Banton interview.

43. Ibid.

44. Ibid.; and Albert W. Banton, Jr. to Gordon Neal,

March 11, 1969, Park files, Living Historical Farm, Farm and

Related

.

45. Albert W. Banton, Jr. to Northrup, King, and Co.,

April 25, 1969, Park files, Living Historical Farm, Farm and

Related.

46. See Park files, Living Historical Farm, Farm and

Related . 47. Mrs. Frederick R. Walters to Superintendent Albert W. Banton, Jr., March 4, 1969, Park files, Living Historical

Farm, Farm and Related.

48. Hank Waltmann to James Schaack, February 26, 1977, Park

files, Living Historical Farm, Farm and Related.

49. James W. Schaack to Dr. Agatha Huepenbecker , April 8, 1977, Park files, Living Historical Farm, Farm and Related.

50. Park files, Chronological Reports: Reports to Region.

51. Superintendent [Norman Hellmers] to Files, May 7, 1984,

Park files, Park Proposals: Proposal to Acquire 1933 Chicago

Century of Progress Cabin.

52. Paul V. Brown to E. A. Wood, November 17, 193 5, Park

files, Park Proposals: Proposal to Acquire 1933 Chicago

Century of Progress Cabin.

53. See "Master Plan and Interpretive Prospectus" (National

Park Service, 1973, second draft).

54. Regional Director [Leonard Volz], Midwest Region to Manager [John W. Henneberger ] , Denver Service Center,

June 11, 1974; Team Manager [Donald A. Purse], Midwest/Rocky

Mountain Team, Denver Service Center to Regional Director

[Leonard Volz], Midwest Region, May 29, 1974; Superintendent

[John C. W. Riddle] to Programs Office, Midwest Region,

May 10, 1974; and Chief, Research and Technical Assistance to Chief, Planning and Compliance, October 27, 1977, all in

Midwest Region files, Programs and Budget.

55. Intra-Office Memo, Regional Historian Dave Clary to Associate Regional Director, Professional Services, Midwest

169
Region [1976]; Regional Director [Merrill D. Beal] to Manager

[John W. Henneberger ] , Denver Service Center, October 1, 1976; and Assistant Director [Robert Utley], Park Historic

Preservation to Regional Director [Merrill D. Beal], Midwest

Region, June 1976, all in Midwest Region files, Programs and

Budget

.

56. Roy Appleman to Chief, Interpretation and Visitor

Services, October 10, 1966, Midwest Region files, Programs

and Budget.

57. Policy Review, Robert Utley [June 1976].

58. Programs Analyst Jim Hooyboer to Central Files,

December 20, 1977, Midwest Region files, Programs and Budget.

59. General Management Plan (Denver: National Park Service,

Denver Service Center, 1981), 8-11.

60. Trip report, Associate Regional Director [John

Kawamoto], Planning and Resource Preservation, Midwest Region

to Regional Director [J. L. Dunning], Midwest Region,

January 23, 1980; Superintendent [Warren D. Beach] to

Regional Director [J. L. Dunning], Midwest Region,

November 1, 1979; Regional Diector [J. L. Dunning], Midwest

Region to Manager [Denis P. Galvin], Denver Service Center,

June 5, 1981; and Superintendent [Warren D. Beach] to Associate Regional Director [John Kawamoto], Planning and

Resource Preservation, Midwest Region, April 21, 1980, all in

Midwest Region files, Programs and Budget.

170
CHAPTER 8 Maintaining the Memorial

During the early years, Elmer Stein comprised the entire

permanent maintenance staff at Lincoln Boyhood. Stein was an employee of the Department of Conservation who became a permanent National Park Service employee shortly after

Superintendent Bob Burns entered on duty at Lincoln Boyhood.

Even in those early days, Lincoln Boyhood sometimes

augmented the permanent staff with temporary help. When

Clerk-Stenographer Charlotte Baird joined the staff in

October of 1963, she assisted the superintendent in hiring 67 men. The National Park Service employed the men from

mid-October through mid-January to do grounds work, primarily

the clearing of underbrush in the forested parts of the park.

Elmer Stein supervised the crew.l

More often, Stein worked alone, or with the assistance

of one or two seasonal laborers. In addition to grounds

maintenance, Stein cleared a fire line on the park's eastern

boundary in 1964. He and Superintendent Burns refinished the

floors and pews in the Abraham Lincoln hall that same year.

Stein sanded the floor, Burns lay down on the pews, and slid

along applying varnish as he went. Unfortunately, the

171
varnish fumes caused Burns a terrible headache, and Stein was left to finish the job alone. Burns hired a woman to come to the park two days each week to clean the memorial building.

2

The staff grew slightly during the Banton years, but the

needs increased simultaneously with the completion of the

visitor center addition and the two park residences. The

construction of the living historical farm in 1968 further

complicated the maintenance operation at Lincoln Boyhood.

Maintenance at the farm involves costumed workers raising

crops and caring for livestock using historical methods (see

Figure 8-1) . Al Banton hired separate crews for the farm and

the more traditional maintenance duties, and Denny Beach

continued the practice, although some crossover of duties

existed. 3 The current superintendent, Norm Hellmers, uses

some laborers primarily at the farm and others primarily for

traditional maintenance work, but encourages the utilization

of his maintenance staff for all duties. 4

Over the years, the maintenance staff accomplished

several major projects in addition to day-to-day care of the

grounds and buildings. Although records for each year are not available, a selected review of projects undertaken at Lincoln Boyhood documents the resurfacing of trails; the

installation of a water line servicing the visitor center;

172
-w

->;/*• *

Figure 8-1. Farmers John Varner and Clyde Bench working in

the corn field, 1968. National Park Service photograph

files, negative no. 376, photographed by Albert W. Banton, Jr.

173
and resurfacing the visitor center parking lot, and the

residential/utility road in 1971. The National Park Service

hired a professional tree service to remove damaged trees

that, same year . 5

The first reports of leaks in the memorial visitor

center's roof appeared in Lincoln Boyhood's 1972 annual

report. *> The problem recurred over the years, and several

attempts to correct the problem proved unsuccessful.

Finally, in 1985, the roof was replaced in kind at a cost of

$50,000. Among the other projects undertaken by the National

Park Service was the 1977 establishment of an environmental

study area in a portion of the historic Thomas Lincoln farm

never used for crop production; the park replanted the area

and allowed the area north of the living historical farm

structures to reforest. In 1980, a concrete walk leading

from the plaza parking lot around the Nancy Hanks Lincoln

hall to a rear entrance was added, and restrooms were adapted

for handicapped accessibility. Safety handrailings along the

steps of the courtyard were constructed in 1984 to provide

safer access for visitors. In 1985, the park repainted the

exterior of the water tank. 7

The introduction of Young Adult Conservation Corps

(YACC) crews in 1978 greatly expanded the park's ability to

174
undertake special projects. In Fiscal Year 1978, YACC crews cleaned and repaired picnic tables in Lincoln State Park,

installed new signs, constructed barbed wire fences along the

boundary, picked up trash, sanded benches, stacked logs,

constructed new trails (see Figure 8-2) , built a new trailer-port for the park's trailer-housing, maintained

drainage ditches, and assisted in the renovation of the

maintenance facility.** Young Adult Conservation Corps

projects in Fiscal Year 1979 included re-sodding worn areas

near the cabin, cleaning ox and cattle pens, washing and

waxing park vehicles, cleaning windows and floors, trimming

trees, painting equipment, posting boundary signs, improving

the allee trails, rust-proofing and painting metal fences,

unloading and stacking hay, running a water line to the

drinking fountain, and painting curbs and parking stripes.

A similar variety of projects were recorded for YACC crews

until 1981, when the program disbanded. In 1983, Lincoln

Boyhood utilized the Comprehensive Education Training Act

(CETA) program to hire youths to rehabilitate trails, and

clean the grounds and visitor center; in subsequent years,

Student Youth Employment Program (SYEP) crews were hired for

similar projects. 10

On one occasion, a maintenance project at Lincoln

Boyhood was used to train maintenance workers from other

175
Figure 8-2. Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) crew building a new trail, 1977. National Park Service

photograph files, negative no. 435, photographer

unknown

.

176
Midwest Region parks. When the visitor center required

repointing in 1977, Midwest Region restoration specialist Ray

Kunkel conducted a training course in tuckpointing which was attended by two members of Lincoln Boyhood's maintenance

staff, one from Lincoln Home, Illinois, two from Sleeping

Bear Dunes, Michigan, and one from Apostle Islands,

Wisconsin. (See Figure 8-3.) The week-long course received

considerable attention in area newspapers. 11

In spite of the frustration mentioned by several

superintendents concerning funding and staffing levels for

maintenance, the program at Lincoln Boyhood has run smoothly.

When resources were limited, most superintendents made the

public areas their first priority; non-public facilities such

as park residences and maintenance buildings have taken a back seat. Overall, the grounds and facilities have

consistently been well-maintained.

177
I. ''•" •

Figure 8-3. Participants of a 1977 training course repointing the memorial visitor center. National Park

Service photograph files, negative no. 444, photographer

unknown.

178
CHAPTER 8 NOTES

1. Charlotte N. Baird, interview with author, July 10, 1985,

Lincoln City.

2. Robert L. Burns, letter to author, January 1986.

3. Warren D. Beach, letter to author, December 1985.

4. Telephone conversation, Superintendent Norman Hellmers

with author, November 14, 1986.

5. See Park files, Chronological Reports: Reports to Region.

6. Annual report, 1972.

7. Midwest Region files, Cultural Resources Management

project files.

8. Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) Project Plans,

November 30, 1977, Park files, Young Adult Conservation

Corps.

9. Ibid., August 15, 1978.

10. Press release, July 29, 1983, Park files, Yearly

Activities, 1983.

11. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Regional Director

[Merrill D. Beal] , Midwest Region, February 29, 1983; Dale

News , May 20, 1977; and Jasper Herald , May 21, 1977, in Park

files, Yearly Activities, 1977.

179

CHAPTER 9 Interpretation

When Lincoln Boyhood's first superintendent, Bob Burns,

arrived at Lincoln City in mid-1963, he faced the tremendous

tasks of defining the role of the national memorial in the

community and establishing its interpretive programs. Burns

made the two tasks one. His stated objectives for the park's

first year of operation were to inform the public concerning

the National Park Service, its programs, and its services; to publicize Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial; and to inform

the public about Abraham Lincoln's boyhood years (a shift

from the prior decades, which focused on Nancy Hanks

Lincoln's death and gravesite). 1 Burns' first major step was

the initiation of a series of television programs on station

WTVW (channel 7) , an Evansville station, as discussed in

Chapter 6, above. Sponsored by the Southwestern Indiana

Educational Television Council, the programs continued for

two years. A partial listing of the subjects of those

programs is contained in Appendix D.

The television programs were remarkably successful in acquainting the public with the National Park Service and the

differences between the Service and the state park system.

The programs brought the park's interpretive programs to a

180
wide audience and created public support for the new area. While residents of southern Indiana were well aware of the

western "jewels'* of the National Park System, Burns*

television programs made them equally familiar with the "gem"

close to home. 2

Superintendent Burns enjoyed firm and friendly working

relationships with area newspapers, resulting in frequent

articles and positive editorials on events at Lincoln

Boyhood. Burns often wrote the articles published in the

nearby Dale, Indiana, News . In addition to spreading the

word about Lincoln Boyhood and the National Park Service,

Burns used the television and newspaper contacts to request

donations of Lincoln-related materials. 4

In 1964, he initiated evening programs at Lincoln State

Park to supplement the interpretive programs at the national

memorial. He also began permanent staffing of the visitor

contact desk that year. 5 Burns also worked toward the

development of a quality brochure, and persuaded the

Washington Office to allow him to order a more sedate and

appropriate cover for the folder than the conventional blue

and yellow lightning bolts used on most park folders in the

early 1960s. 6

181
Both Bob and Vivian Burns were active in the Lincoln

Hills Arts and Crafts Association, a local arts and crafts

organization which chose Mrs. Burns as its first president.

Mr. and Mrs. Burns learned to spin with a 125-year old

spinning wheel, and gave demonstrations at Lincoln Boyhood

and elsewhere in the area. Bill Koch hired Vivian Burns to demonstrate her skills seasonally at Santa Claus Land (now

Holiday World) using a second great wheel Bob purchased and

rebuilt. The superintendent also gave demonstrations,

including an eight-hour presentation at the 1965 Golden Rain

Tree Festival in New Harmony, Indiana. When the Burns family

transferred to Nez Perce in 1965, Koch sought their aid in

finding another wheel to continue the demonstrations at Santa

Claus. 7

In two short years, Bob Burns made great strides in

developing the park's interpretive program and building

public support for the National Park Service. His successor,

Al Banton, built on the foundation Burns had laid. Adding

some programs and eliminating others, Banton' s program was different, but still focused on Lincoln's boyhood years in

Indiana.

Among the programs Banton eliminated were the weekly

television broadcasts. Banton wanted to spend more time

182
buiding the onsite interpretive program and felt he could not

do both well, so he discontinued the weekly telecasts. 8

A major addition to onsite interpretive program was the

completion of a film, "Here I Grew Up." Narrated by Senator

Everett McKinley Dirksen of Illinois, the film interprets

young Abraham Lincoln's days in southern Indiana. Filmed at New Salem, Illinois, it featured several- local residents and

park staff members and their families, who volunteered to participate. 9 "Here I Grew Up" debuted in Washington, D. C.,

in a Lincoln Day celebration on February 11, 1968, -^ and is

still shown daily in the visitor center at Lincoln Boyhood.

The film's longevity is more interesting because

Superintendent Banton tried to scuttle it before it was released in 1968. Shortly before its completion, Banton saw

a light-and-sound presentation at another park, and felt it was a fresher, more modern interpretive show. He hoped to replace the unveiled film with a similar light-and-sound show

for Lincoln Boyhood. Banton failed to stop the film's

release, however, 11 and although somewhat dated, visitors

continue to enjoy its simple story.

Banton 's most popular impact on Lincoln Boyhood's

interpretive program was the establishment of the living

183
historical farm. Construction began March 5, 1968, and the

major structures were in place two months later. Banton had some seasonals on duty that summer, all men. They cleared

fields, planted crops, and split rails and firewood. Perhaps

the biggest problem for the first summer's laborers was locating appropriate historic tools to use in the work. 12

The farm was still under construction when Democratic

Senator Robert F. Kennedy and his family visited the park

while in the area during the 1968 presidential primary

campaign. Kennedy ate food prepared by the farmers and

placed a bouquet on Mrs. Lincoln's grave. ^ & few weeks

later, Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles.

In 1969, the living historical farm opened for its first

full interpretive season. (See Figure 9-1.) Banton hired

several seasonal interpreters to work solely at the farm.

Most came with special skills; others learned while on the

job from the experts such as Mary Conen . A few came with

some skills, like knitting, and learned others, such as spinning. 14 Each kept a daily log of the tasks performed at the farm. During that first summer, Banton had at least one

man and one woman doing costumed interpretation every day.

The men worked in the fields, cared for the animals, and

demonstrated rail splitting, wood-chopping, shingle-riving,

184
Figure 9-1. Interpreters Ruthanne Heriot, Judy Schum, and

Mary Carlisle working at the living historical farm,

1973. National Park Service photograph files, negative

no. 3, photographed by Richard Frear

.

185
horseback riding, smoking meats, and (beginning in 1970)

firing the flintlock rifle. The women gave demonstrations in

candlemaking, soapmaking, herb-gathering, dye-making,

gardening, and spinning. !5

In 1970, added funds permitted an increase in the

interpretive staff, and the living, history season stretched

from April through October. Visitors loved the program. To preserve the demonstrations done by some of the older

crafters, the park obtained a video tape recorder and taped

the demonstrations. The tapes were used to teach the skills

to subsequent interpreters, and for shows during the

off-season. 16 Although the visitor center closed on Mondays

and Tuesdays from November 1, 1971, through April 1, 1972,

the farm remained open year round. Winter farm life became

part of Lincoln Boyhood's interpretive story. 17

In spite of the living historical farm's popularity,

Superintendent Banton recognized its shortcomings. Banton

fully understood that the farm could not recreate the

survival atmosphere which must have surrounded the struggling

Lincoln farm, particularly during the first few years. He knew the living history demonstrations lacked the context of

the Pigeon Creek community. He knew the park could utilize

only a small portion of the land once farmed by the Lincoln

186
family. He recognized that modern visitors often failed to realize that historically, the cabin was used primarily for

sleeping, eating, and a few other activities. Almost

everything else was done outdoors. Nevertheless, Banton

resolved to do the best interpretation of an early-nineteenth

century southern Indiana farm possible. 18 He determined to use historical farming methods when visitors were present,

but to save time and money by utilizing modern techniques

when they were not. 1 ^ He tried to bring the Indiana Lincoln

story alive.

Among Banton' s favorite ways to do that was reaching

children. The Service's initiation of a National

Environmental Education Development (NEED) program in 1968

provided a wonderful opportunity to do just that. In cooperation with Educational Consulting Service Director

Mario Menesini, the National Park Service developed a program

to encourage environmental awareness in school and park

interpretive programs; materials were developed for use in

schools, and many parks established National Environmental

Study Areas for children's onsite learning. Banton initiated

an environmental awareness program at Lincoln Boyhood that same year; Director George Hartzog announced the program at

a dinner held in the Nancy Hanks Lincoln hall. As discussed

in the chapter on development, Banton returned a portion of

187
the historic Lincoln farm never used for crop production to

its early-nineteenth century natural state. In cooperation

with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (formerly

the Department of Conservation) and Lincoln State Park,

Banton then started a program in which schoolchildren camped

in the state park, and participated in activities there and

at the living historical farm. 20

Under the National Environmental Education Development

program, students in fourth through sixth grades churned

butter, planted corn, split shakes, carved wood, learned to spin, and made gravestone rubbings. 2 ^ In 1971, three schools

from Rockport and Muncie, Indiana, signed up for the program,

and the Dale Girl Scouts helped with the spring planting.

The following year, the camp served four schools, including

one from Evansville, Indiana. 22

Superintendent Bill Riddle cultivated the NEED program,

and in 1974 the camp served five schools, or approximately

400 children grades four through six. 23 The number of

schools involved in the NEED program continued throughout the

Seventies

.

Undoubtedly, the living historical farm was, from its

inception, an extremely popular program. It still is. It

188
must be noted, however, that the farm interpretive program is

not without controversy. Some within the National Park

Service are concerned that the farm places emphasis on "material aspects of farm life rather than the subject that

the area was intended to commemorate." 24 Proponents of the

farm argue that it is the farm which brings many visitors to the national memorial, where they then discover the

significance of the park. Although the debate may continue

indefinitely, so likely will the program, as long as it

retains the support of Lincoln Boyhood's superintendents. To date, Superintendents Banton, Riddle, Beach, and Hellmers all

enthusiastically embraced the living historical farm.

Some changes in the living history program occurred over

time. Banton originally hired interpreters for the farm or the visitor center, and rarely used them for other than their

intended duties. By 1969, however, superintendents allowed

some crossover of duties, and actively scheduled interpreters

at alternating jobs to give them a fuller understanding of

the entire memorial. 2 ^ Over the years, too, the interpretive

demonstrations at the farm have become more refined and

better organized. The farm is undeniably a vital part of the

park's interpretive program.

189
Other interpretive projects also grew and developed.

Park staff gave offsite demonstrations at various schools and

for groups like the Lincoln Club of Southern Indiana.

Various clubs used the Nancy Hanks Lincoln hall for their

regular meetings. Sunday services and occasional weddings

took place in the Abraham Lincoln hall (sometimes called the

chapel) .

In 1976, Superintendent Riddle, Park Technician Gerald

(Jerry) Sanders, and others participated in weekly radio

shows called "Along the Lincoln Trail" on Jasper, Indiana,

station WITZ. Riddle also joined Lincoln State Park

Superintendent Bill Carlisle and Lincoln Boyhood Park

Technician Mary Carlisle on an Indianapolis television show,

and an Evansville station did a program on the living

historical farm. 26

To celebrate the bicentennial of the nation's

independence, Lincoln Boyhood initiated a summer film

festival in 1976 27 and hosted a special play commemorating

the bicentennial. Franklin S. Roberts Associates, Inc., of

Philadelphia toured the nation with a special outdoor program

called "we've Come Back for a Little Look Around." Jointly

sponsored by Franklin S. Roberts Associates and Temple

University, the six actors portrayed some of our founding

190
fathers who returned to take a look at the United States

after its first two centuries. (See Figure 9-2.) The park

held three showings on July 24, 1975; attendance at the shows

totalled more than 600 visitors. 28 The park also staffed

bicentennial celebration booths at the Indiana State Fair and

the Spencer County Fair in 1975. 29

Riddle's successor, Warren D. Beach, continued to improve the authenticity of the farm interpretation, and

expanded off-site visits to schools, nursing homes, and

elsewhere. 3° Over the 1980 Memorial Day holiday, Beach ran three films based on Carl Sandburg's biography of Lincoln and

starring Hal Holbrook. On the Fourth of July holiday

weekend, Lincoln Boyhood sponsored another film festival

featuring the full series of films based on Sandburg's

biography." 31 The series was well-received, and Beach

repeated the showings on the Labor Day weekend. Labor Day

celebrations in 1980 also included a candlelit walk from the

visitor center to the gravesite and on to the farm. 32 Lincoln Boyhood held another film festival on October 4-5,

1981. This time, they showed "A New 3irth of Fredom," a biographical sketch filmed at related National Park Service

sites, and "Lincoln: The Kentucky Years." 33

191
Figure 9-2: A special bicentennial program, "We've Come

Back for a Little Look Around," was featured in the

courtyard in front of the visitor center on July 24,

1976. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial photograph

files, negative no. 551, photographer unknown.

192
The October 1981 festival coincided with Superintendent

Norman Hellmers' arrival at Lincoln Boyhood. Apparently

Hellmers liked the public's response, for film festivals

continued to be special features of Lincoln Boyhood's

interpretive program. In 1982, Hellmers showed "The

Assassination of Lincoln" on Memorial Day weekend 34 and

repeated "New Birth of Freedom" over the Fourth of July. 35

The following year Lincoln Boyhood ran films intermittently

throughout the summer. 3

6

Hellmers introduced other special programs in 1983. An Arbor Day program featured songs, poems, and talks about

trees.

7 There was a special touch-and-feel exhibit in the

visitor center May 15-21. 3 ^ June 19-25, Lincoln Boyhood

sponsored "Mary Conen ' s Pioneer Kids Corner" for which

children were invited to dress up like pioneers and bring a camera to have their pictures taken at the farm. In July and

August, three-year-old horses Babe and Maude and colt Lottie

demonstrated "Lincoln's Horsepower" to visitors. 39 Park

Technician Jerry Sanders' "Abraham Lincoln Fact Book and

Teacher's Guide," published by Eastern National Park & Monument Association (ENP&MA) * in 1982, became a standard

*The Association uses the ampersand symbol (&) rather

than spelling out the work "and" in their name, and includes

the ampersand in their acronym.

193
sales item in the visitor center. 40 Sanders' publication

drew national attention when it was featured in the ENP&MA

newsletter in the spring of 1983. 41

Affiliation with the Eastern National Park & Monument

Association has proved a great boon to Lincoln Boyhood's

interpretive program since the park's inception.. Membership

allows park areas to purchase sales items (books, postcards,

and slides) on consignment or at wholesale costs, then resell

them to visitors for a profit. The Association also provides

"grants" for small research projects, and helps buy equipment

for interpretive programs. At Lincoln Boyhood, ENP&MA even purchased livestock for the living historical farm. In recent years, ENP&MA returned a "percentage donation" of

funds to each member park based on that park's sales for the

previous year. These funds are used for a variety of

interpretive programs at Lincoln Boyhood, including the

printing of free brochures and similar materials. The

quantity of sales generated by Lincoln Boyhood made it

possible for the park to hire sales personnel paid with

Eastern funds. For several years, one position was thus

funded; now the park hires two salespersons each year with

ENP&MA funds.

194
The Eastern coordinator keeps books for the operation

and places orders. At Lincoln Boyhood, the coordinator

traditionally has been the historian or park technician; the

exception was Superintendent Al Banton, who chose to do the

coordinator's duties himself. 4 ^

Lincoln Boyhood's interpretive operation has benefitted

from other programs as well. A Christian Ministry in the

National Parks (ACMNP) is a national organization formed in

1966. The program recruits ministry students to work in areas where church services may not be available locally.

The student minister gives interdenominational services on Sundays and is usually employed elsewhere in the park or nearby community during the summer season. Lincoln Boyhood

has frequently utilized the program to provide Protestant

worship services during the summer season; Catholic services

were provided by priests from the St. Meinrad Archabbey.

Through a cooperative agreement with Lincoln State Park, the

priest and student minister gave services in both places each

Sunday. Generally, the ACMNP students worked seasonally at Lincoln Boyhood as either interpreters or on the maintenance

staff, although some worked elsewhere in the Spencer County

area. Participation in ACMNP has benefitted both the parks

and their visitors. 4 ^ Appendix E contains a list of ACMNP

195
ministers in the Lincoln City area over the twenty years

since the program's inception.

Lincoln Boyhood's longstanding relationship with the

Lincoln Club of Southern Indiana has also benefitted the

memorial's interpretive programs.* Organized in the

Gentryville, Indiana, home of Mrs. Abner Crews, the Club

became state and nationally federated that same year through

the efforts of Mrs. Oscar Brigins and Mrs. Benson J. Woods.

The club's purpose is to gather information about Lincoln, to preserve and extend Lincoln's heritage in southern Indiana,

and to improve the historic Lincoln communi ty .

Over the years, Lincoln Boyhood profited from several

Lincoln Club activities. In the 1960s, the Lincoln Club of

Southern Indiana sponsored a statewide campaign to acquire

books on Lincoln and other subjects for the park library.

The club donated some 500 volumes in the Sixties. Further,

the Lincoln Club has worked with the National Park Service to sponsor Lincoln Day activities at the national memorial since

*In fact, the Lincoln Club of Southern Indiana was a friend to Lincoln Boyhood before the park existed. The club

actively campaigned for the park's authorization. In recognition of their efforts, the Indiana Federation of

Women's Clubs granted the Lincoln Club the first place award

for community improvement in 1963.

196
the park's inception. The programs traditionally feature a speaker in the Abraham Lincoln hall followed by a gravesite

service presented by a Lincoln Club member or community

member descended from Spencer County's pioneer families.

Lincoln Club members frequently serve as volunteers in the

park's interpretive and resources management programs. 45

In 1973, the Lincoln Club of Southern Indiana began

promoting an outdoor drama to present Lincoln's boyhood story

to the public. The Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association (LBDA) was formed in 1977, and Mrs. Freda Schroder of the Lincoln

Club was the association's first president. The Lincoln Club

president continues to hold a seat on the LBDA board of

directors. Lincoln Boyhood's superintendent also holds an ex-officio seat on the board. Almost all of the Lincoln

Club's fundraising activities since 1977 have served to raise

funds for the Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association. 4 ^

The Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association formed for the

purpose of telling:

. . . the story of Abraham Lincoln's boyhood years,

and at the same time, to convey the meaning of

these events, both to the remainder of Lincoln's

life as well as to the larger, long-term view of

American history. 47

The Association solicited memberships at $25 each, and raised

the funds to hire playwright Billy Edd Wheeler to prepare a

197
play focusing on young Lincoln's qualities, on the factors

that influenced him, and on correcting some misconceptions

concerning the Lincoln family's financial status, Abraham's

parents, and their life in Indiana. 48

Although the park does not have a formal relationship

with the LBDA, Superintendent Norman Hellmers is on the

Association's board of directors and has served on two

committees. In a memorandum to Regional Director Charles

Odegaard on April 23, 1985, Hellmers stated his intention to form an agreement between the memorial and the LBDA to review

the script for historical accuracy, and to promote the

play. 49 Hellmers anticipated the production could eventually

increase visitation at Lincoln Boyhood by some 40-50,000 per

year . 47

In 1985, the State of Indiana appropriated $3.35 million

for the construction of an amphitheater at Lincoln State

Park. Construction was completed in June 1987. 50 The play,

"Young Abe Lincoln," provided another major boon to Lincoln

Boyhood's interpretive program beginning in the 1987 summer season

.

The outdoor drama is a welcome complement to the variety

of interpretive offerings at Lincoln Boyhood National

198
Memorial. Each superintendent has made strong contributions

to the park's interpretive program. The result is a well-rounded strategy for bringing the Lincoln story to the

public

.

199
CHAPTER 9 NOTES

1. Superintendent [Robert Burns] to Director [George

Hartzog], January 29, 1964, Park Files, Publications and

Interpretive Services; and Evansville Press , undated

clipping, ca . 1963-64, Park Files, Clippings.

2. Superintendent [Albert W. Banton, Jr.] to Staff, Lincoln

Boyhood, June 27, 1965, Park Files, Publications and

Interpretive Services.

3. See Park Files, Clippings.

4. Dale News , July 31, 1964, Park Files, Yearly Activities,

1964.

5. Superintendent [Robert Burns] to Director [George

Hartzog], January 30, 1965, Park Files, Publications and

Interpretive Services.

6. Robert Burns, letter to author, January 1986.

7. Ibid.; and unidentified news clipping, Park Files,

Clippings.

8. Albert W. Banton, Jr., interview with author, September

19, 1985, Indianapolis.

9. Charlotte N. Baird, interview with author, July 10, 1985,

Lincoln City.

10. Washington Star , February 11, 1968, Park Files, Yearly

Activities, 1968.

11. Baird interview.

12. Acting Superintendent to Regional Director [Lemuel

Garrison], Northeast Region, September 11, 1968, Park Files,

Living Historical Farm, Construction and Staff.

13. Superintendent [Albert W. Banton, Jr.] to Regional

Director [Lemuel Garrison], Northeast Region, April 30, 1968,

Park Files, Chronological Reports: Reports to Region.

14. Banton interview; and Baird interview.

200
15. Superintendent [Albert W. Banton, Jr.] to Assistant to the Regional Director, Cooperative Activities and Public

Affairs, Northeast Region, September 2, 1969, Park Files,

Chronological Reports, Reports to Region; and [Albert W. Banton, Jr., ] "Lincoln Living Historical Farm" (Lincoln

City, 1969, Typescript)

.

16. See Park Files, Chronological Reports: Reports to Region

.

17. Ibid.

18. "Lincoln Living Historical Farm."

19. Ibid.

20. Barry Mackintosh, Interpretation in the National Park

Service: A Historical Perspective (Washington, D.C.:

National Park Service, History Division, 1986), 68; and Park

Files, Chronological Reports: Reports to Region.

21. Banton interview; Baird interiew; and Operations

Evaluation Report, July 18, 1972, Park Files, Park

Evaluations.

22. Acting Superintendent to Assistant Director, Cooperative

Activities, January 19, 1973, Midwest Region files, Central

Files.

23. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Assistant

Director, Cooperative Activities, February 8, 1974, Midwest

Region Files, Central Files.

24. The words quoted are those of Bureau Historian Barry

Mackintosh, in a note to the author, June 4, 1985. The

opinion is shared by others within the National Park Service.

25. Telephone conversation, Superintendent Norman Hellmers

with author, November 14, 1986.

26. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Regional Director

[Merrill D. Beal] , January 23, 1976, Midwest Region files,

Central Files.

27. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Regional Director

[Merrill D. Beal], Midwest Region, February 22, 1986, Midwest

Region files, Central Files.

28. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Assistant to the

Director for the Bicentennial, July 29, 1975; Franklin S.

201
Roberts and Wendy Appleton to [Acting Superintendent] Jim

Burnett, n.d.; and press release, n.d., all in Park files,

Unites States Bicentennial.

29. Superintendent [John C. W. Riddle] to Regional Director

[Merrill D. Beal] , Midwest Region, March 7, 1975, Park files,

United States Bicentennial.

30. Warren D. Beach, letter to author, December 1985.

31. Press release, n.d.; and Jasper Herald , June 28, 1980,

both in Park files, Yearly Activities, 1980.

32. Press release, n.d., Park Files, Yearly Activities,

1980.

33. Rockport Journal-Democrat , September 24, 1981, Park

Files, Yearly Activities, 1981.

34. Rockport Journal-Democrat , May 20, 1982, Park Files,

Yearly Activities, 1982.

35. Press release, June 17, 1982, Park Files, Yearly

Activities, 1982.

36. "Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Special Summer Events

Program" (National Park Service, n.d., Flier), Park Files,

Yearly Activities, 1983.

37. "Arbor Day" (National Park Service, April 8, 1983,

Program), Park Files, Yearly Activities, 1983.

38. Dubois County [Indiana] Herald , May 5, 1983, Park Files,

Yearly Activities, 1983.

39. Rockport Journal-Democrat , July 28, 1983, Park Files,

Yearly Activities, 1983.

40. Rockport Journal-Democrat , March 10, 1982, Park Files,

Yearly Activities, 1982.

41. Eastern National Park & Monument Association Newsletter , (Spring/Summer 1983), Park Files, Yearly Activities, 1983.

42. Banton interview; Beach, letter to author, December

1985; and Norman D. Hellmers to author, December 5, 1986.

43. Burns, letter to author, January 1986; Banton interview;

Dale News , August 22, 1980, Park Files, Yearly Activities,

202
1980; Santa's Country , July 6, 1977, Park Files, Yearly

Activities, 1977; and Park Files, Yearly Activities, 1983.

44. Memorandum, Park Ranger [Don F. Adams] to Superintendent, November 21, 1986.

45. Interview, Mrs. Glenn (Freda) Schroder with Don F. Adams, Lincoln City, November 20, 1986.

46. Ibid.

47. Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association, Quality of Play and

Production Committee, Statement of Purpose and Guidelines,

(Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association, [1985,] Draft), 2. 48. Superintendent [Norman Hellmers] to Regional Director

[Charles H. Odegaard], Midwest Region, April 23, 1985,

Midwest Region files, Central Files; Lincoln Boyhood Drama

Association, "Quality of Play and Production Committee,

Statement of Purpose and Guidelines" (Lincoln Boyhood Drama

Association, [1985,] Draft). Specifically, the Lincoln

Boyhood Drama Association hoped to show that Abraham

Lincoln's life was not overly tragic, his family was not

poor, Thomas Lincoln was a responsible father, Nancy Hanks

Lincoln was not illegitimate, and that the boy was called

Abraham in his pre-law years.

49. Ibid.

50. Superintendent [Norman Hellmers] to Regional Director

[Charles Odegaard], Midwest Region, April 23, 1985, Midwest

Region files, Central Files.

203
APPENDIX A

Act Authorizing Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

9. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Page Establishment authorized Act of February 19, 1962 383

Lincoln Boy- hood National Memorial, Ind

Establishment.

An Act To provide for the establishment of the Lincoln Boy- hood National Memorial in the State of Indiana, and for other

purposes, approved February 19, 1962 (76 Stat. 9) Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress as- sembled, That in order to preserve the site in the State of Indiana associated with the boyhood and family of Abraham Lincoln, the Secretary of the Interior shall designate the original Tom Lincoln farm, the nearby

gravesite of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and such adjoining

lands as he deems necessary for establishment as the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. However, the area designated for establishment shall not exceed two hundred acres. Sec. 2. The Secretary is authorized to acquire by donation or purchase with donated or appropriated funds, land and interest in land within the designated area. When land has been acquired in sufficient quantity to af- ford an initially administrable unit of the national park

system, he shall establish the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial by publication of notice thereof in the Federal

Register. Sec. 3. The Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior as a part

of the national park system in accordance with provisions of the Act entitled "An Act to establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes", approved

August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535), as amended and

supplemented.

Sec. 4. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated Appropriation such sums as are necessary to carry out the purposes of

this Act, but not more than $1,000,000, of which not more

than $75,000 shall be expended for the acquisition of lands or interests in land.

16 D.S.C 1-43

passim.

204

APPENDIX B Maintenance Guide for the Lincoln Memorial

Prepared by Architect Richard E. Bishop

November 1942

Origin of handwritten notes is unknown; some appear to be the

writing of Robert D. Starrett, Supervisor of Memorials and

Museum Curator for the Indiana Department of Conservation.

205
THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION

STATE OF INDIANA 1NTRA-DEPARTMENTAL MEMORANDUM

BJE'-T LINCOLN MEMORIAL DATE, Novg 11-1-2 A. V. BAILEY FPTM ^CHARD E> BISHOP (\0-M vi ^sr^ ^-^

^

The following notes were given -(long hand) to Mr. Jack

Ritchie last week* He intends to start some of the cleaning as soon

as possible -*ut the floor waxing and stone floors will probably not

be done before you again visit the job.

Notes as given to Ritchie :• —Stone floors «—TM—iii—^i 1. Scrub (using concrete cleaner as per directions - take

care to keep off of adjoining woodwork-work around the wood by hand*

(Rinse with clear water).

2 # Dry thoroughly.

3. Apply floor seal (1 coat only as per directions)

lw Let dry thoroughly before using

Brick Floors.

1. Scrub (using concrete cleaner, sane as an stone floors).

Scrape off spots of lime, etc., before scrubbing

2. Wax and polish when thoroughly dry. \jO^ <• Wood Floors l 1.^

^

^v^

1. Sweep and dust thoroughly f V^ 2. Clean (do not scrub) all wood floors with (a minimum)

of water and washing powder as per directions.

This cleaning to be done by hand, using damp cloth (wring almost dry).

3. Wipe off the cleaning solution with cloth dampened

(almost )dry in clear water only.

Keep cleaning and wiping rags clean by frequent rinsing.

U. Dry Immediately with dry cloths*

£• Wax and polish, using wax applicator and electric polisher.

Wood floors to receive 3 coats wax«polished after each coat. Very truly yours,

(Signed) R. E. Bishop

REB/fd Architect.
DIRECTIONS FOR REGULAR MAINTENANCE WORK ~

NANCY HANKS LINCOLN MEMORIAL BUILDING* LINCOLN STATE PARK LINCOLN CITY, IND*

CLEANING STONE AND BRICK FLOORS 1# Stone Vestibul Floors-Clean of all spots and s.crub with white laundry

soap and water using a fibre scrubbing brush. The amount of soap re- quired is about lj bars of coap to the bucket of water or a sufficient

quantity of soap powder to make a similar good soapy solution* The soap

should be dissolved by being boiled, preferably in soft water* It is an

advantage to add about 5 tablespoons of ammonia to a bucket of water B This helps cut the grease* After scrubbing, rinse thoroughly with clear water.

2* INTERIOR BRICK-FLOORS- Clean with soap and water as described for stone floors • Finish with floor wax, same as used for wood floors and polish*

3* EXTERIOR BRICK FLOORS- Clean with soap and water*

TAINTING AND WAXING (WOODWORK AND WOOD FLOORS

)

1* All enameled woodwork (Yellow Poplar)

This woodwork (off-white in color) should be kept clean with a cleaning

agent, especially prepared and recommended for cleaning fine enameled

woodwork. When repainting is necessary, use Devoe and Reynolds semigloss enamel, Color No* 837* For cleaning use, wSoilaxw or if any other

cleaning agent is used, the approval of the State Engineer's office must

be obtained*

2* All oiled and Waxed Woodwork (All walnut and cherry and y-poplar beams and

trusses)*

All of this type of woodwork was given 2 coats of quick drying "Itinwax"* 1/16 part of Devoe and Reynolds, brown mahogany, oil stain, was added for

the cherry wood only* When dry, all walnut and cherry woodwork was waxed

and polished*

Rewaxing should be done at least once a year and oftener if necessary* Use only the best grade of ,, carnauba,, wax*

3* Dusting* All wood rails, sills, ledges, etc* should be kept free from

dust at all time 3 « This also applies to wood beams and truss members

that are so placed as to catch dust* Trusses, roof beams, etc* should be dusted at least once each year*

U* Waxed Wood Floors * These oak floors were originally finished with

TIqulZ~,'Mlnwaxir an3

,Then waxed and polished similar to ths wood work*

Floors should be rewaxed as necessary to keep them clean and polished*

Before waxing, remove all dust and dirt. When stone dust or grit has been

tracked into the floors, clean before waxing, using No. 1 steel wool with

mild soap suds* Use only a minimum of watar. The steel wool should be only
damp* Wipe off the soapy water immediatelya $. Painted Metal Work* Iron railings and grilles and any other ornamental iron or exposed iron

work should be kept free from rust and painted with dull black exterior

paint* Iron work should be inspected at least once each year*

6* Exterior Wood Doors and Frames All of these are finished with best grade spar varnish. Whenever the finish shows any signs of wear, the finish should be renewed* Before

varnishing, clean with fine sandpaper or stoel wool* Apply one or two

coat3 of best grade spar varnish and when dry rub gently with fine steel wool to produce a "rubbed" dull polished surface. Tops and bottoms outside doors should be well protected with exterior paint. MISCSIIANEOUS ITKZ3.

1« Cleaning Bras3»

Keep all ornamental brass clean and polished at all timesa Use a thoroughly reliable metal polish* This applies to all finish hardware,

light fixtures, and irons or other miscellaneous brass work»

2. Aluminum Sash and Windows * Keep glass and rails, muntins, etc* clean at all times* Clean the aluminum

by rubbing with fine steel wool*

3a Sliding Door Tracks * Keep these tracks well greased to reduce wear and

noise

a

U. Pipe Tunnels* Inspect the tunnels frequently to detect leaks. Tunnels should be dry and free from water at all times

5* Caulking * This applies to the caulking around wood frames and other wood- work where wood joints stonework. It also applies to caulked stone joints,

in the wall coping and other stone work with exposed top joints* As soon as the present caulking gets hard and cracks, the joints should be

re caulked with new caulking compound. Best results will be obtained by

using a good gun-grade caulking compound of a color to closely match

the stone work* The caulking compound used was ttArcoH made by the Arco

Co. of Cleveland, Ohio* Any new caulking should be the same or equal In color and quality as approved by the State Engineer's Office

a

ROOF INSPECTION. The tar and gravel roofs should be inspected carefully every spring and every fall for leaks, slips or failure of any kind* Any

serious defects should be immediately reported to the State Engineer's Office at the Conservation Department, Indianapolis* A similar inspection of all metal roofs should be made at the same time and any defects reported
WOOD TRUSSES IN ABE LINCOLN HALL.

If there is any indication of sagging in the bottom chords of the large wood trusses in Abe Lincoln Hall, the State Engineer should bs notified at once. These trusses should be inspected for alignment and for any excessive checking or cracking once every year.

STONE AND BRICK MORTAR-POINTING . Every year, preferably in the spring, the stone mortar joints should

be inspected. All loose or cracked mortar should be removed and replaced

with new mortar. New mortar should match the original mortar which was

made from "Rich Mortar" in proportion of 1 part cement to 2\ parts sand* RECORD OF INSPECTIONS . The custodian of the buildings will be required to keep a record and

make a report of maintenance work and inspection or forms provided for

that purpose.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF PLUMBING AND HEATING EQUIPMENT NANCY HANKS LINCOLN MEMORIAL.

PLUMBING LAVATORIES

All lavatories should be cleaned once each day and more often if found necessary. The lavatories can be cleaned with any good scouring compound. All rust stains should be completely removed and lavatories kept free of all

stains*

URINALS t The urinals should also be kept free of all rust and other stains. A good scouring compound can also be used for removing stains from the urinals

Urinals should be cleaned daily or as often as found necessary to keep them in good appearance at all times. WATER CLOSETS

t

Water closets should also be kept clean and free of stains. Scouring

compound can be used for the removal of stains. If the stains cannot be removed

with scouring compound, sani-flush may be used for this purpose. In using saniflush, it is best to allow this to stand in the bowl over night and then the bowl

should be washed down with this solution. Bowls should be cleaned as frequently

as is necessary to leap them in a clean condition. The toilet seats should be washed once each day with a weak chlorine solution. This solution can be made from purex or chlorox which can be purchased. at a local grocery store*

LADIES AND MEN'S WASH ROOMS I Ladies and Men's Wash Rooms shall be kept clean and free of all waste paper and foreign matter at all times. These rooms should be inspected at least

twice each day and more often if necessary

FAUCETS 1 All faucets^ flushometers and closet tank floats should be checked at
least one each week for leaks* If any of the fixtures are found to be leaking

they should be repaired at once. WATER LINES » The water lines in the tunnel should be checked once each month

for leaks and if any leaks are found they should be repaired at once* HOT WATER HEATER

t

The hot -water heater should be flushed twice each year in order to

remove any sediment or rust which nay be deposted in the heater. The electric

switch which controls this heater should be turned off when flushing the tank

and should never be turned on until the heater is full of water*

HEATING BOILER ROOM:

The operation of the boiler is automatic as long as it is being

fired with fuel oil, but the boiler room should be visited at least twice each

day to make sure that everything is operating properly. The boiler tubes should

be cleaned out with a flue brush at least once each week during the operating

season. The blow-off valve on both the water column and the water level con- troller should be opened once each reek in order to eliminate any sediment which

has accumulated in these two units. The boiler should be blown down once each

month. By blowing down is meant that the valve in the rear of the boiler should

be opened for a sufficient length of time to discharge all mud which may have assumulated in the lower section of the boiler. At the end of each season, the boiler should be completely drained and refilled with clean water and allowed to stand in this condition during the summer months.

If for any reason it is necessary to fire the boiler with coal, the switch on the oil burner should first be turned off before a fire is built in

the boiler. At some future date it may be decided to use a boiler compound in
the boiler, and if this is the case, complete instructions will be furnished

for the use of the compound at the time it is decided to use it*

The boiler should operate between approximately 2 and 7 pounds pressure*

The pressuretrol is now set for this range, but should this range change for any reason, the pressuretrol can be adjusted by means of the small set screw

on the side of this unit* The pressuretrol is mounted at the top of the boiler*

Printed instructions on the operation and care of the boiler and oil

burner are posted with these instructions. Read them carefully and be thoroughly familiar with them* Check the fuel tank frequently to Taake sure that sufficient oil

is on hand at all times. A gauge table is included with these instructions

so that the amount of oil in the storage tank can easily be determined by

measuring the depth of oil in the tank* Keep the outside of the boiler and all pipes wiped off with a damp

cloth so that no dust or dirt will accumulate on them* Also, keep all brass

valves and brass trio polished at all times* Keep the boiler room neat and tidy and free of all dirt and foreign natter*

EQUIPMENT ROOM

j

The motor on the vacuum pump and the blower should be kept oiled*

If these motors are lubricated with grease, the grease cups should be filled

about twice each year. If the motors are oil lubricated the oil cups should

be inspected once each month and filled as needed* The motors should be thoroughly wiped off once each week and kept free of all dust and dirt*

Particular care should be taken to wipe outside of oil cups clean and dry

after filling them*
The vacuum pump should normally be operated on vacuum control*

The pump should pull a vacuum of at least k* to 6

W

. If the vacuum should

become much less than this, it would indicate a leak somewhere in the supply or return lines, and an inspection should be made to locate the leak*

During mild weather, or at night, the vacuum pump may be operated on float control if it is found desirable to do soe All equipment, pipes, ventilating ducts, etc* should be wiped off

once each week with a damp cloth. All brass valves and brass trim should be

kept well polished* The room should be kept free of all dirt and debris

and kept tidy at all times. Any rust spots which may form on any metal

surfaces should be immediately painted.

The heating coil in tho ventilating system should be shut off except

when in use. The heating coil and the inside of the ventilating ducts, as well as the plenum chamber, should be thoroughly cleaned twice each year. The

outside screen on the intake of the ventilating system should also be cleaned

at least twice a year or more often if found necessary*

GENERAL—

If trouble develops in any of the electric control valves, theremostats, steam traps, vacuum pump, oil burner or special controls and regulators*

these should not be tampered with and the Indianapolis Office should be

immediately notified of any such trouble « In case of an emergency^ a qualified

mechanic can be called in to service the unite which are giving trouble* A chart has been furnished giving the location and function of each

valve in the plumbing and heating system and this chart should be consulted

b#fore opening or closing any valve*

Painting of piping, boiler, boiler room and equipment will be necessary

to maintain tho good appearance but the Indianapolis Office should be consulted

before such v/ork is done*
\^ vj^t^To^i rv^-3^ O

DUTIES

1. Day-to-day janitor work.

2. Cleanup courtyard and cloister.

3. Polishing brass.

U. Keep rest rooms clean.

5. Scrubbing limestone floors in lobbies (2 - chapel <k hall)

6. Guide Service for Public.

7. Sell: Bird Books 100 -~\ Turn money &

Tree Books 200 N record over to Memorial Booklet 25>0 ( Superintendent

Post Cards 5>£ each / each wiBBW^.^during _^jjc of'

Photo -Racket 2$<p J summer. la winter

s Ma^^I' 5 ' —S oRly- vhen you have fllQ.© 8. Cut grass - Courtyard & in front of memorial.

9. Look after shrubbery as directed by landscape men from central

office. Keep limbs k trash out of graveyard.

10. Keep appearance good. Uniform is required.

11. Ask Kennedy questions and write down information which you

can use later.

12. Call on Superintendent for assistance.

13 • Work Sunday but you get a day off during week in lieu of Sunday, Select day to suit you and ^H«*Laf?r<3P 2 weeks vacation with pay during year. Advise this office a month in advance. Work

it out with gjp^L^rq: Vacation must be taken in calendar

year. VACATION LEAVE IS NOT ACCUMULATIVE.
APPENDIX C Summary of Land Acquisition

at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

215
r~ t "-

o-tr '

- 9 1 G~P EFTRffliH

ni

./i

37 E1E? SB REL

JJ uLuJJ-Lj-g— I;— i fc^i

HI II

16 ! 2S ' I 30 M 44 LJl Jl

Figure C-l: Land acquisition plat map, showing tract numbers

of land parcels referenced in the following

chart.

216
SUMMARY OF LAND ACQUISITION AT LINCOLN BOYHOOD NATIONAL MEMORIAL

TRACT/

ACRES SELLER DATE AMOUNT DESCRIPTION

01-101 Ormal 0. Willison and 6/27/74 15,000 Blocks 1, 2, 7, 10.73 Edna R. Willison 8, 9, and 10. Warranty Deed

No. 2 7. Park

files, Land

Acquisition

File. Lincoln

Boyhood National

Memorial,

Lincoln City.

Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0011 listed the value of the house at $100, the garage at $50, the privy at $5, and the barn at $100. All

but the privy were useable, with repairs. The condition of the

garage and barn was fair, the house and privy were in poor condition. Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0011. Cletus Hohl of Lincoln

City won the contract for their removal. SF-114, n.d. Land

Acquisition File.

01-102 Richard L. Betz and 2/26/74 27,045* Blocks 3 and 4. 3.57 Loretta L. Betz Warranty Deed

No . 2 0. Life estate plus 1 year. Warranty Deed No. 20. The act authorizing the establishment of Lincoln Boyhood did not authorize less than fee acquisition. Superintendent Bill Riddle did

not want to allow Betz use and occupancy rights. See Memorandum,

Superintendent John C. W. Riddle to Regional Director [Chester L. . Brooks], Northeast Region, January 30, 1973. Land Acquisition File.

Riddle was overruled, however, and the use and occupancy granted.

See Attorney General to Secretary of Interior Rogers C. B. Morton,

May 16, 1974. Land Acquisition File. Betz inquired as to his eligibility for reloction benefits

(government reimbursement for cost of relocating his mobile home)

,

but was informed he was not eligible because he was not moving. CNB

[Charlotte N. Baird] to Richard [Betz], October 23, 1973. Land

Acquisition File.

217
01-103 Margaret J. Lemmons and 10/30/73 4,150 Blocks 5 and 6, 2.9 Floyd N. Lemmons a 280- by 500

foot tract less

the railroad

right-of-way and

unimproved

street

.

Appraisal

Report, February

12, 1973; and

Warranty Deed,

Lincoln Boyhood

No. 12. Land

Acquisition

File.

01-104 Ruby G. Stanton (widow), 6/27/74 5,502* Block 12. 1.94 Max Edgar Stanton, and Warranty Deed

Sheral Stanton (his wife) No. 30. June 27,

1974. Land

Acquisition

File.

*With one year use and occupancy.

Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0012 gave the house's value as $50, and

the garage as $20. Both were in poor condition, but useable for

other than their intended purpose. Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0012,

July 29, 1975. Baker Construction Company of Chandler, Indiana, was awarded the contract for removal; he subcontracted the project to Mill Watson of Dale, who removed the structures. SF-33,

Solicitation No. 6400-6-0002, n.d., and SF-18, March 9, 1976. Land

Acquisition File.

01-105 Cincinnati, Rockport, and Not acquired by

0.31 South Western Railway Co. National Park

Service. See Memorandum,

Realty

Specialist

[Chandler E. Simpson ]

,

Indiana Dunes to Superintendent

[Norm Hellmers],

Lincoln Boyhood,

218
February 4, 1983. Land

Acquisition

File.

01-121 Cincinnati, Rockport, and Part of Block 26 0.47* South Western Railway lying south and east of the

right-of-way

.

and

01-122 Cincinnati, Rockport, and Block 26 north

South Western Railway and west of the

right-of-way.

01-136 Cincinnati, Rockport, and

4.77** South Western Railway

01-137 Cincinnati, Rockport, and

South Western Railway

Total acreage of tracts 01-121 and 01-122.

**Total acreage of tracts 01-136 and 01-137.

National Park Service did not acquire; still belongs to railroad.

01-106 James Roy Hevron and 10/9/75 5,000

0.79 Barbara Hevron

Lots 9, 10, 11 and 12, Block

24. Warranty

Deed No . 31 (01-106 and

01-116) , Lots 5, 8, 9, and 12, Block

25.

and

01-116 Helen Hevron and Benjamin

Hevron, Joe Woods and

Wilma Woods, John Woods

and Hilda Woods, Thelma

Medcalf and Theodore

Medcalf, Dalia Bracken and Horace C. Bracken, and

George Woods

Barbara Jones 1/14/77 1,500

On March 28, 1975, the National Park Service made Mr. and Mrs. Hevron a a final offer of $3,250 for tract 01-106. On May 2, 1975,

the Service notified the Hevrons they would condemn the property if the offer was not accepted within 10 days. See Land Acquisition

Officer [F. L. Myers] to Mr. and Mrs. James R. Hevron, May 2, 1975.

219
Land Acquisition File. During the court proceedings over the two tracts, 01-106 and 01-116, it became clear that Wayne Jones, Jr.,

and Barbara Jones, co-owners of the properties, had not been

informed of the property's impending sale. The court awarded the tracts to the U. S. government for payment of $5,000 to the Hevrons,

et al. Barbara Jones (apparently widowed) was paid $1,500 for her

share of the properties. See U. S. District Court, Southern

District of Indiana; U. S. A. v. Hevron, et al. owners, February

18, 1977; and letter, F. Meyer to Mrs. Barbara Jones, May 16, 1975.

Land Acquisition File'. On February 18, 1977, the court awarded the National Park Service tracts 01-106 and 01-116. Land Acquisition File.

01-107 Lyle Schaefer and

0. 58 Glenda Schaefer

1/30/76 5,000 Lots 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,

Block 19. Warranty Deed

No. 76-85. Land

Acquisition

File.

The National Park Service made a final offer of $4,740 on March 28,

1975, and threatened to condemn the property on May 2, 1975. The transaction was apparently completed without court action on January 10, 1976. Land Acquisition File.

01-108

4.7

Helen Hevron 1/14/76 7,890 Lots 1-16, Block

20; Lots 1-8,

Block 24; Lots 1 and 4, Block 25; and Block 11 south and east

of the railroad

right-of-way

(4. 7 acres

total)

.

The government took Mrs. Hevron to court over these properties,

also. The final offer of $5,950 was made March 28, 1975; court

action threatened on May 2. The court awarded the property to the

United States on January 14, 1976. U. S. A. v. Helen Hevron,

January 14, 1976. Land Acquisition File.

220
01-109 Robert Lee Thompson and 12/10/73 2,400 Lots 5 and 6, 0.9 Gloria Jane Thompson Block 21. Warranty Deed

Lincoln

Boyhood No. 14. Land Acquisition

File. A house and three sheds were removed from this tract. The Report of

Survey gave the value of the house as $50 (in poor condition, but

useable); two sheds were estimated at $5 each (poor condition,

•useable only as scrap) ; the third shed was extimated at a value of

$25 (in poor condition, but possibly useable for other than its

intended purpose) . Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0010, July 29, 1975.

Baker Construction Company of Chandler, Indiana, was awarded the contract for removal; he subcontracted the project to Mill Watson of

Dale, who removed the structures. SF-33, Solicitation No. 6400-6-0002, n.d., and SF-18, March 9, 1976. Land Acquisition File.

01-110 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. 1/9/76 5,000

0.6 Polen

and

01-123 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. 0.24 Polen

The Service offered Mr. and Mrs. Polen $2,450 for tract 01-110 and

$225 for tract 01-123 on March 28, 1975. On May 5, Polen asked

$7,000 for 01-110 and $1,200 for 01-123. Land Acquisition Officer

F. L. Myers rejected the offer on May 19, stating the Polen's asking

price was too far over the appraised value of the properties to be accepted. Polen asked Senators Birch Bayh and Vance Hartke and

National Park Service Director Gary Everhardt to intercede on his

behalf. The letters stirred some action. In a letter to the

Associate Director for Park Systems Management [John E. Cook],

Midwest Regional Director Merrill D. Beal pointed out that courts

had been awarding up to 500 percent of appraised values, and the

Service would have to pay court costs, as well (Regional Director to Associate Director, December 17, 1975; Land Acquisition File. On January 9, 1976, The Land Officer was instructed to accept Polen's

current offer of $7,000 for the two tracts. Chief, Division of Lands, Midwest Region, to Land Acquisition Officer, Indiana Dunes,

January 9, 1976. Land Acquisition File.

221
01-111 Tell City Federal 6/27/74 2,380 Lots 7, 8, 9, 0.9 Savings and Loan Assn., 10, 11, and 12,

Regina Suhrheinrich and Block 21. David Suhrheinrich Warranty Deed,

Lincoln Boyhood

No. 2 5. Land

Acquisition

File.

Sheds valued at $50 and $20 respectively were removed before August

13, 1976. Both were identified as useable for other than their

intended purpose, but in poor condition. Baker Construction Company

of Chandler, Indiana, was awarded the contract for removal; he subcontracted the project to Mill Watson of Dale, who removed the structures. SF-33, Solicitation No. 6400-6-0002, n.d., and SF-18,

March 9, 1976. Land Acquisition File.

01-112 Wayne Alva Jones and 6/27/74 4,200 West 80 feet of

0. 51 Jeanne T. Jones Block 22. Warranty Deed

No. 26. Land

Acquisition

File. A $200-house, $5-shed, and a $5-privy were removed. The house was identified as useable with repairs, but in poor condition; the other structures were listed as useable for other than their intended

purpose, but in poor condition. Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0008.

William A. Birchler won the contract for their removal. SF-114,

November 8, 1975. Land Acquisition File.

01-113 Marguerite K. Newman 1/7/76 4,000 Warranty Deed

1.41 No. 3 7. Land

Acquisition

File.

On March 28, 11975, the National Park Service made Mrs. Newman a "final offer" of $2, 950 for tract 01-113. Apparently Mrs. Newman passed away brefore the matter could be settled. The administrator

of her estate asked $4,000 for the property. Regional Director

MerriJl D. Beal asked the Associate Director, Park System Management

John E. Cook for permission to accept the offer and stay out of court. See Regional Director, Midwest Region to Associate Director,

Park System Management, August 13, 1975. Land Acquisition File.

Although no record was located, Cook apparently refused Beal

permission, and the case went to court on February 18, 1977. No

222
one representing Mrs. Newman's estate attended to contest the

declaration of taking, and the court awarded the land to the United

States in turn for payment of $4,000 to the Newman estate. United

States of America v. Marguerite Klink Newman estate and unknown

others, U. S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana,

February 18, 1977. Land Acquisition File.

01-114

1.24

Geneva I. Suhrheinrich 10/26/73 5,000 Block 23 except

for the south

100 feet.

Warranty Deed

Lincoln Boyhood

No. 13. Land

Acquisition

File.

Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0007 gave the house a value of $100. It said the structure was useable, with repairs, but in poor condition.

Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0007, n. d. Baker Construction Company

of Chandler, Indiana, was awarded the contract for removal; he subcontracted the project to Mill Watson of Dale, who removed the structures. SF-33, Solicitation No. 6400-6-0002, n.d., and SF-18,

March 9, 1976. Land Acquisition File.

01-117

0.6

Victor Smith and

Florence E. Smith

7/26/74 25,000 Lots 5, 8, 9, and 12, Block

25. The Smiths

moved their

house to another

location.

Warranty Deed

No. 29. Land Acquisition

File.

01-118

0.45

Daniel W. Walters and

Kathleen F. Walters

3/27/74 9,500 All of Lots 2 and 3 and the east 70 feet of Lots 6, 7, 10,

11, 13, 14, 15,

and 16 in Block

25.

223
and

01-134 Daniel W. Walters and East 70 feet of

0.07 Kathleen F. Walters Lots 17 and 18,

Block 25. Warranty Deed

No. 74-949.

Land Acquisition

File.

Mr. and Mrs. Walters appealed the amount of the relocation allowance

offered them by the National Park Service. Relocation costs are to

be made on the basis of "comparable value" of the property in

question to similar properties in the area. The Walters objected

that National Park Service appraiser Finis T. Rayburn made his

analysis without entering the houses being studied. A hearing was conducted at the park on December 3, 1975; its proceedings are summarized in a memorandum from Superintendent Bill Riddle to Regional Director Merrill Beal dated January 23, 1976. The report

recommended relocation assistance for the Walters totalling

$6,833.33. The files fail to indicate whether the Walters received

the recommended amount. See United State Department of Interior.

"Appeal Hearing for Relocation Assistance, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel W. Walters" (National Park Service, Summary Typescript, 1975).

The house, valued at $500, was removed from tract 01-118 before

August 13, 1976, by Bill Watson of Dale. Watson was a subcontractor

for Baker Construction Co. of Chandler, Indiana. SF-33,

Solicitation No. 6400-6-0002, and SF-18, March 9, 1976. Land

Acquisition File. The house was listed as useable, with repairs,

and in good condition. Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0005. Land

Acquisition File.

01-119 Lincoln Memorial United 4/25/74 11,999 West 70 feet of

0.3 Methodist Church Lots 6, 7, 10,

11, 13, 14, 15,

and 16 in Block

25. Warranty

Deed No. 74- 1379. Land _ Acquisition

File . Superintendent Al Banton initiated conversations between the

National Park Service and Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church

over the sale of tract 01-119 in 1966. On June 15 of that year he reported to Land Acquisition office that he believed the church

would sell the property if the government agreed to also pay

relocation costs. He estimated the cost of the agreement at

224
$20,000. Federal Outdoor Recreation Land Acquisition Program Tract Acquisition Proposal, June 15, 1966. Land Acquisition File.

The National Park Service took no further action until late 1973,

when Thomas Kirn of the Duluth, Minnesota, Land Acquisition Office

contacted Reverand Harry Allemang requesting that the church provide

estimates of its moving costs so that the sale could proceed. On January 22, 1974, Reverand Allemang furnished a detailed estimate of

the costs. Letter, Reverand Harry Allemang, Minister, to Duluth

Land Acquisition Field Office, January 22, 1974. Land Acquisition

File.. Six days later, the Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church

Board of Trustees submitted a formal offer to sell the church and

property for $21,600, that . the National Park Service return the

church structure as a salvage property for the cost of one dollar to

the trustees, and that the two parties negotiate an agreeable time

schedule for the transfer of properties. Lincoln Memorial United

Methodist Church Board of Trustees to Duluth Land Acquisition Field

Office, January 28, 1974. On February 22, 1974, Kirn confirmed

his the offer, stating the check for $11,999 ($12,000 for the church

structure less the one dollar salvage cost) had been ordered, and

that actual moving expenses up to $9,601 would be paid in full.

Thomas M. Kirn to Reverand Harry Allemang, February 22, 1974. Land

Acquisition File.

On March 21, 1974, Kirn informed Reverand Allemang of a reorganization within the National Park Service which transferred

responsibility to Lincoln Boyhood land acquisition to the Indiana

Dunes Land Acquisition Office in Michigan City, Indiana. Kirn

informed them their case would be handled by Frank Ucman of the

Indiana Dunes office. Shortly thereafter, the National Park Service

informed Reverand Allemang that Kirn had made his agreement with the

church without prior authorization from his supervisor, and that the

Service would not be able to pay the full relocation costs Allemang

and Kirn had discussed. On May 6, Reverand Allemang contacted Basil

Lorch, Jr., the church's attorney, outlining the problem and

summarizing the three options he was willing to consider: 1) " . . . they can come up with the $21,000. as agreed by both us and them"

[sic]"; 2) the sale could be cancelled; or 3) the government could

attempt to sue the church for the property, in which case the church

would counter-sue for the full $21,600 and damages. Harry H. Allemang, Minister, to Basil H. Lorch, Jr., May 6, 1974. Land

Acquisition File.

Frank Ucman and Superintendent Bill Riddle met with Attorney Lorch

at Lorch's office in New Albany, Indiana, on May 21, 1974. Ucman explained that Kirn had misinterpreted allowable benefits under P.

L. 91-646, and that the government was not authorized to complete

the agreement discussed by Reverand Allemang and Kirn. Ucman

informed Lorch that the church trustees, Charles E. Ludwig, C. R. Walker, Victor Smith, and Walter Van Winkle, had already signed the

22 5
deed transferring the property to the United States, and the deed

had been recorded. Warranty Deed No. 74-1379, recorded April 25, 1974. Ucman then presented two options for Lorch and his clients to consider: 1) the church could sue the government to have the deed

set aside; or 2) the church could accept a new offer by the National

Park Service' which would allow them to continue to use the church in its current location for 5-12 years under a special use permit.

This would allow them to gather interest on the $11,999 they had

been paid for the building. When the interest was enough to cover

the relocation costs, the Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church

would move the church and the special use permit would be terminated. At Lorch's request, Ucman prepared a special use permit

for Lorch to present to the Board of Trustees. Memorandum to File,

Frank A. Ucman, May 22, 1974. The Lincoln Memorial United Methodist

Church elected to accept the Park Service's offer. Although the

special use permit allowed them to use the church until February

1978, the congregation chose to cease services at that location on September 5, 1976. Superintendent [Bill Riddle] to Regional

Director [Merrill D. Beal] , Midwest Region, February 22, 1977. Land

Acquisition File.

01-120

0.30

Glen Schroder and Freda

Schroder

10/9/75 1,100 Lots 1, 2, and

3, Block 33. Warranty Deed

No. 32. Land

Acquisition

File. (01-120

and 01-140)

and

01-140 Glen Schroder and Freda

0.07 Schroder

10/9/75 West 70 feet of Lots 17 and 18,

Block 25. Land

Acquisition

File.

and

01-151

(GG) 0.30

Glen Schroder and Freda

Schroder

4/19/75 13,700 Lots 7 and 8, Block 33. Warranty Deed

No. 10. Land

Acquisition

File.

The Schroder properties, which included a one story 29- by 50-foot concrete building (the former grocery/gasoline station/restaurant)

and a 1-1/2-story frame residence, were sold as a package for $13,700. Warranty Deed 65-900, September 25, 1975. Land

Acquisition File.

226
The coal houses were removed. Estimated value of structures given

as $1020; condition poor, no value except as scrap. See Report of Survey RS-LIBO-1. Contract for removal of Woods (tract FF) and

Schroder (tract GG) coal houses awarded to Edward K. Thompson of

Lincoln City. SF-114, February 24, 1966. Structures removed in spring of 1966. Land Acquisition File.

The Schroder house was also removed. The Report of Survey estimated

its value at $1,080; and gave their condition as fair, with no value

except as scrap. James Rout of Lincoln City won the contract for

its removal. SF-114, February 24, 1966. Land Acquisition file.

The store, valued at $1,910, was also removed. Its condition was

good, and the Report of Survey suggested it might be of further use

for other than its original purpose. Report of Survey RS-LIBO-7,

February 21, 1966. Frank J. Trinkel, Rockport, won the contract for its removal. SF-114, April 20, 1966. Land Acquisition File.

01-123 Thomas L. Polen and 5/19/76 2,000 Lot 6, Block 41,

0.24 Edith M. Polen and land

immediately west

of Lot 6 (former

Covington

Street)

.

Warranty Deed,

unnumbered.

Land Acquisition

File.

01-124 Blanche Schnuck 5/2 7/74 6, 650* Lots 4 and 5, 0.30 Block 41. Warranty Deed

No. 74-963.

Granted use and occupancy for five years from date of closing.

Warranty Deed No. 74-963, May 27, 1974.

In 1979, Mrs. Schnuck requested relocation costs. In similar

previous requests, court decisions clearly stated relocation

expenses would not be granted in such circumstances. See Regional

Solicitor to Richard A. Wetherill (Mrs. Schnuck's attorney),

January 8, 1980. Land Acquisition File.

Regis Lee Porter of Santa Claus purchased the building for $200, and

moved it to another location. See memorandum, Regional Contracting

Officer [H. L. Garland] to Regional Financial Manager, Midwest

Region. n.d. Land Acquisition File.

227
01-125

0. 52 Fred T. Crews and

Patricia Ann Crews

3/20/74 6,425 Part of Lots 9 and 10 lying

northeast of a line running

parallel to and

50 feet north of

the Cannelton

Branch of the

Southern

Railroad

.

Warranty Deed

Lincoln Boyhood

No. 16. Land

Acquisition

File.

01-126 Southern Railway Co. Unacquired; still belongs to Southern Railway Co. Land Acquisition

File.

01-127 Daniel W. Carver and 11/13/73 3,275* Lot 7, Block 48. 0.15 Diana L. Carver Warranty Deed

No. 18. Land

Acquisition

File . Included use and occupancy for seven months after closing.

Deed Lincoln Boyhood No. 18. Land Acquisition File.

Warranty

This property included a house, valued at $50, a garage, valued at

$25, a $10-shed, and a $5 privy. All were in poor condition but the

shed, listed as fair. Only the privy was useable for other than scrap. Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0003, July 29, 1975. Claude

Springs tun of Dale won the contract for the structures' removal.

SF-114, November 13, 1975. Land Acquisition File.

01-128

0. 65 Elmer D. Clement and Jean R. Clement

1/11/74 2,250 Lot 3, Block 4 7, Warranty Deed

No. 15. Land

Acquisition

File.

228
The house, valued at $30, was listed as useable for other than its

intended purpose, but in poor condition. Report of Survey

RS-6400-6-0004. Baker Construction Company of Chandler, Indiana,

was awarded the contract for removal; he subcontracted the project

to Mill Watson of Dale, who removed the structures. SF-33,

Solicitation No. 6400-6-0002, n.d., and SF-18, March 9, 1976. Land

Acquisition File.

01-129 Clarence Cleaves and Bea 3/24/76 1,000 Unimproved land.

1.38 Cleaves Warranty Deed

No. 3 4. Land

Acquisition

File.

01-130 Junious G. Sanders and 3/28/74 1,280 West 174 feet of

0.86 Florence L. Sanders. East 388.50 feet

of the North

214.50 feet of

the Northeast

quarter

,

Township 5 South, Range 5 West, 2nd

Principal

Meridian

,

Spencer County.

Warranty Deed,

Lincoln Boyhood

No. 19. Land

Acquisition

File,

and

01-131 Junious G. Sanders and 3/18/74 23,000 East 214. 5o feet

1.06 Florence L. Sanders of the north

214. 50 feet of the northeast

quarter of the

northeast

quarter of Section 6, Township 5 South, Range 5 West, 2nd

Principal

Meridian

,

Spencer County.

Warranty

Deed Lincoln

229
Boyhood No. 17. Land Acquisition

File.

The former tavern and home on tract 01-131, valued at $1,000, was in good condition and useable for other than its intended purpose,

according to Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0002, July 29, 1975. Baker

Construction Company of Chandler, Indiana, was awarded the contract

for removal; he subcontracted the project to Mill Watson of Dale,

who removed the structures. SF-33, Solicitation No. 6400-6-0002,

n.d., and SF-18, March 9, 1974. Land Acquisition File.

01-132 Angeline Hopkins 4/14/77 1,000 Warranty Deed

2.0 (deceased) et al., and No. 36. Land

unknown owners Acquisition

File.

Unable to locate the property-owner, the National Park Service went

to court on February 18, 1977. No one appeared to represent the

Hopkins estate. The court awarded the land to the United States for court fees. See United States of America v. Angeline Hopkins

(deceased) et al, and unknown owners, February 18, 1977. Land

Acquisition File.

The $10-cabin, $15-pumphouse , and $5-shed were in poor condition,

but useable for other than their intended purpose. Report of Survey

RS-6400-6-0001, 729/75. Superintendent Riddle noted the structures

had been removed by August 13, 1975; the contractor is unknown.

Land Acquisition File.

01-133 [?] Houston 6/27/74 14,000 Warranty Deed

5.5 Land Acquisition

File.

01-135 [?] Oskin 4/14/77 50 Warranty Deed

0.01 No. 3 6. Land

Acquisition

File . 01-138 [?] Lewis 4/14/77 200 Warranty Deed

.002 No. 3 6. Land

Acquisition

File.

230
01-141

0. 98

[ ?] Hendrickson unacquired

01-142

114. 49 State of Indiana 6/11/63 gift Warranty Deed

No. 1. Land

Acquisition

File.

01-143

(00)

0. 75

John Litkenhus and

Gertrude Litkenhus

5/14/65 8,500 Lots 8, 9/ 10,

11, and 12,

Block 48. Included frame

house and

garage

.

Warranty Deed

No. 65-1237.

Land Acquisition

File. House disposed of per RS-LIBO-6, November 2, 1965. File.

Land Acquisition

John Litkenhus, age 80, apparently felt the Service was not moving

fast enough in completing its purchase of his property. On April

21, 1965, he wrote a letter to Senator Vance Hartke asking Hartke to speed things up. Hartke forwarded to letter to NPS 4/26/65. J. H. Litkenhus to Sen. Vance Hartke, April 21, 1965. Land Acquisition

File. There is no indication of what caused the delay.

The National Park Service removed the Litkenhus house and garage.

Report of Survey RS-LIBO-6 estimated the structures' value at $3,510; it gave the condition as good, and said they might be useful

for something other than their intended purpose. Report of Survey

RS-LIBO-6, November 2, 1965. James Rout of Lincoln City won the contract for their removal. SF-114, February 24, 1966. Land

Acquisition File.

01-144

(CC)

0.20

John Allen Poellein

Carol Jean Poellein

and 6/2/65 10,000 Lots 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10, Block

33. Deed 3, Lincoln Boyhood.

Warranty Deed

No. 65-1404.

Land Acquisition

File.

231
When Mr. Poellein's father-in-law became ill, the park granted an extension to his deadline for removal of personal property, even

though the park planned to use the house as quarters. Acting

Superintendent Milton E. Thompson to John Poellein, September 27,

1965. Land Acquisition File. House removed 1966. RS-LIBO-8, March 16, 1966, estimated its value

at $2,100. It said the house was in good condition and could

continue in its intended use with repairs. Tom Polen of Gentryville

won the contract for its removal, for which he was paid $500. Mrs.

James Rout had submitted a bid in her husband's name for $400, but

Mr. Rout came to the office to withdraw the bid on January 23, 1967.

Super intnednet Albert Banton and Clerk Charlotte Baird witnessed the

action. See copy of bid, in Land Acquisition File.

01-145

0.3

Violet Mercer Anderson 6/16/65 2,250 Lots 1 and 2, Block 48. Land

Ownership

Record, Deed

Book 109, p. 64, June 1966. Land

Acquisition

File.

01-146

(FF)

0.29

Clarence Woods and

Mary Woods

8/16/65 3,000 Lots 15, 16, 17,

and 14 except

3-1/2 feet on the northwest

corner of Lot

14. Land

Ownership

record, Deed

Book 109, p. 190. August 16,

1965. Land

Acquisition

File. Burns allowed Mrs. Woods to remove windows from the structure "as a public relations gimmick to keep the residents of Lincoln City in a fairly good mood — which they seem to be in at present."

Handwritten note, signed "R. Burns," August 4, 1965." Land

Acquisition File.

Coal houses removed. Value of Woods structures estimated at $1020;

condition poor, no value except as scrap. See Report of Survey

RS-LIBO-1, November 2, 1965. Land Acquisition File. Contract for

removal of Woods (tract FF) and Schroder (tract GG) structures

232
awarded to Edward K. Thompson of Lincoln City. SF-114, February 2, 1966. Structures removed in spring of 1966. Land Acquisition File.

01-147

(W)

9.7 • Wayne Gale and

Helen S. Gale

8/16/65 14,000 Beginning 13 rods south and

100 feet west

from the

northeast

quarter of the

northeast

quarter of

Section 6, Township 5 South, Range 5 West, south to point 100 feet west and 820.

7

feet south of

north corner of

quarter quarter

section. 10

acres, including

house. United

States Department of

Interior Land

Ownership

Record. Tract W, Deed No. 6. August 1966; and

Warranty Deed,

August 16, 1965.

Land Acquisition

File.

01-148

(JJ) 0.19

Pearl Shelton and

Ella Shelton

8/19/65 6,000 Lot 3, Block 41,

and 12 feet on west side of Lot

2, Block 41. Warranty Deed

No. 65-2105.

Land Acquisition

File.

The house and garage were removed. The Report of Survey estimated

the structures' value at $3,330; it gave their condition as good,

but assumed no value except as scrap. James Morris of Lincoln City

233
won the contract for their removal

Land Acquisition File.

SF-114, February 24, 1966.

01-149

(KK) 0.2 6 Oatis Tribbie and

Grace Tribbie

9/9/65 1,000 Lot 1 and Lot 2 except the western 12 feet

of Lot 2, Block

41. Warranty

Deed No. 65-

2300. Land

Acquisition

File.

01-150

(EE)

0.16

Ines Elsa Walker 4/2 4/6 5 Lots 11, 12, and

13, Block 33. Warranty Deed

65-2306. Land

Acquisition

File.

Two store buildings damaged by fire prior to purchase removed in 1965. RS-LIBO-83, November 2, 1965. Land Acquisition File.

Both structures were removed. The Report of Survey gave no estimated value for the structures; it gave their condition as poor,

no value except as scrap. See Report of Survey RS-LIBO-3. Abner

Crews of Gentryville won the contract for their removal. SF-114,

February 24, 1966. Land Acquisition File.

01-152 Clyde M. Bunch

0. 68 2/28/74 2,900 South 300 feet

of Block 23. Warranty Deed,

Lincoln Boyhood

No. 21, February 28, 1974,

and Affidavit,

January 30,

1974. Land

Acquisition

File.

The National Park Service paid Mr. Bunch $2,900 for his property,

granted a one-year use and occupancy, and paid him $7,700 relocation

costs. Affidavit, January 30, 1974. Land Acquisition File.

234
Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0006 valued the house at $100, the garage

at $25, and the privy at $5. The house and garage were in poor

condition, but useable with repairs. The privy was useable for

other than its intended purpose, but in poor condition. Report of Survey RS-6400-6-0006, July 29, 1975. Baker Construction Company of

Chandler, Indiana, was awarded the contract for removal; he subcontracted the project to Mill Watson of Dale, who removed the structures. SF-33, Solicitation No. 6400-6-0002, n .d . , and SF-18,

March 9, 1976. Land Acquisition File.

235

APPENDIX D Subjects of In-Sight Television Programs

Presented by

Superintendent Robert L. Burns and Historian John Santosuosso

September 17, 1964

September 24, 1964

October 1, 1964

October 8, 1964

October 15, 1964

October 29, 1964

November 5, 1964-

November 12,, 1964

November 19, 1964

December 3, 1964

December 10, 1964

December 17, 1964

January 7, 1965

January 14, 1965

January 21, 1965

January 28, 1965

Establishment of Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial.

Visitor use of Lincoln Boyhood and

Lincoln State Park.

The National Park story.

The place of the National Park

Service in the Federal government.

Special guest.

National Park Service areas between

Indiana and Florida.

National Park Service areas between

Indiana and the New York World's

Fair.

National Park Service areas open in

winter

.

Winter use in the National Parks.

Special guest.

Unusual wildlife in the National

Parks

.

National Park Service training

schools.

Abraham Lincoln's Kentucky years.

Seasonal employment in the National

Park Service.

Permanent employment in the National

Park Service.

Crossing the Ohio—Lincoln's first

real journey.

236
February 4, 1965 Abraham Lincoln's education in

Indiana.

February 11, 1965 Special program, Lincoln's birthday

February 18, 1965 Lincoln's family, friends, and

neighbors.

February 25, 1965 Abe's unusual boyhood adventures.

March 4, 1965 Special guest, U. S. Forest Service

March 11, 1965 The skills and talents of Abraham

Lincoln.

March 18, 1965 National Park Service areas of the

Southwest.

March 25, 1965 The United States of America during

Lincoln's boyhood.

April 1, 1965 Special guest, U. S. Forest Service

April 8, 1965 A Trip to Yellowstone.

April 22, 19651 The Lincoln family's journey to Illinois.

April 29, 1965 Special guest, superintendent of

Lincoln State Park.

May 6, 1965 Old Faithful, a geyser.

May 13, 1965 The importance and influence of

Lincoln's boyhood years.

From Park files, Publications and Interpretive

Services, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial,

Lincoln City, Indiana. Information on the

remaining television programs is not available

237
APPENDIX E Ministers in the A Christian Ministry in the National Parks Program at Lincoln Boyhood National Monument

Year Minister

1966 Alfred L. Perkins, Jr

,

1967

Apr il- June Alfred L. Perkins, Jr July-August Myrl Moore

1968 Myrl Moore*

1969 Myrl Moore

1970 Gary R. Weaver

1971 Jim Verser

1972 Chester Okopski*

1973 Chester Okopski

1974 Jim Dobbins

1975 Byron R. Dixon

1976 Stan Drenth

1977 Mark Fletcher Johnson

1978 Mark Fletcher Johnson

1979 Jeffrey Stratton

1980 Faith B. Fuller

1981 Timothy Adams

1982 Patricia Edgar and

Jeffrey Hancock

1983 Nels Nilsen

1984 Nels Nilsen

1985 Beth A. Doerring

1986 Beth A. Doerring

1987 Katherine Penick

Secular Employer

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service

Santa Claus Land

Snowflake Restaurant

Windells Restaurant and

National Park Service

Santa Claus Camp

Santa Claus Camp

Santa Claus Camp

Santa Claus Camp

Holiday World

Hearsay, no documentation to verify

238

APPENDIX F Lincoln Day Speakers

Year Speaker Profession

192 6- 1932

1933

No record

Dr. Christopher

Coleman

1934-

1942 No record

1943 Henry Schricker

1946 Richard T. James

194 7 Dr. Ross Lockridge

1948 Edward A.Mitchell

194 9 Ralph Harvey

1950 Dean Walker

1951 Homer Capehart

1952 George S. Jones

1953 D. Bailley Merrill

1954 No record

1955 Charles A. Halleck

1956 Crawford Picker

1957 Curtis Shake

1958 Louis A. Warren

1959 No record

1960 Roy T. Combs and

William Koch

Indianapolis Historical Society

Governor of Indiana

Lt . Governor of Indiana

Historian, Indiana University

Eighth District Congressman

Tenth District Congressman

Indiana Superintendent of Public

Institutions

United States Senator from Indiana

Vice President of Servel, Inc. Eighth District Congressman

Second District Congressman

Indiana Secretary of State

Vincennes Judge

Lincoln Historian, Lincoln Library

President, Indiana Lincoln Foundation

Owner, Santa Claus Land

239
1961 William F. Dudine

1962 Arthur C. Nordhoff

1963 William Koch

1964 Robert Mills

1965 Curtis Shake

1966 Arthur York

1967 Robert Cummings

1968 George B. Hartzog, Jr. 1969 James Morlock

1970 John Lair

1971 Don M. Newman

1972 Howard W. Ellis

1973 Thomas D. Brumett

1974 Elmer Pruess

1975 Robert F. Pollack

1976 "Nancy's Neighbors

1977 Otis R. Bowen

1978 James T. Burnett

1979 Wallace B. Graves

1980 Fr . Gavin Barnes,

OSB

1981 Ross Holland

1982 Charlotte Baird

1983 Mark E. Neely, Jr

Circuit Court Judge

Dubois County Historian

Owner, Santa Claus Land

Mayor of Boonville

Vincennes Judge

Lincoln Heritage Trail Commission

Cannelton News Editor

National Park Service, Director

University of Evansville Professor

Author, Songs Lincoln Loved

Osceola, Indiana, Toastmaster

Methodist Minister

Superintendent, North Spencer County

Schools

Spencer County Teacher

Methodist Minister

(A short play)

Governor of Indiana

Lincoln Boyhood Staff Member

University of Evansville President

Priest

National Park Service Assistant

Director

Lincoln Boyhood Staff Member

Lincoln Historian, Lincoln Library

240
1984 Robert Orr

1985 Peter Harstad

1986 Donald F. Carmony

1987 Ewel Cornett

Governor of Indiana

Director, Indiana Historical Society

Professor Emeritus of History, Indian;

University

Director, "Young Abe Lincoln" (play) ********** Profession of Speakers

Profession Years Total

Historian 1933, 1947, 1958, 1962, 1983, 1985, 1986 7 Politician 1943, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955,

1956, 1964, 1977, 1984 11

Judge 1957, 1961, 1965 3 Businessman 1952, 1960, 1963 3 Educator 1950, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1979 5 Clergyman 1972, 1975, 1980 3 Author 1970 1 National Park

Service 1968, 1978, 1981, 1982 4 Other 1966, 1971, 1976, 1987 4 **********

Sponsors of Lincoln Day Activities

Until 1953 Boonville Press Club, Indiana Department of

Conservation, and the Indiana Lincoln Union

1955-1958 Santa Claus Chamber of Commerce

1960-Present Lincoln Club of Southern Indiana

241

APPENDIX G Permanent Employees of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Listed by Year*

Year Position Employee

1963 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Historian

Maintenance

Robert L. Burns

Charlotte N. Baird

John Santosuosso

Elmer Stein

1964 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Historian

Maintenance

Robert L. Burns

Charlotte N. Baird

John Santosuosso

Elmer Stein

1965 Superintendent (until 8/29)

Superintendent (after 10/10)

Administrative Technician

Historian

Maintenance

Robert L. Burns

Albert W. Banton, Jr Charlotte N. Baird

Don Standi ford

Elmer Stein

1966 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Historian

Maintenance

Albert W. Banton, Jr Charlotte N. Baird

Bob Rheinish

Elmer Stein

1967 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Historian

Maintenance

Albert W. Banton, Jr Charlotte N. Baird

Bob Rheinish

Elmer Stein

1968 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Historian

Maintenance

Farmer

Albert W. Banton, Jr Charlotte N. Baird

John M. Tiff

Elmer Stein

Fred M. Smith

When more than one person served in a position during

the course of the year, the name listed is the person in the

position for the majority of that year, with the exception of

superintendents

.

242
1969 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Historian

Ranger -Inter pre tat ion

Maintenance

Farmer

Albert W. Banton, Jr Charlotte N. Baird

John M. Tiff

Gerald Sanders

Elmer Stein

Fred M. Smith

1970 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Clerk-Typist

Historian

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance

Farmer

Albert W. Banton, Jr Charlotte N. Baird

Ellen Hagedorn

John M. Tiff

Gerald Sanders

Elmer Stein

Fred M. Smith

1971 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Clerk-Typist

Historian

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance

Farmer

Albert W. Banton, Jr Charlotte N. Baird

Ellen Hagedorn

Warren D. Beach

Gerald Sanders

Elmer Stein

Fred M. Smith

1972 Superintendent (until 10/29)

Superintendent (after 11/12)

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Historian

Ranger -Inter pre tat ion

Maintenance

Farmer

Albert W. Banton, Jr John C. W. Riddle

Charlotte N. Baird

Ellen Hagedorn

Warren D. Beach

Gerald Sanders

Elmer Stein

Fred M. Smith

1973 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Historian

Historian

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Farmer

Custodian

John C. W. Riddle

Charlotte N. Baird

Warren D. Beach

Ronald Wilson

Gerald Sanders

Don Breo

Elmer Stein

Fred M. Smith

Geneva Van Winkle

1974 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Historian

Ranger -Interpretation

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Farmer

Custodian

John C. W. Riddle

Charlotte N. Baird

LaVon Michel

Ronald Wilson

Gerald Sanders

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Richard Betz

Geneva Van Winkle

243
1975 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

Youth Conservation Corps

Director

(YCC)

John C. W. Riddle

Charlotte N. Baird

LaVon Michel

Jim Burnett

Gerald Sanders

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Richard Betz

Claude Springstun

Geneva Van Winkle

James C. Merchand

1976 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

John C. W. Riddle

Charlotte N. Baird

LaVon Michel

Jim Burnett

Gerald Sanders

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Bernard Porter

Richard Betz

Claude Springstun

Geneva Van Winkle

1977 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

YCC Director

John C. W. Riddle

Charlotte N. Baird

LaVon Michel

Jim Burnett

Gerald Sanders

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Bernard Porter

Richard Betz

Claude Springstun

Geneva Van Winkle

David L. Allen

1978 Superintendent (until 10/21)

Superintendent (after 10/22)

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

John C. W. Riddle

Warren D. Beach

Charlotte N. Baird

LaVon Michel

Don F. Adams

Gerald Sanders

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Bernard Porter

Richard Betz

Claude Springstun

Geneva Van Winkle

244
1979 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

Warren D. Beach

Charlotte N. Baird

Patricia Wilkerson

Don F. Adams

Gerald Sanders

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Bernard Porter

Richard Betz

Claude Springs tun Geneva Van Winkle

1980 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Inter pre tat ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

Warren D. Beach

Charlotte N. Baird

Patricia Wilkerson

Don F. Adams

Gerald Sanders

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Bernard Porter

Richard Betz

Claude Springstun

Geneva Van Winkle

1981 Superintendent (until 8/23)

Superintendent (after 10/4)

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

Law Enforcement Ranger

Warren D. Beach

Norman D. Hellmers

Charlotte N. Baird

Marcia Kay Koenig

Don F. Adams

Gerald Sanders

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Bernard Porter

Richard Betz

Claude Springstun

Geneva Van Winkle

John R. Whitlock

1982 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

Law Enforcement Ranger

Norman D. Hellmers

Charlotte N. Baird

Teresa A. Thompson

Don F. Adams

Gerald Sanders

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Richard Betz

Bernard Porter

Claude Springstun

Geneva Van Winkle

John R. Whitlock

245
1983 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Ranger -Inter pre tat ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

Law Enforcement Ranger

Norman D. Hellmers

Gail Menard

Teresa A. Thompson

Don F. Adams

Gerald Sanders

Patsy A. Bates

Donald Breo

Elmer Stein

Richard Betz

Melvin Albertz

Claude Springstun

Geneva Van Winkle

John R. Whitlock

1984 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Maintenance

Farmer

Farmer

Custodian

Law Enforcement Ranger

Norman D. Hellmers

Gail Menard

Teresa A. Thompson

Don F. Adams

Gerald Sanders

Patsy A. Bates

James E. Hauver

Elmer Stein

Richard Betz

Melvin Albertz

Claude Springstun

Geneva Van Winkle

Martin J. Walsh

1985 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief Ranger

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Ranger -Inter pre tat ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Maintenance

Farmer

Law Enforcement Ranger

Norman D. Hellmers

Lee U. Jewell

Teresa A. Thompson

Don F. Adams

Gerald Sanders

Patsy A. Bates

James E. Hauver

Melvin Albertz

Richard Betz

Claude Springstun

Martin J. Walsh

1986 Superintendent

Administrative Technician

Secretary

Chief of Operations

Resources Management

Specialist

Ranger -Interpret at ion

Maintenance Foreman

Maintenance

Maintenance

Farmer

Law Enforcement Ranger

Norman D. Hellmers

Lee U. Jewell

Teresa A. Thompson

Gerald Sanders

Don F. Adams

Patsy A. Bates

W. Thomas Hoots,

Richard Betz Melvin Albertz

Claude Springstun

Martin J. Walsh

Jr

246
1987 Superintendent Norman D. Hellmers

Administrative Technician Lee U. Jewell

Secretary Teresa A. Thompson

Chief of Operations Gerald Sanders

. Resources Management

Specialist Don F. Adams

Ranger-Interpretation Patsy A. Bates

Maintenance Foreman W. Thomas Hoots, Jr Maintenance Richard Betz

Maintenance Melvin Albertz

Law Enforcement Ranger Martin J. Walsh

247
APPENDIX H Managers of the Indiana Lincoln Park

Year (s) Manager** Title

192 5-2 7 1928-31

1932-40

1941-44

194 5-4 6 1947-48

194 9-51

1952-55

1956-59

1960-67

1968

1969-71

1972-77

1978-present

Noah Spur lock

Joseph D. Wiebe

Walter R. Ritchie

Walter R. Ritchie

Roland E. Stroud

unknown

Claude H. Bates

Russell A. Laird

Eugene Ayer

Charles E. Weber

Jay Goodwin

Charles Conner

Billy Carlisle

Steve Lemen

Custodian

Custodian

Custodian

Superintendent

Superintendent

Superintendent

Superintendent

Superintendent

Superintendent

Superintendent

Property Manager

Property Manager

Property Manager

*The name of the park changed several times. From 192 5 until 1930, it was called the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Burial

Ground. In 1931, the park, including the gravesite and

formal areas as well as the recreational park, became known

as Lincoln State Park. The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial name

was applied to the commemorative subunit of Lincoln State

Park from 1937 until 1962, when it became a unit of the

National Park System known as Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial.

**When more than one manager served during the course of

a given year, the manager named is the one who served the

majority of that year.

248

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United States Bicentennial, 1976. Lincoln Boyhood National

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State Memorial Inventory and Transfer of Property. Lincoln

Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

Yearly Activities, 1963-1983. Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) . Lincoln Boyhood

National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) . Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana.

Oral History Interviews/Correspondence Interviews

Baird, Charlotte N. Interview with author. Lincoln City,

Indiana, July 11, 1985.

Banton, Albert W., Jr. Interview with author. Indianapolis,

Indiana, September 19, 1985.

Beach, Warren D. Letter to author, December 1985.

256
Burns, Robert L. Letter to author, January 1986.

Hartzog, George, Jr. Interview with author. Washington,

D.C., April 22, 1986.

Hellmers, Norman D. Letter to author, December 5, 1986.

Koch, William. Interview with author. Santa Claus, Indiana,

July 10, 1986.

Palmer, George A. Letter to author, May 22, 1987.

Schroder, Mrs. Glenn (Freda). Interview with Don F. Adams.

Lincoln City, Indiana, November 20, 1986.

Stein, Elmer F. Interview with author. Lincoln City,

Indiana, July 9, 1985.

Taylor, Hilda. Interview with author. Lincoln City,

Indiana, July 10, 1985.

Secondary Sources

Armstrong, Joseph D. "The Lincolns in Spencer County."

n .p. , n .d . Baird, Charlotte N. "The Making of a Memorial,"

Rockpor t-Spencer County Sesquicentennial n .p . , n .d . [Bishop, Richard E. ] "Architect's Report to the Indiana

Lincoln Union, Executive Committee." Typescript.

Indianapolis: Indiana Lincoln Union, 1944.

Bishop, Richard E. The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial . Indianapolis: Indiana Lincoln Union, 1944.

[Brown, Paul V.] The Indiana Lincoln Memorial in Spencer

County, Indiana, Guarding the Grave of Nancy Hanks

Lincoln and the Site of the Cabin that was Abraham

Lincoln's Hoosier Home from his Seventh to his

Twenty-First Year . Indianapolis: Indiana Lincoln

Union, 193 8. Daniels, E. H. "Indiana's Lincoln Memorial," The Abraham

Lincoln Quarterly 2, No. 5 (March 1943) :221-225.

Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association. "Quality of Play and

Production Committee, Statement of Purpose and

Guidelines." Draft. n .p . , [1985].

257
Gray, Ralph. "Vacation Tour Through Lincoln Land." National

Geographic 101, no. 2 (February 1952) :141-184.

Hartke, Vance. "Young Abe Lincoln was a Hoosier: How the

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial became Indiana's

First National Park Service Area." Pamphlet.

Indiana State Library, Indianapolis.

Lindsey, U. S. , and C. T. Baker. Lincoln Memorial Park,

Lincoln City, Indiana . Tell City, Indiana: News Publishing Co. [1931].

Ehrmann, Bess V. The Missing Chapter in the Life of Abraham

Lincoln. Chicago: Walter M. Hill, Publisher, 1938.

Frederick, Robert Allen. "Colonel Richard Lieber

,

Conservationist and Park Builder: The Indiana

Years." Doctoral dissertation. Bloomington:

Indiana University, 1960.

Patterson, Carolyn Bennett. "Our Land Through Lincoln's

Eyes." National Geographic 117, no. 2 (February

1960) :243-277.

258
INDEX

A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP) 50 Adams Westlake Company .. 67 Adams, Don F 244-247

Adams , Timothy 238 Advisory Board on National

Parks, Historic Sites,

Buildings and Monuments 51 Albertz, Melvin 246-247

Albright, Horace 50 Allemang, Rev. Harry ... 225

Allen , David L 244 Allen, Thomas J., Jr. ... 59 Ames, Iowa 159

Anderson, Violet Mercer 232 Angle, Paul 75 Appleman, Roy E. 9, 152, 162 Armstrong, Joseph D. . 10-11 Armstrong , W. A 66 Aspinall, Wayne N 110 Auchampaugh, Philip 50 Ayer, Eugene 107, 248

B Bains, K. L 88 Baird, Charlotte, N. .. 119, 127, 171, 232, 240, 242-

245

Baker Construction Company

218, 221-224, 229-230, 235

Ball, Frank C. 24, 29, 89-91 Banton, Albert W., Jr. 126-

128, 140, 141, 146, 148-

149, 152-155, 158, 172, 182-188, 195, 232, 242-243

Barnes, Frank 106 Barnhart , Hugh 82 Barnes, Fr. Gavin, OSB . 240 Barton, William 17

Bates, Claude H 248

Bates, Patsy A 246-247

Bayh , Birch 221 Beach, Warren D. .. 131-133,

172, 188, 191-192, 243, 245

Beal, Merrill D 130, 162, 221-222," 224

Bearss, Edwin C 152,

154, 158

Behrman, Rev. Peter . — 145

Bench , Clyde 173

Betz, Ioretta L 217

Betz, Richard L 217, 243-247

Birchler, William A. ... 222

Bishop, Richard E. ("Louie")

58-75, 86-87, 145-146, 215

Bloomington, Indiana .... 67 Board of Commissioners . 15, 18-19

Booker T. Washington National Monument, Virginia 153 Boonville, Indiana 240 Boonville Press Club ... 18,

38, 41, 93, 241

Bowen, Otis R 240

Bowers, Claude 17

Boy Scouts 93-95 Bracken, Dalia , ... 219 Bracken, Horace C 219 Branham, Henry C 11 Breo, Donald .. 129, 243-246

Brigins, Mrs." Oscar 196 Brcman , Stan 130 Brookline, Massachusets . 21 Brooks, Chester T 217

Brown, Francis F 90 Brown, Grace 124

Brown, John J 17

Brown, O.V. ("Orrie") .. 148

Brown, Paul V. 28, 49-51, 59 Brumett, Thomas D 240

Bunch, Clyde M 234

Burnett, James T 240

Burns, Ned ' 71 Burns, Robert L. ..115, 119-

126, 139, 141, 143-146,

171-172, 180-182, 232, 242

Burns, Vivian 182

Cabin Site Memorial .. 43-46

155, 161

259
Capehart, Homer 239 Carlisle, Anne Stude baker

22, 24 Carlisle, Bill 190, 248 Carlisle, Mary 185, 190 Carmony, Donald F 240 Carnahan Lumber Company . 67 Carter Township, Indiana

141, 148

Carver, Daniel W 228 Carver, Diana L 228 Century of Progress Exposition 159

Chandler, Indiana 218, 221, 222-224, 229-230, 235 Chewning , John 17

Chrisney, Indiana 156 Cincinnati, Ohio . 10-11, 13 Cincinnati, Rockport, and South Western Railway Co. 218-219 Civilian Conservation Corps

(CCC) 36, 41-49

Clary, David 130 Clawson, Marion 152 Cleaves , Clarence 229 Cleaves, Bsa 229

Clement, Elmer D 228 Clement, Jean R 228

Coats, Nellie 75 Colgan, Rev. Tobias 145

Coleman, Dr. Christopher 239 Ccmbs, Roy T. . 97, 109-110,

114, 239 Comprehensive Education

Training Act (CETA) .. 175

Cook, John E 221-222

Conen, Mary 184, 193

Conen, Mike 130 Conner , Charles 248

Corkin, William Q 7 Cornett, Ewel 240 Cornwall, Julian 146

Cougill, Ken R 88,

92, 97-98, 108

Coyne , Claude 66 Crews, Abner . 156, 196, 234 Crews, Mrs. Abner 196

Crews , Frank T 228 Crews, Patricia Ann 228 Culver, J. S 14 Culver, Stone 14, 41 Cummings, Robert 240

Dale, Benjamin B 13 Dale, Indiana . .... 6, 8, 22, 120, 124-125, 181, 188,

208, 221-224, -228-230, 235 Duluth , Minnesota 225 DuBois County, Indiana . 240 Daniels, Elmer H. ("Dan") 68-73, 82, 90 Dean, Bill 130 Dirksen, Everett McKinley

183 Deig Brothers Construction 146

Demaray, Arthur 50 Denton, Winfield K. 105-109,

111-112, 115, 145, 154 Denver Service Center . 161-

163

De Tur k , Char les 66 Deutsch, Chester 146

Dobbins, Jim 238 Dierks, Ralph 130 Dixon, Byron R 238 Doering, Beth A 238 Doggett, Denzil 66 Drenth, Stan 238

Drury, Newton 71 Dudine, William F 240

Eastern National Park & Monument Association (ENP&MA) 193-195

Eastern Office of Design

and Compliance .. 123-124,

144, 146

Edelman, Bob 121

Edgar, Patricia '238

Edison National Historic

Site, New Jersey 131 Ehrmann , Bess V 28 Elkhart, Indiana 67 Ellis, Howard W 240 El Morro National Monument,

New Mexico 131 Environmental Study Area 174 Evansville, Indiana .. 24,

66, 88, 99, 107, 121, 153, 180 188, 190 Everhardt , Gary 221

260
Fairbanks, Charles W. ... 13 Feightner, Mia 158

Feil, Andrew 106, 113 Ferguson, Carrie 13, 19

Ferguson, Robert L. . 13, 19 Ford , June 121

Ft. Wayne, Indiana 18 Fuller, Faith B 238

Gale , Wayne 233 Gale, Helen S 233 Garrison, Lemuel A. ... 144, 155

Gary, Indiana 27 Gentry, James 10 Gentryville, Indiana ... 49, 156, 196, 234

George Rogers Clark Memorial

67 George Rogers Clark National Historical Park 126-

129, 131 George Washington Birthplace, Virginia . 152, 153 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 41 Gilkey, L. S 11 Girl Scouts 188 Goodwin , Jay 248

Grand Portage National

Monument, Minnesota .. 133

Graves, Wallace B 240 Grigsby, Eli 49

Grigsby, J. M 10 Grigsby, Nathaniel . . 10, 11 Gross, H. R 111 H

Hartzog, George B. , Jr., 128

128, 152-155, 187, 240

Harvey, Ralph 239 Hatcher, C. W 44 Hauver , James W 246

Hays, Will 20 Hedrick, Marts, and Lundy,

Inc. 24-25

Hellmers, Norman D. ... 133-

136, 172, 188, 193, 245-

247

Hemenway, James 10-13 Hendrickson, [?] 231 Heriot , Ruthanne 185 Heritage Hills High School 163-164

Herndon, William 7 He vron , Helen 220 Hevron, James Roy .. 219-220

Hevron, Benjamin ... 219-220

Hibben, Thomas 26, 43, 55-58 Highway 162 114-115,

141, 143

Hodgenville, Kentucky .. 40, 156

Hohl, Cletus 217

Holcanb, J. 1 49, 56,

59, 69, 71, 89-90 Holland, Ross 240

Hoots, W. Thomas, Jr. . 246-

247 Holstein, James F 49 Hopewell Village National

Historic Site, Pennsylvania 129 Houston, [?] 230 Hoosier National Forest 122 Hoosier State Automobile

Association 26 Houghland, J. H 10 Hagedorn, Ellen 243

Hall, Arthur F 24 Halleck, Charles A 239 Hammond , James 7, 9 Hancock, Jeffrey 238 Handley, Harold W. . 95, 108

Hanley, J. Frank . 14, 18-19 Hanson , Hodge 113 Harstad, Peter 240 Hartke, Vance 99, 100,

104, 107, 111-112, 114, 125, 221, 231

Ickes , Harold 51 Iglehard, John E 28 Society 239 Indiana Department of Conservation 19-20, 34, 38, 41, 44, 47, 49, 55, 59, 66-68, 70-71, 73, 79, 97, 100, 108, 115, 119-

123, 141, 163, 171, 188, 241

261
Indiana Department of Natu- ral Resources 188 Indiana Dunes Land Acquisition Office 225 Indiana Dunes State Park 108 Indiana Historical Society

28 Indiana-Illinois Group . 127 Indiana Lincoln Foundation

93, 97, 109, 114, 239 Indiana Lincoln Seguicentennial Commission 93 Indiana Lincoln Union (ILU) 20, 22, 24, 26-50, 55-82, 89-91, 123, 241

Indianapolis Historical So- ciety 239 Indianapolis, Indiana .. 44, 49, 67, 190

Indiana State Fair 190 Indiana State Library ... 75 Indiana State Reformatory 67 Indiana University 239 International Art Foundries 44-47

Iowa State University .. 158

Jackson, Fd 20, 22 Jackson, Ernest 68 James , Richard T 239 Jasper, Indiana .... 71, 190 Jewell, Lee U 246-247

Johnson, Mark Fletcher . 238

Johnston, Donald B. .. 34-35

38, 55, 80, 82 Jones, Barbara 219-220

Jones , George S 239

Jones , Jeanne T 222 Jones , Wayne Alva 222 Jonesboro, Indiana 40 K

Kahler, Herbert 106 Kaminski, Vance 130 Kennedy, John F. .. Ill, 114 Kennedy, Robert F 184 Kercheval, Indiana 10 Kercheval, R. T 11 King, Charles Garfield . 159

Kirn , Thomas 225

Koch, William 102, 105- 106, 110, 114, 239, 240 Koenig, Mary Kay 225

Kord, Leonard ....... 67-68

Kunkel, Ray 177

Lagemann, Robert L. 127-128

Lair, John 240

Laird, Russell A 248 Lamar , John W 10-11

Laurie, Lee 69, 71 Lawrence , Dr . M. E 7 Lee, Ronald F 107

Lemen , Steve 248

Lemmons , Floyd N 218 Lemmons, Margaret J. .. 218 Leslie, Harry G. 29, 39, 43 Leslie, Henry 24

Lewis, Henry 10-11

Lewis, [?] 230 Lexington, Kentucky 40 Lieker, Richard 17-18,

20, 22, 43, 50-51, 56-59, 59-69, 90-91 Lincoln, Abraham . 1-4, 17, 19, 21, 26, 40, 99, 104,

122, 133, 180, 183, 197 Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association 133, 197-198

Lincoln Boyhood National

Memorial 240" Lincoln City, Indiana .. 10-

11 19, 22, 34, 47, 56, 99, 105-106, 109, 114, 126 Lincoln Club of Southern

Indiana 92, 190, 196-197,

241 Lincoln Day 91, 93, 196 Lincoln Heritage Trail Commission 240 Lincoln Hills Arts and Crafts Associations 182 Lincoln Hone National Historic Site, Illinois 127-

128

Lincoln, Mary Todd 40 Lincoln Memorial Commission

18-20

Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church 224-226

Lincoln, Nancy Hanks .. 1-2, 5-6, 10-11, 13, 18, 21, 36

262
Lincoln National Life Foundation 50, 75, 92 Lincoln National Life Insurance Company 71 Lincoln Pioneer Village . 95 Lincoln, Robert Ibdd ... 230 Lincoln, Sarah 1-2, 5 Lincoln, Sarah Bush Johnston

2-3 Lincoln State Park . 18, 86,

93, 104-105, 107, 110, 115

120-124, 143, 181, 188,190

Lincoln, Thomas ... 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 17, 29, 34, 104, 112, 139, 144, 153, 155

Litkenhus, Gertrude 231 Litkenhus, John 231 Littlepage , T. P. 7 Living Historical Farm 152-

161, 162-164, 183-188, 190 191 Loderidge, Dr. Ross .... 239 Loogcotee , Indiana 67 Lorch, Basil, Jr 225

Los Angeles, California 184

Lundy, George E 24 M

Master Plan (General Manage- ment Plan) . 132, 143-144, 161-165

Mayer , George J 48 McNutt, Paul 43, 49

Medcalf, Thelma 219 Medcalf, Theodore 219 Menard, Gail 246

Merrill, D. Bailley 239

Meyenberg, J. C 14 Michel, LaVon 243-244

Michigan City, Indiana . 225

Miller, Ben 130 Miller, Pat 130

Mills, Robert 240 Milner, I. L 11 Minneapolis, Minnesota . 158

Mitchell, Edward A 239 Mitchell, Robert 10 Moore, Myrl 238 Morelock, James 240 Morrell-Felin Company . 146-

148

Morris, James 233

Morristown National Historical Park, New Jersey 131 Mount, James E 13

Mount Vernon, Iowa : 48 Mrs. Lincoln's Monument Fund Committee 10- - Muncie Art Association .. 90 Muncie, Indiana 29, 188 Myers, F.L 221 N

Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial

Association 13-15, 19 Nancy Hanks Lincoln [State] Memorial 20-51, 55-82, 86 93-95, 104, 107, 110, 112, 124, 141, 143

National Conference on State

Parks 50 National Environmental Educ- ation Development (NEED) Program 187-188 National Environmental Study Area 187 National Historical Landmark

Inspections 130

National Park Service .. 49-

50, 59, 71, 75, 89, 104,

139, 240, 241 Neal, Gordon 158

Neely, Mark E. -Jr.., 240 New Albany, Indiana .... 225

New Harmony, Indiana ... 182 Newman , Don M 240

Newman, Marguerite K. . 222-

223

New Salem, Illinois 40, 183 New York, New York 43-44, 55 New York State Historical

Association 158

Nez Perce National Histori- cal Park, Idaho 125-126,

139, 182 Nilsen, Nels 238

Nixon, Richard M 99

Nott, Edson L. . . . 79-80, 82 Nordhoff, Arthur C 240 Northeast Regional Office 154

Northrup, King, and Company

158

263
Okopski , Chester 238 Olmsted, Frederick Law, Jr., 20-23, 26, 34, 49, 56, 58, 144

Omaha, Nebraska 49 Oskin, [?] 238

Orr, Robert 240

Palmer, George A 106, 109, 113-114, 125, 128,

148, 154, 156 Pendleton, Indiana 67 Penick, Katherine 238 Perkins, Alfred L. Jr., 238 Perry's Victory and Interna- tional Peace Memorial 119 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

104, 106, 124, 130, 146

Picker , Crawford 239 Pierson, Lewis Hardward Company 67 Pierre , Edward D 97 Poellein, Carol Jean 231-232

Poellein, John Allen 231-232

Polen, Edith M. ... 221, 227

Polen, Thomas L. .. 221, 227

Pollack, Robert F 240 Porter, Bernard 244-245

Porter, Pegis Lee 227

Prange , Henry 100

Priessman, Bauer, and Company 44-47

Pruess, Elmer 240 Purdue University 158 R

Rayburn, Sam 99-100 Regional Conference on State Parks 51 Rheinish, Bob 242 Riddle, John C. W. ("Bill")

128-131, 158, 188, 189, 190-191, 217, 224, 230, 243-244

Ritchie, W.R 43, 248 Roberts, Franklin S. Associates 190 Rockport, Indiana ... 10-11,

95, 188, 227

Rout, James .. 227, 231, 232 Rowbotham, John .

.- 7, 9 Roosevelt, Franklin Delano

49

Sandburg, Carl 115, 191 Sanders, Florence L. ... 229

Sanders, Gerald .. 190, 193, 243-247

Sanders, Junious G 229 Santa Claus, Indiana ... 95, 241 Santa Claus Land (Holiday

World) 105, 114, 182, 239-

240 Santosuosso, John 119, 121-

122, 150, 242

Sarah , Denny 130 Sare Hoadley Stone Company

67

Sauer, C. G 20-21, 50 Schaack, Jim 130

Schaefer, Glenda 220

Schaefer, Lyle 220 Schnuck, Blanche 227 Schricker , Henry F 70-

71, 239 Schroder , Freda 197, 226-227, 232

Schroder, Glen 226-227, 232 Schum, Judy 185

Seymore Woolen Mills 68 Servel, Inc 239

Shake, Curtis 239

Sharp, Hill 91 Shedd, Charles, Jr. 104-107

Shelton , Ella 233 Shelton, Pearl 233 Shillito, John '. 10

Simmons, Virgie M. .. 29, 70 Smith, Florence F 223 Smith, Fred M 242-243

Smith, Victor 223, 225

Smithsonian Institution 152, 158-159

Sonntag , Macus 20, 24 South Bend, Indiana 11 Southern Indiana Group 126, 128 Southern Railway 128 Southwestern Indiana Historical Society 28, 36, 120

264
Southwestern Indiana Television Council 180 Spencer County Fair .... 191 Spencer County, Indiana 11, 13-15, 17, 19-20, 23, 40,

50, 164, 196, 240

Spencer County Sesquicentennial Ccnunission 93 Springfield, Illinois ... 7, 14, 41, 127-128

Springs tun, Claude .... 228, 244-246

Spur lock, Noah 248 Standiford , Done 2 42 Stanton, Max Edgar 218

Stanton, Ruby G 218 Stanton , Sheral 218 Starrett, Robert D. 86, 88,

92, 97-100, 108, 113

Stein, Elmer 89, 119,

156, 171, 242-246

Stratton, Jeffrey 238

Stroud, Roland E 248 Studebaker Graveston . 11-12

Studebaker, Peter E 11 Student Youth Employment

Program (SYEP) 175 Suhrheinrich, David .... 222 Suhrheinrich, Geneva ... 223 Suhrheinrich, Regina ... 223

Swem, Theodor R 140 T

Taggart, Thomas 27

Tarkell, Ida 158

Temple University 190 Tell City Federal Savings

and Loan Association 222 Tell City, Indiana 15

Terre Haute, Indiana 66 Thompson, Bish 121 Thompson, Edward K. 223, 227 Thompson, Gloria Jane .. 221 Thompson, Robert Lee ... 221 Thompson, Teresa A. 246-247

Tiff, John M 242-243

Townsend, Clifford 66 Trail of Twelve Stones . 40-

41, 154, 161

Tribbie, Grace 234 Tribbie, Oatis 156, 234

Trinkel, Frank J 227

Tri-State Plumbing and Heating 66 Tri-State Structural Painting Company 88 Turner, Ehil 130

Turnham, David 11 U

Ucman , Frank 173 Udall, Stuart 113, 114 United States Forest Service

121, 129

United States Postal Service 132

University of Evansville 240

Utley, Robert 154-155, 162-163

Van Winkle, Geneva 129, 243-

246

Van Winkle, Walter 225 Varner , John 173 Veatch, John 11 Verser , Jim 23 8 Vicksburg National Memorial

Park, Mississippi 126

Vincennes , Indiana 40, 126-127, 239-240

visitor center... 120, 123, 132, 143-144, 164, 172,

174, 186 W

Walker, C.R 225

Walker, Dean 239 Walker, Ines Elsa 234 Wallace, Frank N

'. 70 Walsh, Martin J. ... 246-24 7 Walters, Daniel W. . 223-224

Walters, Kathleen .. 223-224

Waltman, Hank 158

War Production Board . — 67 Warner, Mrs. [?] 91 Warren, Dr. Louis .. 28, 41,

50, 75, 239 Warrick County 15

Wartman, J.W 7 Washington, D.C 40-41, 10 6, 124-125

265
Watson, Mill .. 218, 221-224

229-230, 235

Weaver, Gary R 238 Webb, W.W 10 Weber, Charles E 115, 122, 248

Weber, Horace 44-45, 89 Weeks, Tan 130

Welsh, Matthew E 112

West, Charles 10 West Lafayette, Indiana 158

Wheeler, Billy Edd 197

Wheeler, Clifton 89 Whitlock, John R. .. 245-246

Wieke, Joseph D 43 248

Wilkerson, Patricia .... 245 Willison, Ormal 217 Willison, Edna R 217 Wilson, Dan 130

Wilson, George R 36

Wilson, Ronald 243 Wirth, Conrad 107

Woods, Clarence .... 226-227

Woods, George 219

Woods, Hilda 219 Woods, Joe 219

Woods, John 219 Woods, Mary 226-227 232 Woods, Mrs. Benson J. .. 196

Woods, Thalia S 92-93 WTVW 121

Y York, Arthur 240

Young Adult Conservation

Corps (YACA) 174-176

266 jOttice: 1987-757-897.'601C4


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