Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-02-24

coin was born 70 %"
sold at auction. The sale was adyer-
tised for Aug 2S from the courthouse
steps at Hodgensvillc, the county town.
a sleepy Kentucky village OF less than
thousand Inhabitants. The notice
was published widely as a news ITEM
but little newspaper comment was
made &C the time Here aud tnero
some rural journalist wrote briefly, but
feelingly, OF the associations connected
with the place but no one suggested
feasible plan for its Dreservatlon
There were several schemes, however
for tho acquisition Of tho property
Some OF them were commercial In their
nature. one contemplated the exploit
tation OF the birthplace Of the great
cmancipator as IN advertisement for
kentucky whisky dIstilIing establish
mont. so confident was the disabling
company that Il would encounter no
opposition 70 It's onterprislng intention
that it had already provided itself with
a stock Of labels bearing the inscription
"Llncoln Birthplace Whisky Johu
Wanamakcr. the millionaire merchant
prince of New York and Philadelphia,
once made an effort to obtain posses
sion of the property. but was not able
to secure clear title \ bill WAS az
one time introduced into the Kentucky
legislature providing for the purchase
of tho property by the state. but was
neglected ana failed To- pass. At one
time project was under way TO con-
vert the old homestead into home for
decropit ex-slaycs but nothing came of
II. All efforts OF tho local newspapers
to secure congressional attention failed
A century has passed since Thomas
Lincoln. the father OF The great prosi-
dent, laid claim to this Blue Grass
state farm OF ITO acres Cntil recent
~ IT has had but three owners. The
elder Lincoln sold it 10 a family named
Creal. II remained I'm their hands for
over seventy years. Then II became the
property of a. w bennett. a wealthy
owner of q group of restaurants, who
paid $4,000 for IT, lie began TO im-
prove the place. but financial roverses
overlook him and all Improvement was
abandoned, \ few years ago the farm
passed into the control Of the Rev. j.
w. Bingham. "A Methodist minister, who
had the logs Of the old cabin taken to
Nashville for exhibition. Finally the
cabin was sold to an itinerant show
man, who carried II about the country
az a travelling show II has recently be-
come the property OF the Lincoln Farm
association.
When the day for the sale Of the old
place by public cutlery arrived there
was not remarkable influx VI pros
pective buyers 70 Ilodgensville, When
at the appointed time the commissioner
made his appearance on the courthouse
steps he could have numbered the
group of bidders on the fingers OF his
right hand There was a Grand Army
veteran from Wisconsin who was au-
thorized 10 bid az high as $4,000 and
no higher A northern newspaper man
lost all further interest when the bid
ding reached $4,000. A New York law
yer saw no possibilities Va the place be-
You'd $4,000. \ Louisville agent for the
dlstillory nrm that had invested IN the
labels stopped bidding at $500, and the
property WAS Knocked down TO the rep
rcsentatiye OF Robert j. Collier OF New
York city, who has organized and In
corporated under the laws of Kentucky
an association known as the Lincoln
Farm association, whose object is the
development Of the Lincoln birthplace
farm into n national park.
During each succeeding year that has