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May 2019 Newsletter
DIRECTOR’S LETTER Dear Friends, May is Preservation Month nationally, but every month is preservation month at President Lincoln’s Cottage, where our work is never done. In the past year, your support has enabled us to complete projects large and small, from the repair of a door hinge to the complete removal and restoration of the cast-iron stairs leading to the Cottage …
Read MoreCottage Conversation: Susan Swain
On May 23, 2019, C-SPAN co-CEO Susan Swain spoke at the Cottage about the new book The Presidents. The book is organized in the order of the results of C-SPAN’s 2017 Historians Survey on Presidential Leadership. Scroll below to see photos of the event.
Read MoreProgram Highlight: New Community Space
Just this month we unveiled a totally redesigned room in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center. The new community space offers visitors a chance to relax in a vibrant new setting. Read on for an interview with Callie Hawkins, Director of Programming, who spearheaded the redesigned space. What was the inspiration for redesigning the room? When thinking about redesigning the …
Read MoreIn Memoriam: Remembering Ruff Fant
By Richard Moe We were saddened to learn of the passing of President Lincoln’s Cottage Chairman Emeritus Lester “Ruff” Fant III a few days ago. To honor his memory, former National Trust for Historic Preservation President and President Lincoln’s Cottage founder Richard Moe provided the following words of remembrance: This past week we lost a great friend and preservationist, Ruff …
Read More2019 Lincoln Ideas Forum Recap
On April 12, 2019, President Lincoln’s Cottage hosted our fifth annual Lincoln Ideas Forum. We launched this program in 2015 for the 150 anniversary of Lincoln’s last visit to the Cottage, the day before his assassination. Our goal is to commemorate the ideas he created and the work he accomplished while living here, as well as to highlight his unfinished …
Read MoreLincoln and Elections
By Zach Klitzman “To give the victory to the right, not bloody bullets, but peaceful ballots only, are necessary.” -Abraham Lincoln On May 29th, 1856, a group of political leaders from Illinois gathered in Bloomington to discuss the formation of an Illinois Republican Party. Not to be confused with earlier Republican Parties, this iteration was established in 1854 in Wisconsin …
Read MoreCottage Madness: Burnside wins in Landslide!
Another year, another #CottageMadness come and gone. This year we asked you to vote on the best Civil War Facial Hair. After four rounds of voting we have our clear winner… AMBROSE BURNSIDE! Final Results: 1. Ambrose Burnside 72.50 vs. 11. Ulysses S. Grant 27.50. Click here for the full bracket: Civil War Facial Hair Bracket — Winner Perhaps …
Read MoreCottage Madness: Best Civil War Facial Hair CHAMPIONSHIP
Well Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s come down to this. The final of the third annual Cottage Madness Bracket. This year we’re determining the best Facial Hair of the Civil War, and we have a doozy in the championship round. Top seed Ambrose Burnside continues to dominate the competition. He felled strong challenger Edwin Stanton in the semifinals. Meanwhile, on the …
Read MoreCottage Madness: Best Civil War Facial Name Semifinal
Round 3 of Cottage Madness is now live! Did your favorite make the cut? Click here to determine the finalists for Best Civil War Facial Hair: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DDQ6QVD Here are the headlines from Round: Ambrose Ambushes Abraham! 1. Ambrose Burnside 82.35% 9. Abraham Lincoln 17.65 Stanton Drops Ball 5. James Presley Ball 37.50% 4. Edwin Stanton 62.50% Grant Continues to Butcher Higher Seeds …
Read MoreCottage Madness: Best Civil War Facial Hair Round 2
Thank you everyone for voting in Round 1 of #CottageMadness 2019! The results are in, and we got some movers and shakers. Though most favorites won, we did have one upset, as a General and future president knocked down one of the pointiest mustaches in the bracket. Read below for the results from Round 1, and CLICK HERE FOR ROUND TWO …
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