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Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Public Receiving Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery, 1865, historic photo

Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Public Receiving Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery, 1865, historic photo

An historic photo of the temporary tomb of Abraham Lincoln, at the Public Receiving Tomb or Vault, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois. This photo is by C. H. Hall, during May, 1865.

Following his death on April 15, 1865, a number of public and private memorial services were held across the nation as the body of Abraham Lincoln took a nearly three week journey by train from Washington D.C., back to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois. As a result, it is estimated that the train passed through 180 cities along the 1,654 mile route through seven states and that millions viewed some portion of the ceremonies or of the passage of the funeral train. The final service was held in Springfield on May 3. The following day, May 4, 1865, the casket bearing the body of Abraham Lincoln, along with the casket of his son, William "Willie" Lincoln, was placed in the public receiving tomb or vault in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois. This was not to be his final resting place as his coffin would be moved a total of seventeen times over the next thirty-five years. These movements were made necessary due to a threat to steal the body during the years while the final resting place, the monumental Lincoln Tomb was prepared. It was not until September 26, 1901 that the casket of the President was placed into in its final position where it remains today in the Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois.

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