Champaign's Lincoln marker - Champaign, IL - Abraham Lincoln on Waymarking.com

Thanks to the entry in the THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE at (visit link) for the inscription information:
"Until the Illinois Central Railroad rolled into town, geese flocked to a pond in this vicinity. The IC cleared the pond and donated the land to the Congregationalist (today the Community United Church of Christ). Their sanctuary, completed near the corner of University and First Street in 1856 was fondly known as the Goose Pond Church for its first inhabitants. In this yet unfinished church, Abraham Lincoln addressed a crowd in June 1856 (and possibly later that same year). Lincoln appealed to the congregants’ strong antislavery and abolitionist views to rally votes for Fremont, the new Republican Party’s presidential candidate. This photograph shows the church after a tornado in the early twentieth century.

Abraham Lincoln during his campaign against “The Little Giant” in 1858 was met at the Doane house by an enthusiastic crowd. ... The Doane house, an inn which served as the Depot building, was north of the Goose Pond Church on the east side of the railroad tracks. A Chicago newspaper wrote about Lincoln’s speech that day: “. . . the number present was nearly, if not quite as large as those in attendance at the Douglas demonstration of yesterday, the enthusiasm ten times as great.” "

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The Looking for Lincoln series comprises a total of 220 of these exhibits in 47 Illinois communities to help them more vividly tell their own unique Lincoln story.

Location Type: Historic Marker Property Type: Public Date of Event: 1856, 1858 Location Notes: At the intersection of 1st Street and East Park Street, on the left when traveling north on 1st Street. URL for Additional Information: [Web Link]

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