From the Looking for Lincoln site at (
visit link)
"Abraham Lincoln couldn’t be any more connected to a city than Lincoln, Illinois. Lincoln, known as the “namesake city” is the only town to be named for Lincoln before he became President. In fact, he christened Lincoln with the juice of a watermelon. His connection with all of Logan County is a rich one. He argued cases while riding the eighth judicial circuit at the Postville Court House, a building which is open to the public. City tourism officials offer a self-guided walking tour that includes the site of a failed plot to steal Lincoln’s corpse from Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. Lincoln College houses the Lincoln College Museum which contains rare Lincoln artifacts, including over 2,000 Lincoln volumes, manuscripts, art and related items of interest. "
The Looking for Lincoln marker relays the story of how Lincoln christened the town:
"On August 27, 1853 the first sale of lots in the new town of Lincoln took place near this spot. In attendance was ABRAHAM LINCOLN, in whose honor the town had been named. “Nothing with the name of Lincoln has ever amounted to much,” he had reportedly quipped in response.
Lincoln was nevertheless obliging when a promoter asked him on the day of the land sale to officially “christen the town.” Lincoln picked an appropriate melon and conducted a brief “christening ceremony.”
Thirteen year-old John S. Stevens was in attendance and later recalled the event: “We were all seated on the several lumber piles. For myself I had selected the end of a projecting board which would spring nicely with my weight and near where Mr. Lincoln stood. He opened the melon with his pocket knife which just reached well through the rind, running all around, bumped the melon on the lumber, it opened nicely with all the core on one side. He cut this core, squeezed the water into a tincup saying,‘Gentlemen, I am requested by the proprietors of the town site to christen it, I have selected the juice of a melon for that purpose, pouring it on the ground. Therefore, in your presence and hearing, I now christen this town site. Its name is Lincoln and soon to be named the permanent capital of Logan County. I have also prepared a feast for the occasion.’
Pulling the wagon cover from the pile of melons, he took one half of the melon he had opened for christening, laid it on the board before me saying, ‘The youngest American on the ground shall feast with me on the christening melon.’ Picking up the other half he pointed to the pile and said ‘Gentlemen, help yourself.’”
The adjacent marker states:
" Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln, Illinois
Near this site Abraham Lincoln christened the town with the juice of a watermelon when the first lots were sold on August 27, 1853. President-elect Lincoln spoke here, November 21, 1860, while traveling to Chicago and Lincoln's funeral train stopped here, May 3, 1865, before completing the trip to Springfield."
Both comical and very sad events commemorated here.