Abe Lincoln Totem Pole - Springfield, IL - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

From the roadsideamerica website below: "Carved by Eskimos in the 1880s. It reportedly wasn't made to honor Abe, but to honor a chief who had seen a white man -- and the only white man reference that the carver could find was a picture of Lincoln."

From the Railsplitter at (visit link) : "The Lincoln totem pole was created in the 1870s by the Ravens (Eskimos) to commemorate the protection they received. The pole carver was a Tsimshian artist from British Columbia who carved the image from a photograph he was given of Abraham Lincoln. Because he is wearing a stovepipe hat, this was likely one of the Antietam photographs of Lincoln. At the bottom of the pole is the Raven figure, and the poles referred to as the Proud Raven Pole. The pole was moved to Saxman Park in 1938. Due to weather-related deterioration, the pole was reproduced, and the original was sent to the Territorial Museum in Juneau."

The Springfieldsculptures site at (visit link) explains: "The plaque on the wall outside the Museum adds more detail to the Proud Raven story. It reads: “Replica of the 51 foot tall Proud Raven commemorative pole erected in the mid 1880s in a Tlingit Indian village on Tongass Island, Alaska. Although the original pole deteriorated, the Tlingit had several copies carved. One of these, acquired through the efforts of W. C. Hurst and Jay Monaghah was presented to the Illinois State Museum by the Mid-Day Luncheon Club of Springfield in 1945. The fiberglass replica erected at the entrance to the Museum in 1966 is an exact copy of the original pole. The figure at the top was carved after a photograph of Abraham Lincoln. The figures at the base of the pole are a bear’s head and the winged figure of the Proud Raven and his son.”

Address: W. Edwards St., Springfield, IL
Directions: Stands next to the west side of the Illinois State Museum, which is just south of the state capitol building.

FYI the Museum is closed (April 2016) due to budget issues.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and hailed from Springfield.

URL of the statue: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   03/16/2014 TXLiz visited it