Boise’s Lincoln monument likely oldest in the West
A bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln that’s long been tucked away on the grounds of the Idaho State Veterans Home is believed to be the oldest Lincoln monument in the western United States – and plans are under way now to move it to a prominent location near the state Capitol in time for the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth next year. “There was an older public statue of Abraham Lincoln, it was in San Francisco and it dated all the way back to 1866, but it was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake,” said David Leroy, chairman of the Idaho Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and a former state attorney general and lieutenant governor.
Funds to move the statue will be raised from a penny drive by Idaho schoolchildren that will kick off in the fall, with the rededication of the monument set for Lincoln’s birthday, Feb. 12, 2009. David Brasuell, administrator of the Idaho Division of Veterans Services, said, “It’s been a part of our facility for a long time, and it’s been kind of sequestered out of the public view and hard to get to. We really want people to be able to enjoy it.” You can read my full story here at spokesmanreview.com.
