Lincoln's Tomb State Historic Site

Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington on the evening of April 14, 1865 and died the following morning, April 15, at the William Petersen boarding house across the street from the theater. After lying in state at the White House and the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for several days, Lincoln's body was placed aboard a funeral train that departed Washington on April 21 for a 13-day journey back to Springfield. The route retraced Lincoln's 1861 inaugural journey in reverse, with public viewings in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Chicago, and several smaller cities.

Estimated 1.5 million Americans viewed Lincoln's body during the funeral train journey, and approximately 25 million Americans (out of a national population of roughly 36 million at the time) participated in some form of public funeral observance — wearing mourning clothes, attending church services, lining the train route, or paying respects in the cities where the body was viewed. The funeral train remains the longest and most-observed funeral procession in American history.

The funeral train arrived in Springfield on May 3, 1865 and the funeral was held the following day at the Great Western Railway station — the same depot where Lincoln had delivered his 1861 farewell address to Springfield. Approximately 75,000 people attended the funeral, including Lincoln's law partner William Herndon, multiple Illinois governors, and a substantial Union Army honor guard. The body was then transported by horse-drawn hearse to Oak Ridge Cemetery for temporary interment in the cemetery's receiving vault.

The Lincoln National Monument Association — a private group of Springfield citizens organized within weeks of the assassination — raised funds nationally for a permanent monument to Lincoln at Oak Ridge Cemetery. The fundraising drew donations from across the United States and from international sources; total funds raised exceeded $200,000 (a substantial sum at the time). The competition for the monument's design attracted dozens of proposals from American and European sculptors; the winning design by Vermont sculptor Larkin Mead was selected in 1869.

Construction began in 1869 and continued for five years. The monument's central obelisk rises 117 feet and is constructed of granite quarried from Quincy, Massachusetts (the same quarry that supplied stone for the Bunker Hill Monument and other significant 19th-century American landmarks). The four bronze sculptural groups around the base depict Union military branches in heroic scale — infantry, cavalry, artillery, and navy — and were cast at the Ames Manufacturing Company foundry in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

The tomb was formally dedicated on October 15, 1874 in a major public ceremony attended by President Ulysses S. Grant, multiple state governors, and an estimated 25,000 visitors. The dedication included a major address by U.S. Senator and former Illinois governor Richard Oglesby, military honors from Union Army veterans, and the formal transfer of Lincoln's body from the temporary receiving vault to the permanent crypt within the new monument.

On the night of November 7, 1876 — the night of the Hayes-Tilden presidential election — a group of Chicago counterfeiters attempted to steal Lincoln's body from the tomb. The plan was to hold the body for ransom in exchange for the release of an imprisoned counterfeiter named Benjamin Boyd and a substantial cash payment. The plot was discovered by U.S. Secret Service agents who had infiltrated the gang, and the would-be robbers were arrested in the tomb itself before the body could be removed.

The 1876 incident produced extensive public concern about the tomb's security. Lincoln's body was moved to a hidden location within the monument for protection, and various security improvements were made through the late 1800s. In 1901, Robert Todd Lincoln (Lincoln's only surviving son) ordered a comprehensive renovation of the tomb and the construction of a deep underground concrete crypt 10 feet below the original burial chamber floor. The body was placed in the new crypt within a steel-reinforced concrete vault and covered with cement; the new crypt was designed to be effectively impossible to access without major excavation equipment.

Lincoln's body has remained undisturbed in the 1901 crypt since that reinterment. The crypt is sealed and not visible to visitors; the tomb's interior corridor wraps around the central burial chamber with bronze plaques marking the burial locations of Lincoln and his family members. The genuine physical sense of standing several feet above the actual burial location produces one of the more affecting historical-site experiences in the American Midwest.

The tomb's interior is accessed through bronze entrance doors at the front of the monument and consists of a polished marble corridor that wraps around the central burial chamber. The corridor walls are decorated with bronze plaques listing Lincoln's major life events and political offices, smaller bronze statues depicting Lincoln at various life stages, and excerpts from his major speeches inscribed in marble. The corridor's pacing produces a gradually deepening contemplative experience as visitors approach the central chamber.

The central burial chamber contains a large red marble sarcophagus marked with the inscription "NOW HE BELONGS TO THE AGES" — Secretary of War Edwin Stanton's reported quote at the moment of Lincoln's death. The sarcophagus is a memorial marker rather than a physical container; the actual burial is in the sealed crypt 10 feet below the chamber floor. Bronze plaques on the chamber walls mark the burial locations of Mary Todd Lincoln (interred in 1882) and three of the Lincoln sons.

A bronze bust of Lincoln on the tomb's exterior at the obelisk's base has developed an unusual tourist tradition. Visitors traditionally rub the bust's nose for good luck on their way into the tomb, and the constant rubbing has polished the nose to a bright golden shine that contrasts dramatically with the dark patina of the surrounding bronze. The tradition is well-known among Illinois schoolchildren and produces one of the most-photographed details of any Springfield Lincoln site.

The tomb is open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM during summer months (typically April through October) and on slightly reduced winter hours. Admission is completely free; the site is operated by the State of Illinois Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division. A small interpretive center adjacent to the tomb provides additional background on Lincoln's death, the funeral train, and the tomb's construction. Plan 45-60 minutes for a focused tomb visit including time in the interpretive center.

The tomb sits within Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield's largest cemetery and a working active cemetery with substantial 19th and 20th century interments. The cemetery is open to general visitors and the surrounding grounds are worth a brief walk — many notable Illinois political and military figures from the 19th century are buried within walking distance of the Lincoln tomb. The cemetery is approximately 2 miles north of downtown Springfield and is most easily reached by car; rideshare services operate to and from the cemetery throughout the day.

For a complete Springfield Lincoln itinerary, the tomb is the natural concluding stop after the ALPLM and the Lincoln Home. The emotional arc — from the immersive interpretive experience of the ALPLM, through the physical authenticity of the Lincoln Home, to the burial site at Oak Ridge — produces a coherent narrative completion that many visitors describe as the most affecting historical experience available in the central United States. Plan the tomb visit for late afternoon (3-4 PM) to take advantage of the western light on the obelisk and to allow contemplative time before dinner.