Lincoln Collection Will Stay in Indiana

The Lincoln Financial Foundation will donate its collection of Abraham Lincoln artifacts and documents to the State of Indiana. Valued at more than $20 million, this is the world's largest private collection of memorabilia from Abraham Lincoln's personal and presidential life. It will be housed at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis and the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) in Fort Wayne. Among the more than 20,000 items in the collection are signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment; three-dimensional artifacts including Lincoln's wallet and a chair he sat in for some of his most famous photographs; artwork; thousands of documents; photographs; prints and rare books.

Over the past six months, Lincoln Financial Foundation reviewed proposals from organizations across the country that were interested in caring for and displaying the collection. The Indiana team, including representatives from the Indiana State Museum, ACPL, Indiana Historical Society, Indiana State Library, Friends of the Lincoln Museum, and Governor Daniels' office prepared the winning bid. An endowment, funded by private donations, will now be established to pay for expenses at the Indiana State Museum and ACPL to maintain the collection and make it available to the widest possible audience.