President Abraham Lincoln Buried 145 Years Ago Today on the Fourth of May

In the last edition of this newsletter we mentioned that 145 years ago to the day, Abraham Lincoln was lying in state in Washington, DC. Today, May 4, was the day he was finally laid to rest in the temporary tomb in Springfield, Illinois. For the two weeks between those dates, Lincoln's funeral train traveled 1,700 miles across the country so thousands of citizens could pay their respects.

USAToday has an interesting animated map that shows the train's route and shows how many people were in attendance at each stop along the way.

On a side note, Keene State College in New Hampshire recently held a screening for the sole surviving copy of an early Lincoln film -- that is, a film about Lincoln not a film of Lincoln!

The 30-minute movie, called "When Lincoln Paid," starred Francis Ford, the older brother of John Ford who directed "The Quiet Man." The 97-year old motion picture was found when a contractor was clearing out an old barn.

To read more about the film and view clips of "When Lincoln Paid," visit Keene College's website.