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What’s New About the Past:  Did you know that Lincoln visited Lowell?

Lowell, MA.  Lowell National Historical Park announces the installation of an interpretive panel at the Park Visitor Center celebrating the 200^th Birthday of our sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln.  Included in the panel is the story of Lincoln’s 1848 campaign trip to Massachusetts and his one and only brief visit to Lowell that September.  When Lincoln arrived on the 16^th he was a relatively unknown, one term, lame duck Congressman stumping for the slave owning candidate Zachary Taylor.  Lincoln presented his stump speech to a full house at Lowell’s Old City Hall, now known as the Enterprise Bank Building on Merrimack Street.  Speculation surrounds where he may have spent the night and one theory is revealed based on exhaustive research.

Three original artifacts and a reproduction are on display including an original copy of the Leonard life mask cast of Lincoln in 1860.

What’s New About the Past is a rotating exhibit panel designed to provide unique aspects of Lowell history and to explore the related sites associated with the research.  The current panel, “Did you know that Lincoln visited Lowell?”, reveals sites associated with his 1848 visit which include Old City Hall, (a building owned by the National Park Service) and the Kirk Street Neighborhood.

For more information, please contact Phil Lupsiewicz at Lowell National Historical Park at (978) 275-1705.