|
Woodrow Wilson House
Contact: Stacy Humphreys, 270-358-3137 Celebrating 100 years continues at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park on August 27 - 28, 2016, when President Woodrow Wilson will relive his 1916 visit to Hodgenville. President Wilson came to the park on September 4, 1916, to accept the birthplace property deed on behalf of the American people. 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the park and the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. This year, President Wilson, portrayed by Judd Bankert of Staunton, Virginia, will make formal presentations at the park on Saturday, August 27, at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. He will be available to meet and greet visitors and will do formal presentations on Sunday, August 28, at 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. "Living history really makes events of the past come alive," said Superintendent Jay Grass. "We have enjoyed several presidents this year, with Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, and of course, Mr. Lincoln. It has been fun to watch visitors interact with these great men, asking questions and taking selfies together. All the while, the reenactors stay strictly in character, expressing the manner and figures of speech common to the personality they are portraying." Woodrow Wilson was an academic and political figure. He graduated from Princeton, University of Virginia Law School and earned a doctorate at John Hopkins University. He became president of Princeton in 1902, was elected governor of New Jersey in 1910 and served as the 28th President of the United States (1913 - 1921). In Hodgenville in 1916, President Wilson spoke on Lincoln the man and the significance of honoring his birthplace. He said in part: "No more significant memorial could have been presented to the nation than this. It expresses so much of what is singular and noteworthy in the history of the country; it suggests so many of the things that we prize most highly in our life and in our system of government..." "Genius is no snob. It does not run after titles or seek by preference the high circles of society. It affects humble company as well as great... Here is proof of it. This little hut was the cradle of one of the great sons of men, a man of singular, delightful, vital genius who presently emerged upon the great stage of the nation's history, gaunt, shy, ungainly, but dominant and majestic, a natural ruler of men..." Come to the park and hear the entire speech and witness President Wilson sign the Enabling Legislation that established the park and the Organic Act of 1916 that established the National Park Service. All times are Eastern. For more information on the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park, visit the park's website at: https://www.nps.gov/abli or the park's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/LincolnBirthplaceNPS. |
Last updated: December 31, 2022