Lincoln the Lawyer
Encyclopedia
Lincoln the Lawyer, also known as The Young Circuit Lawyer, Young Lincoln or simply Abraham Lincoln is a Lorado Taft
sculpture now located on the 1000 block of Race Street, Urbana, Illinois
across from Urbana High School
in Carle Park. The statue was dedicated by Taft on July 3, 1927. It was moved to the eastern entrance of Carle Park on December 4, 1927, when it was first placed on a pedestal facing due east. Taft requested a slightly different placement, facing southeast, and the statue was moved about 20 feet north to the present site in December 1955. It was restored in 2003, and added to the National Register of Historic Places
on March 10, 2004.
Lincoln had ridden as a circuit lawyer
on the 8th Judicial Circuit through Urbana from 1837-1848. The statue was paid for by a bequest of Mrs. J.O. Cunningham who, with her husband, had been friends of Lincoln since his time as a circuit lawyer. The bequest of $10,000 was funded by the sale of her house on nearby Green Street. This amount was less than half of Taft's usual commission for work in bronze, but he may have accepted the commission because of his close ties to the community. He had been raised in nearby Champaign
.
Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadoc Taft was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Taft was born in Elmwood, Illinois in 1860 and died in his home studio in Chicago in 1936.-Early years and education:...
sculpture now located on the 1000 block of Race Street, Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
across from Urbana High School
Urbana High School (Illinois)
-History:Urbana High School's current building was built in 1914. It was designed by architect Joseph Royer who also designed many other area buildings such as the Urbana Free Library and the Champaign County Court House...
in Carle Park. The statue was dedicated by Taft on July 3, 1927. It was moved to the eastern entrance of Carle Park on December 4, 1927, when it was first placed on a pedestal facing due east. Taft requested a slightly different placement, facing southeast, and the statue was moved about 20 feet north to the present site in December 1955. It was restored in 2003, and added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on March 10, 2004.
Lincoln had ridden as a circuit lawyer
Circuit rider (U.S. Court system)
Circuit rider is a term in the United States for a professional who travels a regular circuit of locations to provide services. The term first came into widespread application for judges, particularly in the sparsely populated American West, who would hold court in each town in their circuit on a...
on the 8th Judicial Circuit through Urbana from 1837-1848. The statue was paid for by a bequest of Mrs. J.O. Cunningham who, with her husband, had been friends of Lincoln since his time as a circuit lawyer. The bequest of $10,000 was funded by the sale of her house on nearby Green Street. This amount was less than half of Taft's usual commission for work in bronze, but he may have accepted the commission because of his close ties to the community. He had been raised in nearby Champaign
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
.
External links
- Lincoln the Lawyer, Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS)