Learning about Lincoln

Visitors to The Lincoln Museum in Hodgenville can have their photograph taken as Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd. Kentucky's official Lincoln museum, it opened in April 1989, said director Iris LaRue. The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park and Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home at Knob Creek are both located in the same county as the museum. LaRue noted the museum and park staff make efforts to stay educated on what is offered by each other and on the history.

The Ford's Theatre booth, where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, is one of the wax figure displays recreated in The Lincoln Museum in Hodgenville. The rocking chair in the exhibit is modeled after the original, said director Iris LaRue.

The first floor of the museum is a series of dioramas featuring wax figures highlighting significant events over the course of Lincoln's life, starting with his time spent in a cabin in Kentucky. "We have visitors all the time that say, they had no idea how many things there were to see in Kentucky," Iris LaRue, museum director, said while speaking of tourism.

The museum has items contemporary to Lincoln's life, such as Civil War artifacts. The museum is a site on the Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail.

On display in The Lincoln Museum are original artworks with Lincoln as the subject created by artists from Kentucky and some from other states.

In the Lincoln Museum's gift shop, children can purchase a Lincoln hat or Civil War soldier caps.