Historic New England: Lincoln's Birthday @ Arnold House
Earlier today, I joined Historic New England’s Arnold House in celebrating the 214th birthday of 16th United States president Abraham Lincoln. I last visited Arnold House for a formal tour in July 2022, where I learned all about its construction methods as a post-medieval, late 17th century home. The house is located in the Great Road Historic District of Lincoln, RI, a town named in honor of Honest Abe, although he never visited this part of Rhode Island. The celebration, which was free and open to the public, included a more personalized version of the regular tour, an adorable cutout of the man himself holding festive party balloons, and a tasty birthday cake with Country Time lemonade.
According to a thoroughly researched and well-written packet provided by guides at the house, Lincoln came through Rhode Island three times in his life. He stopped in Providence, RI after speaking at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA for a Whig Party convention in 1848, six years before the Republican Party in 1854. He stopped twice in Providence during a ten day period in the early winter of 1860 while conducting his first presidential campaign. After an anti-slavery speech at Cooper Institute in Manhattan (now called Cooper Union) on February 28, Lincoln took a train to Providence and gave a speech at Union Passenger Depot, a building razed in 1896 after a fire. Lincoln spent February 29 through March 7 with his oldest son, Robert Lincoln, in Exeter, NH, where Robert was attending Exeter Academy and staying at Gilman Garrison House, another Historic New England property.
On March 8, Lincoln returned to Rhode Island to visit Woonsocket to meet with Rhode Island Republican party founder Latimer Whipple Ballou of the politically influential Ballou family. Lincoln gave a speech at Harris Institute in Harris Hall, now Woonsocket City Hall, which was built by woolen mill owner Edward Harris as part of the First Industrial Revolution in Woonsocket. In the presidential election of 1860, Lincoln would carry Rhode Island with about 61% of the vote. Four years later, in the 1864 election, he maintained his popularity with 62% of the vote. 23,699 Rhode Islanders were recorded as serving in the American Civil War, which was a higher number than those who voted in the election (19,948 in 1860, and 23,061 in 1864). More information is available in “A Candidate Speaks in Rhode Island: Abraham Lincoln Visits Providence and Woonsocket, 1860” by Frank J. Williams, published in Rhode Island History magazine of the Rhode Island Historical Society in 1993.
Lincoln’s Birthday at Arnold House was a fun and educational experience. I appreciated the opportunity to have a personalized tour with experts on early colonial architecture and culture. Plus, the cake was delicious. I hope to attend future Historic New England open houses and special events in the coming year.
