Lincoln photograph unveiled

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OREGON – A reproduction of a famous photograph of Abraham Lincoln was unveiled at the Ogle County Judicial Center on Wednesday.

The picture was taken in Springfield on June 3, 1860 by well-known photographer Alexander Hesler. The photo was taken for Lincoln’s presidential campaign.

Ogle County judges and others were on hand for the unveiling.

Oregon attorney Alan Cargerman, said that Lincoln had some experience with Ogle County, having traveled to the area, including Stillman Valley, when he was in the militia.

And in 1856, Lincoln, then an attorney, stayed in Oregon for a couple of nights, and also spent two nights in Polo visiting friends.

The photo, which will hang in Courtroom 204, was made possible by donations from the Illinois Judges Association (IJA), the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) and their respective foundations – the Illinois Judges Foundation and the Illinois Bar Foundation.

Printed on canvas, the image of the beardless Lincoln is encased in a stained wood frame and measures 30-inches wide by 40-inches tall.

The organizations are partnering with the Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS), which owns the glass-plate positives of Hesler's Lincoln portrait. The ISHS is leading a statewide campaign to place a framed copy in a courthouse in each of lllinols' 102 counties in commemoration of the state's bicentennial this year.