Statues of Historic Figure: Abraham Lincoln - Providence, RI

Abraham Lincoln 

Providence, RI

N 41° 47.313 W 071° 24.814

Short Description: 

A monument honoring Abraham Lincoln is located in Roger Williams Park at the junction of Fredrick C. Green Memorial Blvd. and Natural History Ave. in Providence, RI.

Long Description:

A 12' by 4' by 4' bronze statue of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, stands on a 6.75' by 4' square granite base. A slender Lincoln is standing upright and wearing a knee length coat, vest and a bow tie. His arms are by his sides and he is holding a sheet of paper in his right hand.

The statue was a gift to the City of Providence from Henry W. Harvey in memory of his wife Georgiana. It was sculpted by Gilbert Alfred Franklin and erected in Roger Williams Park in 1958. The front of the base is inscribed:

ERECTED UNDER THE WILL OF

HENRY W. HARVEY

AS A MEMORIAL TO HIS WIFE

GEORGIANA

TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

AND TO INCULCATE LOYALTY AND

PATRIOTISM IN THE MINDS

OF ALL THOSE WHO COME HERE

FOR REST AND RECREATION

1958

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was self-educated, and after a series of unsuccessful ventures he became a lawyer, practicing in Illinois. In 1842, he married Mary Todd, with whom he had four children.

In 1846, Lincoln was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served one two-year term before returning to practice law Lincoln in Springfield, IL. In 1858, he failed in his bid for the United States Senate to Stephen Douglas. He joined the the newly formed anti-slavery Republican Party and won the 1860 election for president of the United States.

His election victory precipitated the Civil War over which he presided, as Commander-in-Chief from 1861 to 1865. Soon after the Union victory he was assassinated by southern sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth. De died on April 15, 1865 in Washington, D.C.