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Sunday, October 04, 2009

Ind. Gov't. - Harold Holzer and the closed Lincoln Museum

The ILB has a number of entries on the closing of the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne and the eventual decision to split the collection between the Fort Wayne library and the State Museum in Indianapolis. ("Other known suitors included the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.; the Library of Congress; the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History; Ford’s Theatre; and President Lincoln’s Cottage.")

Renowned Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer was in Fort Wayne Thursday and, per the Journal Gazette, "spoke with editorial writer Stacey Stumpf about the Lincoln Museum and his current Lincoln project. Here are excerpts of the interview:"

What do you think about the decisions the Lincoln Foundation made about where to house artifacts from the closed Lincoln Museum?

It’s sort of a good news-bad news result. My preference as a visitor, as a historian who used that museum for 30 years, is that I wish everything would have stayed the same.

It was convenient. It was inspiring. It was a very rich museum. It was sort of incomparable in many ways. And the people were fantastic. They were great to visitors, and they were great to scholars, and that’s the best combination.

How it was decided? I find it mysterious. I don’t know what it was all about. Was there a real national search for a home? Was it always going to stay in Indiana?

I guess the result is good for Indiana because it’s in Indianapolis and in the Allen County (Library) museum.

2 How does the museum closure affect your research?

On the research side it remains to be seen. I’ve spoken to some of my old contacts at the museum who tell me that at some point it will be welcoming and accessible and, even more, it will be digitized and reproducible. And that will be a great service.

I’m not sure it couldn’t have been done in its original home, but that will be good. But the thing we will be missing and cannot be replaced digitally – I don’t think you can replace reality with digital reality.

Mr. Holzer seems to have carefully measured his words.

My question, particularly given the story this morning about the condition of the State Archives building -- where are the priceless Lincoln artifacts to be housed?

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 4, 2009 10:54 AM
Posted to Indiana Government