Lincoln Funeral Train Monument
Springfield, Illinois
A monument at the Springfield Amtrak station commemorates the final train stop of Abraham Lincoln. The body of America's 16th President, assassinated in Washington DC on April 14, 1865, traveled for 13-days in a last rites whistle stop tour that looped up to major cities -- Philadelphia, New York City, Buffalo -- and then west. Citizens of the roughly 445 cities along the 1,650 mile route came out to pay their respects and mourn the great loss. The train finally arrived in Springfield on May 3, 1865.
The old train station at Washington and Third Streets is long gone, replaced with a modern Amtrak platform. The Funeral Train Monument is polished black granite, 5-ft. high, featuring an etched funeral train and a sculpted open book. It was dedicated in 2010.
There is a replica of the funeral train car (the original was lost in a fire) in Springfield's Union Square Park, at Fifth St. and Madison St.