Lincoln Funeral Train

Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on Friday, April 14, 1865, and died early the next morning on Saturday, April 15. When news of Lincoln’s assassination reached Bloomington, the city, like the rest of the nation, was stunned. The Pantagraph reported on April 18, “Mr. Lincoln has been so well known personally by so large a number of our people, and has so long been regarded as one of our own citizens, that his death seemed to fall with the most crushing severity upon our inhabitants.”

Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train stopped briefly near the Bloomington Train depot, just west of this location, at 5:00 a.m. on May 3, 1865, to take on water and wood, and quickly resumed its journey to Springfield. When the train arrived bells rang, and a crowd of 8,000 people gathered to witness train and mourn their admired friend.

On April 19, 1865, millions of Americans attended memorial services for Lincoln around the nation. In McLean County, the community gathered on the campus of Illinois State Normal University for a Memorial service. ISNU President Richard Edwards stated, “We mourn not merely for a public man, but for a dearly loved friend and brother….He proved himself worthy to be the savior of the nation for which Washington was the father.”