Abraham Lincoln
Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
On February 22, 1861, while journeying to Washington for his Inauguration, Lincoln stopped at the Jones House, on this site. From the portico of the hotel, he addressed a large crowd gathered in Market Square.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In the tense winter of 1861, as seven states had already declared their secession, President-elect Abraham Lincoln made his slow, whistle-stop journey east toward his inauguration. On February 22 — Washington's Birthday — he paused in Harrisburg at the Jones House hotel and spoke from its portico to a crowd packed into Market Square. Within days he would slip secretly through Baltimore amid assassination fears to reach the capital.
Why it matters
This ordinary hotel stop marks a knife-edge moment in the American story, when the nation's fate hung on whether its untested new president could hold the Union together.
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Related people
- · Abraham Lincoln
Related events
- · Lincoln's inaugural journey of 1861
Themes & tags
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