Lincoln Memorial Monument, Wyoming

For this President's Day holiday, I thought it would be nice to show a special memorial dedicated to the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. This memorial was made to commemorate Lincoln's150th birthday and is located on a section of Interstate Highway 80 in the state of Wyoming.  My husband and I traveled on I-80, which is also known as the Lincoln Highway, during a trip we took to the beautiful state of Wyoming to see Yellowstone National Park, among other sights. (Click on this link  "Wyoming" to see more about this trip).

(All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them once, and then clicking on them again when they open on a new page)

The original Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental 3,500-mile automobile route to connect New York City with San Francisco, California. Much of the original Lincoln Highway evolved into US 30 in the 1920s and Interstate 80 in the 1950s. The entire history of the Lincoln Highway can be read on this Federal Highway history link. You can double-click to enlarge the photo above to read about Henry Bourne Joy, the first present of the Lincoln Highway Association in 1913. Joy, also president of the Packard Motor Car Company, is sometimes called the father of the nation’s modern highway system. Joy said that his effort to create the Lincoln Highway was his greatest accomplishment.

(Double click to enlarge photo)

The Lincoln Highway Historic Monument lies 10 miles SE of Laramie, on exit 323 on Interstate 80 at the edge of Summit Rest Area. It marks the highest point on Interstate 80, with an elevation of 8,640 feet. This historic monument was designed and created in 1959 by Robert Russin, who was an art professor at the University of Wyoming. The bronze bust of Lincoln's head is thirteen-and-a-half feet tall on top of a thirty-five-foot tall base, composed of Wyoming granite. The head of Lincoln was cast in 30 pieces and is bolted together much like the inside of the Statue of Liberty. It is the only monument to Abraham Lincoln along the Lincoln Highway and is the largest bronze head sculpture of him in the U.S.  Originally the Lincoln Memorial Monument was located about a half mile west at Sherman Hill on the original Lincoln Highway, but was moved to this location in 1969 when Interstate 80 opened.

Taking a road trip to Wyoming was a thrilling experience for my husband and me as we passed the most spectacular scenery along the way. Come back Wednesday and I'll show you a magnificent view of the Snowy Range of the Medicine Bow Mountains.

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