What happened to this beautiful monument dedicated to Abraham Lincoln on July 4, 1909 in Scranton, Pennsylvania? Today, all traces of this 16-foot high monument have vanished. And no one living seems to know why it's gone or where it went.
Dedicated at the Nay Aug Park in Scranton in the centennial year of Lincoln's birth, the monument was obviously beautifully carved and contained an impressive looking bust of Lincoln at the top. There were bronze lions and eagles around the base of the structure as well. All in all, it might have been one of the most beautiful monuments ever erected to Lincoln.
This article from the Associated Press tells the story of the monument and relates how another photo from the dedication day exists showing men, women, and children surrounding it. A local postcard collector found this real photo card I've shown in the above image, but he doesn't remember the statue at all while swimming at the park in Scranton as a boy in the 1930's and 1940's. Obviously, the monument wasn't in place at the park then for even 30 or 40 years.
Historians in Scranton and the surrounding areas are completely baffled. No documentation has been found relating what happened to the statue. It's as if this monument has vanished into thin air. Let's hope that the case of the missing Abe might be solved in time for the bicentennial of his birth next year.
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