History Comes Alive at Knox

The unique links between Knox College and Abraham Lincoln, and still-relevant issues the nation confronted during Lincoln's lifetime, are showcased in two newly completed historical exhibits on the Knox campus in Galesburg.

The newest exhibits, which opened in June, comprise the Dr. Douglas L. Wilson Gallery in Old Main. Named in honor of Douglas L. Wilson, professor emeritus of English and co-director of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College, the exhibits are funded by a gift from Lowell and Mariclaire Dixon. Mr. Dixon is a 1965 Knox graduate.

The Wilson Gallery showcases the history of Old Main -- a National Historic Landmark and the only remaining building from the Lincoln-Douglas Debates -- and the pioneering Lincoln scholarship conducted by Wilson, along with colleague Rodney Davis, co-directors of the Lincoln Studies Center.

The Old Main exhibits feature dozens of documents, maps, and photographs drawn from the College's 178-year history.

"These new exhibits show Old Main as the center of academic and student life at Knox, and highlight Abraham Lincoln's own self-directed education that took place in the early 1800s, the same era in which Knox was founded," said Knox College Librarian Jeffrey Douglas, who coordinated the research and development of the exhibits.

"Knox's early educational mission is parallel to Lincoln's independent education, yet the two intersect in some of the shared texts that these educations involved, and in events in history, such as the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Old Main and in Knox awarding Lincoln an honorary degree in 1860," Douglas said.

The Wilson Gallery in Old Main includes:

• Facsimiles of historic documents, including the letter informing Lincoln of the honorary degree from Knox
• Copies of books that Lincoln studied to educate himself, including Shakespeare's plays, the King James Bible and Blackstone's Commentaries, which for many years was required reading for aspiring lawyers
• Blueprints that show how Old Main was renovated in the 1930s
• Notable figures from Knox history, including Carl Sandburg
• Expansion and diversification of Knox's curriculum and campus life through more than 170 years of College history

Visitors also can touch a bronze life mask of Lincoln and view the window through which Lincoln climbed to get to the debate platform, as well as a scale-model replica of Lincoln's law office in Springfield, Illinois.

Outside the exhibit area, at the east entry to Old Main, bronze plaques mark the site of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate. One block to the east of Old Main a Looking for Lincoln wayside display includes a map of Galesburg and the Knox campus at the time of the debate.

The Whitcomb Heritage Center in Alumni Hall opened earlier this year, following completion of a $12-million renovation of the historic building.  The Whitcomb Heritage Center is named in honor of Richard '57 and Joan '56 Whitcomb, donors to the Alumni Hall renovation. The exhibits were funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Library of Congress.

The Whitcomb Heritage Center in Alumni Hall focuses on historical context for the Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Knox in 1858:

• The debate over slavery, at local, regional and national levels
• Political and economic changes taking place at the same time, including growth of railroads and national expansion
• The Civil War and its aftermath, including the role of debate in dealing with political issues at the national level as well as on campus.
• Visual details include a number of old maps -- one map shows early railroad routes across Illinois, while another is a map printed on fabric and carried by a Union general in the Civil War.

Above, (1) in Old Main, one of the Lincoln-related exhibits; (2,3) in Alumni Hall, displays show regional and national context of the conflict over slavery. Top of page, at a display in Old Main, students examine blueprints used during renovation in 1937.

• More photos at Flickr of historical exhibits at Old Main and Alumni Hall