Ohio Statehouse
| Location | Franklin, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39.9614, -82.9989 |
| Access | Public - free guided tours, working government building |
On April 29, 1865, Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train reached Columbus. The president’s body was carried into the Ohio Statehouse and laid in repose beneath the rotunda. Ohioans came to pay their respects as the train continued its journey from Washington to Springfield, Illinois. The Statehouse became, for one day, part of a national passage of mourning.
Lincoln knew the building from an earlier visit. In 1861, on his way to Washington for his inauguration, he addressed a joint session of the Ohio Legislature. Four years later, he returned in death, and the same public building that had heard his political voice held his body. The change from speaker to memorial drew together the state’s connection to Lincoln and the grief of a country still emerging from war.
The rest of this file is sealed. 3 more sections: what happened next, what people still report, and how to visit.
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