Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Bernard Fisher
Taken: August 18, 2011
Caption: The Marriage Temple
Additional Description: The passage of time, combined with the elements of nature, began to take their toll on the wood logs of the cabin. Efforts to preserve the cabin became an issue of importance. The idea of constructing a building around the cabin seemed the best option to shelter and preserve it. Ross Lockridge, a Bloomington, Indiana, historian persuaded Mrs. Edmund Burke Ball, of Muncie, Indiana, to make a donation that would fund the building of the Lincoln Marriage Temple.

The uniqueness of the structure that was built to protect the cabin is especially appropriate because of the unique place in history the cabin represents. Based upon the early brick churches of Kentucky, the hand-made brick, laid in Flemish bond, was used to create not just walls of a building, but the plan of the building was laid in the shape of a cross, with the cabin beneath it. You may have noticed the old English lock with brass knob on the front door when you entered. The fluted pilasters provide a sense of welcome, and the oak beams work to complement the cabin which they shield. The rear wall includes a Palladium window of slightly colored rose and amber glass beneath which a pine podium was placed for weddings. From the exterior, the Marriage Temple is crowned with a tower, belfry, and a spire with gilted weather vane. The dedication of the Lincoln Marriage Temple was celebrated June 12, 1931, the 125th anniversary of the marriage of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln.
Submitted: August 26, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
Database Locator Identification Number: p169357
File Size: 0.262 Megabytes

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