St. Paris in Champaign County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Lincoln Funeral Train

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., November 9, 2008

1. Lincoln Funeral Train Marker

Inscription. President Abraham Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865, created a national tragedy, and the nation mourned as his body was transported by rail from Washington D.C. back to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried. In Champaign County, Ohio, the train passed through Urbana and Westville late at night April 29 and traveled through the Blue Hills for eight miles of dangerous curves and hills to arrive in St. Paris. Reaching the summit in St. Paris, the train paused near Springfield Street for a brief memorial service. Christian McMorran and Rachel Furrow, representing a crowd of local residents who stood in silence, laid a wreath on the coffin. The train would continue to Conover, Fletcher, Piqua, and Bradford on its way to Richmond and Indianapolis and then Chicago, finally arriving in Springfield, Illinois, on May 3, 1865.

Erected 2006 by St. Paris Community, Champaign County Bicentennial Historical Marker Committee, The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 24-11.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Government & Politics • Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1845.

Location.

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40° 7.469′ N, 83° 57.564′ W. Marker is in St. Paris, Ohio, in Champaign County. It is on Springfield Street, on the right when traveling north. Marker is between Mill Street and Oak Street, at former railroad grade crossing on Springfield Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Saint Paris OH 43072, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Till Plains.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Site of Walborn & Riker Co. (a few steps from this marker); St. Paris Korea and Vietnam Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); St. Paris and Johnson Township World War I Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); St. Paris and Johnson Township World War II Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); St. Paris (approx. 0.7 miles away); a different marker also named St. Paris (approx. 0.8 miles away); A. B. Graham (approx. 2.7 miles away); Lena (approx. 3.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Paris.

Also see . . . President Abraham Lincoln Funeral Honor Guard ::. “An Honor Guard accompanied Lincoln's coffin to Springfield, Illinoirs. This is a list of the Veterans Reserve Corps members. These men were the only ones allowed to move the coffin from place to place during the long funeral journey.” (Submitted on February 27, 2012.)

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., November 9, 2008

2. Lincoln Funeral Train Marker

Looking west across Springfield Street.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., November 9, 2008

3. Lincoln Funeral Train Marker

Looking east, with former railroad depot in background.