Lincoln Room Artifacts Will Be Auctioned Nov. 20 In Gettysburg
By Deborah Fitts
November 2004

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - A public auction of items related to Abraham Lincoln from a collection at the historic Wills House is scheduled for Remembrance Day weekend.

Walt Powell, Gettysburg Borough's historic preservation officer, said the more than 200 lots include a variety of artifacts and documents, from pieces of furniture to two Lincoln autographs. The collection comprises the items from the Lincoln Room, a small museum that opened in the Wills House in 1938 and will now close permanently.

The auction is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 20, at 4:30 p.m. at Redding Auction Service, just north of town at 1085 Table Rock Rd.

A change in ownership of the Wills House, built in 1816 on the town square, is precipitating the museum's demise. The new owner, Gettysburg National Military Park, is planning a $6 million restoration that may get under way next year.

The Borough briefly owned the Wills House, but abandoned the restoration project when funds became tight. But the Borough retained the Lincoln Room collection .

Powell explained that most of the items were of "no interest to the park."

"Early on, a decision was made that there was not going to be a display of Lincoln artifacts." Instead, Powell said, the park intends to focus on "the story of the Gettysburg Address and the story of David Wills, his law practice, and Wills's impact on the Gettysburg battlefield."

Wills, a local attorney, hosted Lincoln for the November 1863 dedication of the new soldiers' cemetery and was instrumental in early preservation of the battlefield. He purchased the building in 1859. It went out of his family shortly after his death in 1894.

While the Lincoln Room items aren't appropriate for the park's plans, Powell said, "We're quite confident they will be very interesting to the Lincoln community." The appraised value of the items is $35,000.

Inspection of the auction goods will be available on Friday, Nov. 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and again the following day from noon until the sale. Details, photographs and terms of the sale will be posted on the auction firm's Web site, located at www.reddingauction.com. An auction catalog is available for $10 payable to the Borough of Gettysburg, attn. Dr. Walter Powell, Director of Planning, Borough of Gettysburg, 59 East High St., Gettysburg PA 17325 after Oct. 21.

Among the auction items are two Lincoln autographs from 1864 and 1865; several busts; commemorative stamps and coins; the current Lincoln Room furniture, which is not original to Lincoln's stay; a rare Congressional chair; and a large display of the Gettysburg Address, dating from 1956, which purportedly includes bits of wood from "every site associated with Lincoln."

Powell noted that a few items that actually belonged to the Wills family will be donated to the park. They include a pillow sham, two towels with the Wills monogram, two books belonging to Wills, and a telegram sent to Lincoln on Nov. 19, the day that he delivered the Gettysburg Address, regarding the health of his son Tad.

Wills descendants are "thrilled" about the upcoming restoration, Powell said, and there is a possibility that more Wills family items may return to the building.

The park plans to restore the Lincoln bedroom to its 1863 appearance, restore Wills's law office, replace the "grand staircase" that once led up from the first floor, and install several exhibits.

According to Powell, interest in opening Lincoln's second-floor bedroom as a museum began around 1920. The first floor has served as commercial space for most of the building's history. Most recently, the Eisenhower Society owned the building for a decade before selling to the Borough in 2000. The Dobbin House currently runs the Lincoln Room.

The calendar surrounding Remembrance Day is replete as usual with events in Gettysburg. The annual Lincoln Forum will be held Tuesday through Thursday, Nov. 16-18; the 141st anniversary of the Gettysburg Address will be presented Friday, Nov. 19, at 10 a.m.at Soldiers National Cemetery; the annual Remembrance Day parade and ceremonies at the battlefield will begin Saturday at 1 p.m.; and balls and dinners are scheduled for that evening; tours of the Daniel Lady Farm will be given at 10 and 1 on Sunday.