[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 109 (Thursday, July 7, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S4911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





           ABRAHAM LINCOLN BIRTHPLACE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, Kentucky is proud to be the birthplace 
and boyhood home of one of our Nation's greatest Presidents, Abraham 
Lincoln. We commemorate this great man's humble origins with the 
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park, in Hodgenville, KY.
  On July 17, 1916, this park site was donated to the American people 
and became part of the National Park Service, and so this year, we 
celebrate the centennial anniversary of this most historic and revered 
park being in the care of the American people.
  At the center of the park stands the Memorial Building, constructed 
to commemorate the life and accomplishments of the 16th President of 
the United States. The Memorial Building--built before the iconic 
Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall here in the Nation's Capital--was 
the first Lincoln memorial built in America.
  It was built by the American people, with over 100,000 citizens, 
young and old, both in the north and the south, donating sums as small 
as 25 cents. Fifty-six steps lead up to the building, representing the 
56 years of Lincoln's life. The 16 windows symbolize Lincoln's status 
as the 16th President.
  Inside the Memorial Building is the Symbolic Birth Cabin, a replica 
of the single-room log cabin Lincoln was born in on February 12, 1809. 
The original cabin that Lincoln was born in and lived in until age 2 
was apparently dismantled sometime before 1865. The Symbolic Birth 
Cabin reminds us of the rural, hardscrabble life the future President 
faced on the Kentucky frontier, a life that would eventually take him 
to the Oval Office.
  The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park also includes 
the Knob Creek site, the area where Lincoln lived from age 2 to the age 
of 7. Lincoln himself recalled that his earliest memories were of Knob 
Creek. Here, he helped his family with planting the garden, carrying 
water, and collecting wood for fires.
  More than 200,000 people every year visit the Abraham Lincoln 
Birthplace National Historic Park in central Kentucky to see the 
origins of our leader and President. The park has received visitors 
from as far away as Mongolia, China, Russia, and Australia, among other 
places, who come to this tiny town to see proof that the ideals of 
America really are true, that even one born into the most modest means 
can rise to become a great nation's President.
  I know my colleagues join me in commemorating the 100th anniversary 
of the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park. It is an 
important milestone to mark, both for Kentucky and our country, and the 
National Park Service will celebrate it later this month. The Abraham 
Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park is a lasting tribute to 
Abraham Lincoln and to how the Bluegrass State shaped and formed him.
  For 100 years, the National Park Service has kept careful watch over 
this sacred ground. I want to congratulate and extend my gratitude to 
all those National Park Service employees and volunteers who have 
contributed to this important effort. Kentucky is proud of them, and we 
are proud to be the birthplace of America's 16th President. This park 
reminds us that one our Nation's greatest leaders emerged from the 
hills of the Kentucky countryside.

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