Famous Portrait of Abraham Lincoln Unveiled at Jersey County Courthouse

The Jersey County Courthouse received a reproduction of a famous Abraham Lincoln photograph today.

The ceremony was part of a statewide campaign to place a framed copy of the famed photograph in a courthouse in each of Illinois’ 102 counties in commemoration of the state’s bicentennial.

The photograph was taken in Springfield by well-known photographer Alexander Hesler on June 3, 1860, for Lincoln’s 1860 presidential campaign. Printed on canvas, the image of the beardless Lincoln is encased in a richly stained wood frame and measures 30-inches wide by 40-inches tall.

The installation is being funded by donations from the Illinois Judges Association (IJA), the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) and their respective foundations – the Illinois Judges Foundation and the Illinois Bar Foundation. The four organizations are partnering with the Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS), which owns the glass-plate positives of the Hesler-Lincoln portrait. 

Eric Pistorius, judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit, presided over the ceremony. ISBA was represented by ISBA Board Member Angelica Wawrzynek.

"We are pleased to be part of a statewide initiative to put this famed photograph of Abraham Lincoln in each county’s courthouse," Pistorius said. "The image shows a young Lincoln shortly after he received the national Republican Party nomination for president."