Abraham Lincoln museum celebrates 47th anniversary
January-February 2025
photos by Gregg MacDonald
by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer
What do Colonel Harland Sanders and President Abraham Lincoln have in common besides notable facial hair? For starters, they are both connected to the Lincoln Memorial University Library and Museum in Harrogate, Tenn., part of Powell Valley Electric Cooperative’s service area.
The museum was established in 1977, but LMU has a much longer history, dating back to Feb. 12, 1897, a date that would have been Lincoln’s 88th birthday. “LMU has maintained a Lincoln collection far longer than it has had the museum,” says Michael Lynch, the museum’s director. “For many years, the collection was displayed in the Lincoln Room of [LMU’s] Duke Hall, but there wasn’t enough space to showcase everything. Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, made a generous donation that enabled the museum’s construction, and the grand opening took place in 1977.”
Both the museum and the university are located in the shadow of the historic Cumberland Gap. According to LMU, Tennessee was divided between the Union and the Confederacy during the Civil War. Loyalty to the Union was especially prevalent in the state’s mountainous northeast region. Cumberland Gap, situated at the convergence of Union Kentucky and Confederate Tennessee and Virginia, was a key defensive position for the Confederacy and a prime avenue of invasion for the North. The Cumberland Gap pass changed hands four times throughout the Civil War.
Lincoln wanted to reward the loyalty of the East Tennessee Union supporters, who had remained devoted to the Union despite suffering persecution at the hands of the Confederacy. “They are loyal there …,” Lincoln is credited with saying about the region.
A vision of starting a university honoring Lincoln there was the foundation for LMU, which was chartered in 1897. According to LMU, due to the school’s connection to Lincoln and the Civil War, supporters quickly began donating books, manuscripts, firearms, uniforms and various other items.
By the mid-1970s, the collection had outgrown the Lincoln Room, prompting LMU trustees to plan the construction of a building devoted to preserving and exhibiting its historical materials. It was at this time that Colonel Sanders contributed significantly to making the library and museum a reality.
Today, the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum is a 21,000-square-foot facility that houses one of the most significant private collections of Abraham Lincoln and Civil War materials. It is shared with the community and the public at large.
For more information or to schedule a group tour, call 423-869-6235.