On February 29, 1860, Abraham Lincoln – having just given an electrifying anti-slavery speech at Cooper Union in New York City – arrived in Exeter, New Hampshire, to visit his son, Robert, a student at Phillips Exeter Academy. After speaking to ever-larger, quickly assembled crowds of New Hampshire citizens in Manchester, Concord, Dover, and Exeter, Lincoln went on to accept his party's nomination for President in May of that year, and then to the White House. In February and March of 2010, the Exeter Historical Society partnered with the New Hampshire Humanities, the local school district, Phillips Exeter Academy, the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce and other local businesses and organizations to observe the sesquicentennial anniversary of Lincoln's visit to Exeter, New Hampshire.
“THEREFORE, I, JOHN LYNCH, GOVERNOR of the State of New Hampshire, do hereby proclaim MARCH 1-7 2010 as LINCOLN IN EXETER SESQUICENTENNIAL WEEK in New Hampshire and urge all residents of the state to take time throughout this week to recognize the noteworthy historical bond between President Lincoln and the Town of Exeter.””
The Lincoln Walking Tour of Exeter
The Lincoln Sesquicentennial Celebratory Map of Exeter, 2010, by Nathan LaMontagne
Over 150 years later, walk around Exeter in Abraham Lincoln's FootSteps.
Our Exeter History Minute about Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 visit to Exeter.