Abraham Lincoln could be coming back to Wilkinsburg

Abraham Lincoln hopes to return to his perch overlooking the Lincoln Highway in Wilkinsburg.

The Wilkinsburg Historical Society announced plans to raise $70,000 to build a bronze, life-size statue of the 16th president of the United States. It would replace the old copper Lincoln statue that stood at the intersection of Penn Avenue and Ardmore Boulevard for over a century, with a few interruptions.

Wilkinsburg Historical Society president Anne Elise Morris says the organization has just started a GoFundMe page for the project and is putting the word out for donations.

“I know that $70,000 is a lot of money, but this is going to be there for at least another century. Bronze statues last forever,” Morris said. “So, this is an investment in the beautification of Wilkinsburg.”

The old Lincoln statue was dedicated in 1916 as part of the celebration of the Lincoln Highway. It was made of hammered copper that was as bright as a new penny.

Over the years, the statue has had more than its share of misadventures.

In 1981, an intoxicated couple stole the statue by breaking it off at the ankles. They took it to a Westmoreland County farm near Greensburg. Fearful that they would be discovered, the thieves buried the statue in a shallow grave before turning themselves in. The statue was returned, but the ordeal left Lincoln in bad shape.

Although Abe was put back in place in 1984, his weakened ankles could not withstand a 1992 storm that knocked him off the pedestal once more.

It took nine years for the Lincoln statue to rise again. It was repaired and rededicated in 2001 after a $25,000 restoration job.

It stood at the intersection of Penn Avenue and Ardmore Boulevard for the next 17 years until a car lost control on Penn Avenue last November and plowed through part of the fencing surrounding the statue.

At that point, Wilkinsburg officials decided it was time to bring Abe indoors, and he has stood in the Wilkinsburg Borough building ever since.

“Everybody misses the statue. There’s this pedestal sitting there with nothing on it,” Morris said. “People drive by looking for the statue, and they ask ‘When is the borough going to release the Lincoln hostage? When is there going to be a new Lincoln?’”

Morris says the Wilkinsburg Historical Society is doing everything it can to draw attention to the fundraising effort including offering a Lincoln bobblehead to anyone donating $100 or more to the cause.

“A lot of people like knowing (the statue) is there,” Morris said. “They feel like all is normal in Wilkinsburg when they see Lincoln standing there representing everything that he represented as a sitting president.”

Here is a link to the Wilkinsburg Historical Society’s GoFundMe page for the Lincoln statue.