[April 30, 2014]      

In the new Lincoln Heritage Museum, the sadness of Lincoln's life is recalled in a unique and emotionally moving way as the tour takes the guest through the mind of Lincoln and what he may have seen in his memory in the last hours of life.

The upstairs guided tour begins at the end, on that fateful night when Lincoln and his wife attended Ford's Theatre. As they sat in their seats in the balcony, they were unaware that these would be the last moments they would be together in life. As the play rolls along, a shot is heard in the balcony and the president slumps forward while his wife holds on to him.

The tour begins at this dramatic moment. Visitors to the museum find themselves in Ford's Theatre, standing in the background as the president and Mary Todd Lincoln enjoy the play. Through holographic technology, they see John Wilkes Booth aim his pistol, and they see Lincoln slump forward in Mary's arms.

The hours that passed between the shot and Lincoln's death were filled with grief and concern by those surrounding his bedside. But for Lincoln, those hours may have been filled with memories ... reflections of a life lived.

Pictures by Nila Smith and Jan Youngquist