The only location where President-elect Abraham Lincoln spoke in Westchester County, NY. Lincoln spoke to the citizens of Peekskill on February 19th, 1861.
On February 19, 1861 President Abraham Lincoln's inaugural train made a stop at the Peekskill Freight Depot. Approximately 1500 people attended the President's visit. Lincoln made the stop on the request of his former Congressional colleague William Nelson from Peekskill, New York. The train's route was from Springfield, Illinois to Washington, D.C. and took 13 days to complete. The Peekskill Depot is the only original depot building surviving other than the one he left from in Springfield.
Lincoln's stop in Peekskill was well documented at the time "Towards noon, quite a number came to the village from the country surrounding, and wended their way to the Depot.”; and continues to be a source of local pride.
After President Lincoln's assassination in 1865, his funeral train retraced the route and stopped in Peekskill on the way back to Springfield.
The Lincoln Depot Museum, at Water and Centre Streets in Peekskill, NY, will explore and commemorate President Abraham Lincoln and New York's importance to the Civil War. It will also highlight local historical figures and organizations that contributed to Lincoln's and the Union's success. These include Chauncey Depew and the Peekskill Military Academy.
