The Route 66 town of Lincoln, Ill., at 1 p.m. Aug. 27 will hold a re-creation of Abraham Lincoln’s christening of the town in 1853, reports the Bloomington Pantagraph.
The approximately 20-minute ceremony will occur at 101 N. Chicago St. in Lincoln. As for what actually happened nearly 155 years ago …
It was on that date in 1853 that Lincoln, Ill., came into existence when prairie lawyer Abraham Lincoln christened his namesake town with the juice of a watermelon poured from a tin cup before the sale of town lots began.
The construction of the Alton to Chicago railroad line through Logan County became the pivotal point for the platting of the town in 1853. Lincoln was the attorney for the railroad at that time.
Here’s a site that has a lot about that day.
Roadside America has an entry about a watermelon marker that commemorates that event.