Preserving the Lincoln Banner!

Our Community by Doug Humes

During the contentious election of 1860, with four candidates running for President, each candidate’s backers took to parading through the streets, at night and by torch light, to promote their candidate. Abraham Lincoln’s supporters called themselves the Wide Awakes, and the local chapter in Media marched under a huge banner featuring a clean-shaven Lincoln (he did not grow the beard until after the election), and slogans about preserving the Union.

The Wide Awakes on Parade

Public Domain

A later description of the banner noted that “The marching club at Media penetrated all sections of the county and engaged in many a miniature riot. In Kellyville [now a part of Clifton Heights – Ed.], it was fired upon by the Democrats who had sworn that the man who had carried a Lincoln banner into that district should not carry it out.” When that account was written, the banner was hanging in the office of the Republican Party in Media, “a relic of the past” with “bullet holes through the folds of it.”

When the election votes were tallied in Delaware County, Lincoln received more votes than the three other candidates combined:

Lincoln 3,181 63.05%

Breckenridge 1,500 29.73%

Douglas 195 3.87%

Bell 169 3.35%

TOTALS 5,045 100.00%

Lincoln Banner: The County

Photo courtesy of Delaware County Historical Society

That Lincoln banner still exists, 160 years later, and is now cared for by the Delaware County Historical Society (DCHS). In 2019 they launched a campaign to raise funds for its preservation, with the ultimate plan being to restore, protect and then display the banner in a clear plexiglass, air-pressurized case so that visitors can view both sides. The restoration work was completed in 2021.

Lincoln Banner: The Candidate

Photo courtesy of Delaware County Historical Society

The next step is to raise the money for the display work, through the #PENNIES4LINCOLN effort. We are on a roll in Delco! Let’s show that we can come together again to help preserve and display this important piece of Delaware County history. More information about the Lincoln banner preservation project can be found at www.PADelcoHistory.org/lincoln-banner.

For more history on Newtown Square, Delaware County, and membership information, please visit our website at www.NSHistory.org.