This was the first public monument to President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). The citizens of the District of Columbia began raising funds just days after his assassination.

The statue was placed into storage in 1920 when the DC City Hall was undergoing renovation. While it was away, construction on the Lincoln Memorial in Potomac Park began in earnest. It was suggested that there was no need for this statue since the newer version would honor the President adequately, but the public outcry was great enough to make the Federal Government relent and return the DC Lincoln to its accustomed place in 1922.