Museum to Display Gettysburg Address November 6-22

Springfield's Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will show an original handwritten edition of the speech during the period.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Historical

A softly lit museum gallery with a single glass case holding an aged parchment sheet, warm autumn light falling through tall windows. — The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield will display an original handwritten Gettysburg Address from November 6 to 22, with free admission on November 19. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will display an original edition of the Gettysburg Address from November 6 to 22. Admission is free on November 19, the 163rd anniversary of the address.

Why it matters

The museum is the only place in America where the public can regularly see Lincoln's Gettysburg Address written in his own hand, and the display offers residents of Springfield a rare chance to view the document in person.

Only five handwritten copies of the Gettysburg Address are known to exist, and the Illinois state government has owned the Everett Copy since 1944. The extraction does not specify expected attendance for the exhibit.

The players

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

The Springfield institution houses the Everett Copy of the Gettysburg Address and oversees its public display.

Abraham Lincoln

The 16th President of the United States delivered the Gettysburg Address at the national cemetery dedication on November 19, 1863.

The details

Visitors can view the address during the exhibit, and a version is available for people with visual impairments starting November 17 that uses raised lettering and push buttons. Free historian Q&A sessions are held at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on November 18, 19, and 20, alongside the special exhibit "The Second American Revolution."

November 6-22, 2026: Gettysburg Address original edition on display at the museum.
November 11, 2026: Free admission for veterans for Veterans Day.
November 17, 2026: Accessible version of the address becomes available for visitors with visual impairments.
November 19, 2026: Free museum admission on the 163rd anniversary of the address.

Historical Context

The display commemorates Lincoln's November 19, 1863 Gettysburg Address, one of only five handwritten copies known to survive. The exhibit connects the 163-year-old speech to the surviving manuscripts held by the White House, Cornell University, and the Library of Congress.

Springfield residents can view one of five surviving handwritten copies of the Gettysburg Address in person, with free admission for veterans on November 11 and free general admission on November 19. The accessible version starting November 17 gives visitors with visual impairments a tactile way to engage with the speech.

The takeaway

Seeing a handwritten original of a speech delivered in 1863 offers a direct connection to the document's history. Residents planning a visit should note the free admission days and the historian sessions on November 18 through 20.