President Abraham Lincoln is remembered as the President who led a nation divided by Civil War, but while in office President Lincoln contributed in several ways to the settlement of the west. In May of 1862, he signed the Homestead Act, which permitted more than a million families to take ownership of western farmland. In July of 1862, he also signed the College Land Grand Act, which allowed the establishment of colleges in the frontier west. In 1862 and 1864 President Lincoln used his influence to pass the Railroad Land Grants, which laid the groundwork for the transcontinental railroad that hastened the settlement of the western frontier.
As a result of these significant contributions leading to the settlement of the west, President Lincoln is honored with this statue, at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The statue was created by renowned artist James Earl Fraser, which portrayal Lincoln sitting on a stone on a hill overlooking Washington, and gazing down on the troubled capitol of the Union, his shoulders revealing the burden of his office. Fraser also created one of the most famous pieces of Western Art, the “End of the Trail” statue. The plaster model of which stands in the museum’s entrance.