Danville – September of 1858 Abraham Lincoln stood on the balcony of the home of Doctor William Fithian to make a speech to the people gathered below. He made that speech in his socks.
The home of Dr. William Fithian of Danville is the subject of one of our WAND Discovering Central Illinois stories that are airing in the month of November.
The Fithian home is located on N. Gilbert Street and was built between 1850 and 1855.
Lincoln had come to the home for the night and took off his boots in an upstairs bedroom. Dr. Fithian told Lincoln he needed to address a crowd which had gathered outside but Lincoln could not get his boots back on because his feet had started to swell.Â
So, the future president stepped through a window and on to the balcony in his stocking feet.
Lincoln and Fithian were both elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1834. They remained friends until Lincoln’s assassination in 1865.
Fithian served one term in the Illinois House and two terms in the state Senate.
