Despite the fact that Abraham Lincoln never set foot in California, there exists, just 60 miles east of Los Angeles, a small museum focused on America’s 16th president and the war waged under his tenure to preserve our Union. The original building was a one-room octagon with a limestone exterior inscribed with quotes from Lincoln. It was gifted to the city in 1932 by Robert and Alma Watchorn, whose own story—and that of the shrine itself—is rather remarkable. Robert Watchorn was born in England, in 1859. As a child, he…
