This square block of wood is a section of the scaffold used as a gallows to hang four of the people found guilty of conspiring to kill President Lincoln. It consists of a rough cut square block with rounded corners, to one side of which is affixed a paper label giving the provenance of the item.
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. on the evening of April 14, 1865. After the assassination large numbers of individuals believed to be connected to the plot were rounded up and thrown in prison. Most were eventually released. Eventually eight conspirators were tried by a military panel, and four of them were sentenced to death by hanging. The four individuals were Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt, who were hung on July 7, 1865.
Abraham Lincoln (is related to) Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American statesman and lawyer who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.