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The Rolland Center

For Lincoln Research

Welcome to the Rolland Center for Lincoln Research

The center is free and open 7 days a week

Family viewing display at the Allen County Public Library, The Rolland Center

Learn From Experts

Schedule a Free Tour

Family viewing an exhibit in a museum with displays, education, and Allen County Public Library.

Today's Hours

View our Hours

Four people view a large Lincoln portrait displayed in a gallery space.

Current Exhibits

Annual and Special Exhibits

Historic statue display with photograph, elegant dress, and exhibit detail within Allen County Public Library.

About the Collection

Visit the Friends of the Lincoln Collection

ACPL Rolland Center | Introduction to the Rolland Center

Introduction to the Rolland Center

ACPL The Rolland Center | Support the Center

Support the Center

Events & Programs

2026 McMurtry_ACPL.jpg

October 22, 2026

IN PERSON & VIRTUAL EVENT

2026 McMurtry Lecture:  A Conversation with Lois Romano

Join us as we welcome New York Times Best Selling author and national journalist Lois Romano to talk about her book An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln.

This event will be offered both in person and virtually.

  • Virtual attendees: Register

  • In-person attendees: No registration required.

    • Location: Main Library Theater at the Allen County Public Library — 900 Library Plz, Fort Wayne, IN

lincoln_legacy.jpg

Through  Dec. 31, 2026

ON DISPLAY

Carrying Lincoln's Legacy

As the last living connection to President Abraham Lincoln, his son Robert Todd Lincoln cared for his grieving mother, attended memorial events, and helped preserve the martyred president’s legacy. A new temporary exhibit shines light into the shadow of that legacy, where Robert carried the weight of his father’s memory. We invite visitors to peek into the shadows and discover the man that many Americans thought of simply as “Lincoln’s son.”

Color illustration of Abraham Lincoln seated in a parlor with his family, reading a book while Mary Todd Lincoln sits nearby and their children gather around a table, with framed portraits hanging on the wall behind them.

Through Dec. 31, 2026

ON DISPLAY

The Lincolns at Home

Take an intimate look at this historic first family, which through times of peace and times of war found comfort and companionship in one another.  Explore highlights from the Lincoln family’s own photo album, which contains more than 600 photographs and is held right here in the Rolland Center. The exhibit can be viewed during normal library hours from December 20, 2025, through the end of 2026; there is no cost to visit.

A woman and her two young children view an interactive display at the Rolland Center for Lincoln research.

NOW

ON DISPLAY

Lincoln Collection Items

The Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection and the Friends of the Lincoln Collection opened the Rolland Center for Lincoln Research in January of 2022. The Center provides a space to explore the Lincoln Collection through a variety of physical displays, digital kiosks, and even a projection room that shows collection items in 180 degrees.

Meeting Dates - 2025

(4th Thursday of each month* at 3:00pm)

Date
Location
Agenda

* Meeting held on third Thursday of the month due to holiday.

Regular meetings will be held at the branch location indicated and livestreamed on the ACPL youtube page. 

ACPL The Rolland Collection | Lincoln Collection

Explore the Lincoln Collection

The Center's collections contains more than 30,000 records, including:

  • Photos and albums—Images of life before, during, and after President Lincoln

  • Personal stories—Memoirs, letters, and diaries

  • Published Works—Books, pamphlets, songsters, broadsides and more

Winkler, H. Donald, 1932-

Stealing secrets : how a few daring women deceived generals, impacted battles, and altered the course of the Civil War

The New York Times disunion : modern historians revisit and reconsider the Civil War from Lincoln's election to the Emancipation Proclamation

Robertson, James I., Jr. (James Irvin), 1930-2019

Soldiers Blue and Gray

Foner, Eric

The fiery trial : Abraham Lincoln and American slavery

Egerton, Douglas R

Thunder at the gates : the black Civil War regiments that redeemed America

Rolland Center Showcase

Hours

Sunday          12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Monday          9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Tuesday          9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Wednesday    9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Thursday.       9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Friday             9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday         9:00 am - 6:00 pm

900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN 46802

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