Strevell House

Among the many connections Pontiac has to Abraham Lincoln, one of the most interesting revolves around Lincoln's friendship with local attorney, Jason W. Strevell.  

Strevell and Lincoln were close friends and shared many hours together in conversation. One of the most documented meetings between these two gentlemen occurred on the evening of January 27, 1860. Lincoln, earlier that day, accepted an invitation to speak to the Pontiac Young Men's Literary Society. He was in Bloomington for a trial and took an afternoon train to Pontiac. His speech was only a moderate success, and after the presentation, Lincoln went to the Strevell house to spend the night. Strevell and Lincoln stayed up late, talking about politics, slavery, and the other national and local issues of the day. During the course of the conversation, Strevell suggested that Lincoln might be selected as the Republican Party's presidential candidate at the upcoming party convention. Lincoln argued that he might be chosen as a vice-presidential candidate, but did not believe he would gain the top spot on the ticket.

As the conversation turned to less important topics, Strevell, who was six foot tall, said he did not believe that Lincoln was really 4 inches taller than himself. Lincoln offered to let himself be measured and stood in a doorway in his stocking feet while Strevell made a scratch in the door frame to mark Lincoln's height. Strevell then measured, from floor to the mark on the door frame, and found Lincoln to be exactly, 6 foot, 4 inches tall.

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