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Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-102

§212 Endowment Fund; Protection and Preservation

Title 16 › CHAPTER 1 — NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › SUBCHAPTER XXIII — ABRAHAM LINCOLN BIRTHPLACE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK › § 212

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The United States accepted ownership of a $50,000 endowment that the Lincoln Farm Association transferred to the Government on April 11, 1916, which was in the Secretary of War’s possession on July 17, 1916. The fund had been invested in certain stocks, bonds, and securities described in the transfer. The United States took the fund on the condition that the land and buildings remain a national park or reservation forever, that no admission fee ever be charged, and that the land, buildings, the log cabin where Abraham Lincoln was born, and the memorial hall around it must be protected, preserved, and maintained against damage, destruction, or decay so they are kept for all time as far as possible.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §212

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The United States of America also accepts title to the endowment fund of $50,000 mentioned in the assignment and transfer, in the possession of the Secretary of War, on July 17, 1916, which assignment and transfer was executed on the 11th day of April, 1916, by the Lincoln Farm Association, a corporation, to the United States of America, transferring and turning over all its right, title, and interest in and to said endowment fund, heretofore invested in certain stocks, bonds, and securities held and owned by the Lincoln Farm Association, and more particularly identified and described in said assignment and transfer. The title to said endowment fund is accepted upon the terms and conditions stated in said assignment and transfer, namely, that the United States of America shall forever keep the said tract of land described in said deed, together with the buildings and appurtenances thereunto belonging, dedicated to the purpose of a national park or reservation, and that there shall never be any charge or fee made to or asked from the public for admission to the said park or reservation; and further, shall forever protect, preserve, and maintain said land, buildings, and appurtenances, and especially the log cabin in which Abraham Lincoln was born and the memorial hall inclosing the same, from spoliation, destruction, and further disintegration, to the end that they may be preserved for all time, as far as may be, as a national park or reservation.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of act
July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, 61 Stat. 501. section 205(a) of act
July 26, 1947, was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641. section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956, enacted “Title 10, Armed Forces” which in sections 3010 to 3013 continued military Department of the Army under administrative supervision of Secretary of the Army.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 212

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102