LINCOLN CITY — President’s Day, Feb. 16, is a U.S. federal holiday observed on the third Monday of February that officially honors George Washington but has evolved to recognize all U.S. presidents with Abraham Lincoln front and center.

A majestic reminder of the nation’s 16th president, “Abraham Lincoln on Horseback” towers over the entrance to the Lincoln City Community Center on NW 21st Street in this town named after the humble leader who abolished slavery.

Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973), the famous bronze sculptor and philanthropist, bequeathed the statue to Lincoln City in 1965 after the State of Oregon declined the gift for Salem, its capitol, and Eugene rejected the bronze sculpture for the University of Oregon.

Both authorities cited the high cost of shipping the piece to Oregon as their reason for refusing the priceless treasure. Meanwhile, the mayor of Lincoln City learned of the refusals and asked Huntington to make Lincoln City its permanent home under the condition that the city pay the $25,000 shipping fee. Ms. Huntington, one of the most prominent female artists of the early 20th century, agreed.

A bronze plaque at the site was donated in 1995 by the children of Oceanlake Elementary School. The inscription recalls how Abraham Lincoln, when offered the governorship of the Oregon Territory in 1849, declined the position in “the untamed west.” Frustrated by politics, Lincoln temporarily returned to his law practice, riding the circuit from village to village, always pursuing knowledge through his “saddlebag college.” The decision altered American history.

In a letter sent with the statue, Huntington wrote of the piece, “I hope that for you and your children, and for all who come after you in your beautiful state, it may stand as…an inspiration not only to seek education in youth, but in the spirit of Lincoln, to find, in frustration and disappointment at any age, new opportunity through further education.”

Anna Hyatt Huntington died in 1973, while the Lincoln statue remains on the Smithsonian List of Outdoor Treasures. The statue may be removed by the governor of Oregon only if the city changes its name.