CLINTON - A mural celebrating Abraham Lincoln's time in DeWitt County is being planned for the DeWitt County Museum.

"The celebration for the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birthday is really picking up right now," said DeWitt County historian Joey Woolridge. "But it won't end in February."

"In fact, everyone expects the attention on Lincoln to increase because there is always going to be something else to recognize in the near future," he said. "One thing we know for sure is that there is going to be a focus on the 8th Judicial Circuit where Lincoln spent a great deal of time."

The mural, expected to cost around $1,200, will be created by artists Sally Walsh of Farmer City and Karl Smith of Normal.

A $425 grant from the Decatur Arts Council will help offset some of the costs, said DeWitt County Museum resident manager Larry Buss.

The 8- by 16-foot display should be completed in April and will be exhibited in the Farm Museum on the grounds of the C.H. Moore Homestead.

The mural will be split into four sections, each featuring images of Lincoln and his time in DeWitt County. One sure bet is a representation of an 1858 speech in Clinton in which Lincoln is reputed to have spoken one of the more famous phrases attributed to him.

"We're deciding which four scenes we want, and we know we definitely want to have one portraying the famous speech about 'fooling some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time,' which we believe was made in Clinton," Buss said. "We are also planning to put a scene here depicting one of the cases he was working on as a lawyer in DeWitt County."

Walsh and Smith will work on the mural in the comfort of the museum's basement during the winter months.

"With the bicentennial of Lincoln's birthday nearly here, it has put a lot more emphasis on his life and we're trying to find ways to honor the time he spent here," Buss said.

The museum has some other items from that era, including a dress that was worn to Lincoln's second inauguration.

"We're going to be able to display a rifle from that time and as we move forward, I believe we will have the opportunity to find other items as well," he said.

Buss said a special ceremony will be planned in the spring for the official unveiling of the mural.