(photo courtesy of Kevin Kelly)
Over the weekend, someone stole a statue of Abraham Lincoln from an Ascension Parish historic antebellum estate, and the owner would really like it back. Kevin Kelly, who owns Houmas House and Gardens in Darrow, discovered the 64-pound silver statue missing Sunday morning. Kelly doubts that it was an inside job.
“I will be very, very shocked if any of my employees had anything to do with this. Most have been here for many years. Some as many is 21 years,” Kelly said.
Kelly fears that given the statue’s value, the thief has likely melted it down by now. He says what’s just as upsetting as the theft of the statue are some of the reactions people are leaving on the mansion’s Facebook page.
“So if you read the comments on Facebook, it’s horrible what people are saying. Now there’s some people who are upset that I had a statue of Abraham Lincoln here,” Kelly said.
Kelly says it’s important for them to know that he had stayed there on more than one occasion.
“In 1819, when Abraham Lincoln was a young boy, he was at Houmas House. And he was here two years later, once again,” Kelly explained.
The statue is extremely rare — it was created by Gutzon Borglum, whose biggest claim to fame was carving the faces of four U.S. Presidents into the side of Mount Rushmore. Kelly says most guests say the Abraham Lincoln statue was their most favorite part of the tour of the mansion.
Anyone with information that may assist detectives is urged to contact the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office anonymously at (225) 621-4636 or by texting 847411.
Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-STOP (7867) or online at www.crimestoppers225.com. To be eligible for a cash reward, you must contact Crime Stoppers directly.
Also, you can call Kevin Kelly at (504) 628-6000
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