This monument to Abraham Lincoln was originally located at the Lincoln Motor Company plant at West Warren and Livernois in Detroit. It was a gift to Henry M. Leland, founder of the company.

The statue is a copy of one designed by Alonzo Pelzer for the City of Lincoln, N.J.

It was moved to its present location at the Skillman Branch of the Detroit Public Library downtown on April 17, 1958. The inscription reads, "Let man be free."