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Abraham Lincoln Museum Celebrates 4 Millionth Visitor

Sarah Mueller WUIS

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library hit 4 million visitors Friday. Museum staff dropped balloons and a crowd cheered as Elise Arnold, the 4-millionth visitor, and her family entered the museum. 

  Arnold, her husband and three kids stopped to visit the museum in Springfield during their move from Florence, Oregon to a new home in Kentucky.

She said when she saw the crowd of people waiting to greet her, she thought they were waiting for someone else.

"I assumed it was someone behind us that was probably really exciting to see and apparently it was us," she said.

Arnold said the attention was overwhelming.

"I'm actually a musician, I'm a singer," she said. "So I like being on stage when I'm in costume or singing a song and I can't see who else is in front of me."

The museum gave Arnold prizes that included free membership to the museum, 100 dollars' worth of gift store merchandise and a backstage tour of the museum's "Ghosts of the Library" show.?

  The museum opened in 2005 and reached 3 million visitors in 2012. However, some state leaders have been debating changing its leadership structure. Critics have said the museum should be drawing more tourists.

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