And it was thoughts of a nature school in the forest that inspired Rockport's own sculptor, George H. Honig, to conceive the idea of the sculptured mural "Abraham Lincoln's Forest College in Spencer County, Indiana 1816-1830". This plaster sculpture is dated May, 1934.

The 4 feet 7 inches by 8 feet 6 inches sculpture originally hung in the Kennedy Building or Rockport High School. When that building was demolished, it was moved to the lobby of Rockport Elementary which is on the same location. This photo was taken in 2005.

The above photo was taken on an easel. The text says "Abraham Lincoln and James Grigsby's Forest College in Spencer Co. Indiana 1816 - 1830". Photo courtesy of Donald L. Rebel, a third cousin of George Honig.

This was taken at the dedication. Alda is at the left and George is at the right. George painted the backdrops in the background. Photo courtesy of Donald L. Rebel, a third cousin of George Honig.

The photo above came from the 1959 Rockport High School yearbook. It shows the homecoming queen and court standing in front of the mural as it hung in the hall of old RHS.

In 2007-08, renovations were made to Rockport Elementary and the sculpture was put in storage. The following photos were taken, on November 12, 2008, when the work was brought back to the school.

Maintenance bringing the work back from storage.

Maintenance moving the sculpture into the building.

Standing the sculpture up before mounting on wall.

The back of the sculpture showing the plaster, horse hair and wire that was used to reinforce the work. Note the tag in the upper left corner.

Close-up of tag. It reads from left:
Public Works of Art Project
Artist George H. Honig Rockport
Region Ninth Region Indiana Division
Title Abe Lincoln's Forest College
Disposition Rockport Ind High School
Erected Aug 3 1934         Date March 1934
This picture is the property of the United States Government
Geo H Honig

Close-up of the signature and horse hair.

Photo taken November 19, 2008 showing sculpture attached to wall. It needs some attention by an artist to repair a few chips and cracks.

Photo taken November 19, 2008 showing sculpture attached to wall in relation to east entrance.