LINCOLN - Abraham Lincoln has returned to his namesake city, but efforts to keep his arrival secret soon failed.

"We tried to come in under cover …, but it's a little hard with something this large," said Geoff Ladd, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County. "We had people stopped everywhere watching."

Of course, it's a hard thing to hide when the former president is a 12-foot-tall, 350-pound fiberglass statue in the driver's seat of what is billed as the world's largest covered wagon. Decked out in his trademark frock coat and stovepipe hat, the bearded Lincoln is portrayed reading a book.

The hand-built, oak wagon, measuring 40 feet long, 24 feet tall and 12 feet wide and weighing 5 tons, is in the Guinness World Book of Records, and now it's also in Lincoln. The tourist attraction will be a permanent fixture along one of the city's most traveled streets, at J&S Auto Centre on 1006 Woodlawn Road.

"This is an excellent example of community-minded individuals and businesses that are willing to partner with our tourism bureau to bring an attraction such as this to our community," Ladd said.

Larry Van Bibber, a Lincoln retiree, donated the $10,000 necessary to purchase the wagon, plus the money needed to move it from the Divernon area, Ladd said.

"I knew the tourism bureau was having trouble raising the money for this, and I was happy and in the position financially to help," said Van Bibber. "I think this will help Lincoln tourism as well as the Route 66 programs. I think it will also benefit the people of Lincoln by bringing tourism into the area."

Van Bibber said it was exciting to see the wagon move into the town Tuesday night.

"This is the only town named after Lincoln before he became famous," said Van Bibber. "I just wanted to give back to the community and was blessed monetarily to do so."

The covered wagon was created by David Bentley several years ago as he was recovering from heart disease, and has been located along Route 66 in the Divernon area, Ladd said. Route 66-related Web sites describing the wagon said Bentley is a former Illinois State Police officer who once worked at a prison in Lincoln.

"It has been a popular attraction for both Route 66 and Abraham Lincoln tourists, and fits well with the tourism bureau's ABE66.com marketing campaign," Ladd said.

Bentley contacted the tourism bureau a few months ago about purchasing the wagon, Ladd said. As talk continued, Van Bibber volunteered to pay for it.

Following news of the donation, the tourism bureau started looking for the best location for the structure, which led them to the intersection with the highest traffic count in the city.

A dedication/ribbon cutting will be held next week.

For additional information, call the tourism bureau at (217) 732-8687 or e-mail info@abe66.com.