Forever Free exhibit at Reagan Presidential Library to feature original Emancipation Proclamation

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley, will display the original Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln as part of the Forever Free exhibit from Fri., Sept. 19 to Tues., Sept. 23.

The document is on loan from the National Archives and Records Administration. For preservation purposes, it is allowed to be on display for less than 48 hours each year.

The library will extend its regular museum hours while the document is on display. The museum will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fri. and Tues., Sept. 19 and 23; from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20 and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21.

Forever Free will be on display through Fri., Oct. 24. The exhibit examines Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, and includes letters and manuscripts by Lincoln, some of his personal effects, an 1831 law book from the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office and a chamber pot from the Lincoln White House. The exhibit will also contain a photographic timeline of slavery through the ages.

Museum admission is $12 for general admission, $9 for seniors ages 62 and older, $3 for children ages 11 to 17 and free for children ages 10 and under.

For more information, call (800) 410-8354 or visit www.reaganlibrary.com.