History and Mystery

I’m becoming increasing interested in history, particularly US history. Moving backward in time, trying to discover what happened in a prior era. . . the process is a lot like solving a mystery.
I was enthusiastic when I learned the next Speed City Sisters in Crime anthology would have a historical theme. But – with that said, I still was a little panicked. I can have a difficult time coming up with a story related to a theme.
Thanks to reading Epstein’s portrayal of the Lincoln marriage, I learned about Lincoln’s whistle stop tour of the country in 1861. Talk about a grueling schedule – you can Google his route and count the number of stops Lincoln made as he traveled toward Washington and his inauguration.
He made multiple stops in Indiana, including Thorntown, which I’ve decided to make the locale of my story. History tells us that Lincoln noticed his draft of his inaugural address was missing about the time he arrived in Indianapolis. This historical fact will be worked into my plot.
When doing some research, I learned that Lincoln started telling a long-ish joke at his Thorntown stop. However the train began to move on before he had the chance to finish his story. Evidently, the tale was a good one, because several listeners mounted their horses and rode at breakneck speed to the next stop (Lebanon), in order to find out how the story ended. Of course, I’ll include this anecdote and use it to heighten the suspense.
I’d better get writing – the deadline approaches. . .