The "Bringing My Childhood Back To Life!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching for the box of Lincoln Logs that Carol and I had bought for our oldest son in the late 1970s.  

A set of Lincoln Logs from the 1940s.

We spent many hours playing with the simple wooden pieces just as I had spent hours with my father doing the same with the box of Lincoln Logs he had bought for me in the 1940s.  Lincoln Logs were invented sometime around 1916 when John Lloyd Wright was working in Japan with his father.  

This is one of the drawings used to obtain the patent for Lincoln Logs.

The mold for the toy was based on the architecture of the Imperial Hotel in Toyko, which was designed by the inventor's father.  The toy logs weren't marketed until 1918 when John organized The Red Square Toy Company.  A patent was finally issued for the toy logs on August 31, 1920.  He later changed the name of his company to J.L. Wright Manufacturing.  The original set came with directions on how to build Uncle Tom's Cabin as well as Abraham Lincoln's cabin.  It followed other construction type toys such as Tinker Toys and the Erector Set.  

Playskool's 1978 package
of Lincoln Logs.

The current distributor of the toy claims it was named after Abraham Lincoln which is incorrect.  Others claim it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright whose original name was Frank Lincoln Wright, but that too isn't correct.  John Lloyd Wright sold his company to Playskol in 1943 who in turn passed the copyright to Milton Bradley and Hasbro.  It was in 1999 that Lincoln Logs and John Lloyd Wright were entered in the National Toy Hall of Fame.  Today, Lincoln Logs are manufactured in the U.S.A. by K'NEX after having been manufactured for years in China.  Wasn't long after my grandson was born that I too had purchased a set of Lincoln Logs so he and I could play with them when he would visit.  Every time I dig out the round tube of logs and roofing material I reminisce about those days over 60 years ago when I would play with my neighborhood friends building small towns and using our metal cowboys and Indians who would inhabit the places we built.  And now, in 2018, this special toy to me as well as millions of others, has turned 100.  Happy Birthday!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

This is the 2018 Anniversary Tube of Lincoln Logs.  Still the same as when I played with them.