President Abraham Lincoln was one of the most influential presidents in the history of the United States.

His assassination on April 14, 1865, at the hands of John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, rocked the nation, which was fresh out of the Civil War.Now 150 years later, area residents are remembering the man who held Pennsylvania close to his heart.To mark the tragic event, members of the Palmerton Area Chamber of Commerce were treated to a presentation by Joseph Garrera, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown, one of the area's foremost Lincoln scholars.As part of his event, Garrera spoke of the events following Lincoln's death, as well as what connected him to Pennsylvania.Lincoln "had the power to alter history," Garrera said.At the Republican National Convention, held in Chicago in 1860, Lincoln achieved victory, he said.On the third ballot, Pennsylvania put him over the top."Pennsylvania was very important to Lincoln's life," he said. "Without Pennsylvania, he doesn't become president."But on that fateful evening, just six days after the surrender of Confederate commanding Gen. Robert E. Lee, Lincoln was assassinated after he arrived at Ford's Theater with guests."The whole theater erupts," Garrera said. "It absolutely exploded with excitement."As Lincoln sat in his state box in the balcony a little after 10 p.m., Booth crept up behind Lincoln and shot him."The theater exploded; people were yelling, screaming," he said. "His wife, Mary, knows her husband is shot, she drops to the floor."Lincoln was then taken across the street to the Petersen House.At 7:22 the following morning, Lincoln took his last breath.Garrera said Lincoln's funeral one week later was the "greatest funeral in American history."On April 21, 1865, a nine-car funeral train steamed out of Washington, D.C., for what became the most historic train journey in American history.He added that Pennsylvania played an important role in Lincoln's national funeral, as two of the most memorable funerals along the route occurred in Harrisburg and Philadelphia.Garrera noted that much of the funeral of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 was based on the funeral of Lincoln.He said Lincoln was a great man who wanted to make the world a better place.