Lincoln Logs were invented in 1916. John Lloyd Wright and his company, Red Square Toy Company, marketed the toy in 1918.[2] The mold for the toy was based on the architecture of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, designed by the inventor's father. The foundation of the hotel was designed with interlocking beams, which made the structure "earthquake-proof". This feature assisted in the design of the toy logs, ensuring stability of the miniature buildings created with the toy set.[3]
K'nex, the toy's current distributor, states the product was named after Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States. Lincoln Logs originally came with instructions on how to build Uncle Tom's Cabin as well as Lincoln's cabin.[4]
Wright was issued U.S. patent 1,351,086[5] on August 31, 1920, for a "Toy-Cabin Construction"