History · Lincoln

Lincoln’s post office opened in 1833, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #115 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Gordon Fox Ranch. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1810.

1833first post office

1on the National Register

11%homes built before 1940

4old photos & papers

5famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Lincoln’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Lincoln began

When was Lincoln founded?

1833

The Lincoln post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Mattanawcook (1826), North Lincoln (1831) and South Lincoln (1836), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 224 in 18102020 census: 4,853193 years

How historic is Lincoln?

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Lincoln post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Lincoln’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lincoln is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #115 of 143 in Maine. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lincoln’s overall grade.

Founding era1833, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194011.2% of homes (±4.7) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 4.1 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4C⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%

NewerOlder

Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 20%

Maine towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Maine town has 15.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lincoln’s 4.1 sits below most of its state (25% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Lincoln’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lincoln, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1921, drew every building in Lincoln.Deep rootsA post office since 1833: 193 years of Lincoln.

★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Lincoln’s post office has been open since 1833. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mattanawcook

1826–1833

North Lincoln

1831–1858

Lincoln

1833–today

Lincoln Center

1834–today

South Lincoln

1836–1924

North Lincoln

1884–1894

18201920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Libby CornerLincoln CenterNorth LincolnSouth Lincoln

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lincoln

Half TownshipLincoln CenterPark StreetTransalpineWest Broadway

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Lincoln’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lincoln’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewChurch, Lincoln, Maine: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Every building

Lincoln, building by building, 1895–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Lincoln fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 1

1895Sheet 1 of 1

Edition

Sheets

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Lincoln, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lincoln yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lincoln is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The town's population was 4,853 at the 2020 United States Census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. A statue honoring Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon was installed in Lincoln, in 2021. The 10-foot (3.0 m) bronze sculpture faces Gordon's grave at Park Street Cemetery.

Its first post office opened in 1833. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,085 to 4,853 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lincoln, 1908–1916

Passages that mention Lincoln, cut from the printed page as they were published.

**The Lincoln family magazine**1916Read the page →
Read the text
"It was also at the Stover farm, when it was the property of Isaac and Mary Lincoln, that Thomas Lincoln, the father of Abraham Lincoln, worked for a while as a farmhand for his Uncle Isaac. (See Holland's Life of Lincoln, and Nicolay and Hay's Life of Lincoln.)
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

In July, 1777, General Lincoln was despatched to the northern army, under Gates, to assist in opposing Burgoyne. Stationed at Manchester, in Vermont, Lincoln received and organized the New England militia as they joined him. A detachment of 500 men from his troops, under colonel Brown surprised the… — **The Lincoln family magazine**1916Read the page →
Read the text
In July, 1777, General Lincoln was despatched to the northern army, under Gates, to assist in opposing Burgoyne. Stationed at Manchester, in Vermont, Lincoln received and organized the New England militia as they joined him. A detachment of 500 men from his troops, under colonel Brown surprised the English at the landing at Lake George, took 293 men, and released 100 American prisoners. He then joined general Gate's
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Section ii. And be it further enacted, that either of the justices of peace, for the county of Lincoln, be and he is hereby authorized to issue a warrant directed to some inhabitant of said town of Jefiferson, requiring him to notify and warn the inhabitants of the said town to meet at such conveni… — **Centennial celebration of the town of Jefferson, Lincoln County, Maine, U.S.A., August 21, 1907**1908 · page 26Read the page →
Read the text
Section ii. And be it further enacted, that either of the justices of peace, for the county of Lincoln, be and he is hereby authorized to issue a warrant directed to some inhabitant of said town of Jefiferson, requiring him to notify and warn the inhabitants of the said town to meet at such convenient time and place as shall be appointed in said warrant, for the choice of such officers as towns are by law required to choose at their annual town meeting.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Lincoln, 1826 to 1960

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1826Post officeThe Mattanawcook post office opens
1831Post officeThe North Lincoln post office opens
1833Post officeThe Mattanawcook post office closes
1833Post officeThe Lincoln post office opens
1858Post officeThe North Lincoln post office closes
1868In the archiveChurch, Lincoln, Maine
1875Born hereElenore Abbott is born here
1887Born hereErnest Holmes is born here
20th century
1924BuiltGordon Fox Ranch is built
1942Born hereDanny Coombs is born here
1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1960Born hereGary Gordon is born here

By decade

Lincoln, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

On the map

Lincoln on the map in 1957

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lincoln.

1957Lincoln sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lincoln.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewChurch, Lincoln, Maine, c. 1868

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lincoln’s page.

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

1 historic place in Lincoln

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2015

Gordon Fox Ranch

Buildings

Gordon Fox RanchBuilt 1924

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Lincoln, census by census

Between 224 and 5,587 people in every census since 1810.

21 censuses, 1810–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lincoln’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Lincoln

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Elenore AbbottAmerican Art Nouveau book illustrator, scenic d… · b. 1875

Gary GordonUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1960

Ernest HolmesAmerican New Thought writer · b. 1887

Danny CoombsAmerican baseball player · b. 1942

Fenwicke HolmesAmerican writer · b. 1883

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lee2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town WinnIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Burlington1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lincoln’s history

What year was Lincoln founded?

The Lincoln post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Lincoln rank for history?

Lincoln is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #115 of 143 in Maine. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Lincoln?

One place: the Gordon Fox Ranch (listed 2015).

How old are the homes in Lincoln?

11% of Lincoln’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1980.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (21), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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