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C−History
History · Lincolnia

Lincolnia’s post office opened in 1870, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #149 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Lincolnia was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1970.

1870first post office
1on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lincolnia began

When was Lincolnia founded?

1870

The Lincolnia post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 10,761 in 19702020 census: 22,922156 years

How historic is Lincolnia?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lincolnia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lincolnia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lincolnia is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #149 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lincolnia’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.6) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 41%

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lincolnia’s 1.0 sits near the middle of its state (40% of Virginia 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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. 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 Lincolnia’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lincolnia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19007 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1994. Watch Lincolnia change.Lost villages9 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lincolnia’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Lincolnia on the map, 1900 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lincolnia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lincolnia on the 1900 USGS mapLincolnia on the 1945 USGS mapLincolnia on the 1951 USGS mapLincolnia on the 1965 USGS mapLincolnia on the 1971 USGS mapLincolnia on the 1984 USGS mapLincolnia on the 1994 USGS map1900Washington 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 Lincolnia.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Lincolnia had its own post office from 1870 to 1904.

Lincolnia
1870–1904
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bren Mar ParkFairlandIndian Run ParkLincolnia HeightsLincolnia ParkMount PleasantParklawnPinecrestWeyanoke
Gone or out of use
Green Spring Farmlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lincolnia
Mount Pleasant Baptist ChurchSaint Paul's Episcopal ChurchSummers Family

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

The story

How Lincolnia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lincolnia.

Read it all →

Originally created following the Civil War as a community of freed slaves, Lincolnia remained as one of Fairfax County's original communities of African Americans for over 100 years. During segregation, Lincolnia had its own schoolhouse. The historical structure is still standing, now incorporated into Lincolnia Senior Center.

The school became integrated in 1962 as part of court-ordered busing. The African American students were bused out and white students were bused in.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lincolnia, 1870 to 1904

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Lincolnia post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1904Post officeThe Lincolnia post office closes
By decade

Lincolnia, decade by decade

Today12 recent
2019-10-06 13 00 12 View east along Virginia State Route 236 (Little River Turnpike-Duke Street) at the exit for Inters…20192019-10-06 13 00 12 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-06-26 10 18 11 View north along Interstate 395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) from the overpass for the ramp …20192019-06-26 10 18 11 View north along Interstate 395 (…2019-06-26 10 17 59 View south along Interstate 395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) from the overpass for the ramp …20192019-06-26 10 17 59 View south along Interstate 395 (…2019-06-26 10 12 09 View north along Interstate 395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) from the overpass for Virginia …20192019-06-26 10 12 09 View north along Interstate 395 (…2019-06-26 10 10 07 View south along the northbound and HOT lanes of Interstate 395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway)…20192019-06-26 10 10 07 View south along the northbound a…2019-06-26 10 09 46 View south along the southbound lanes of Interstate 395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) from th…20192019-06-26 10 09 46 View south along the southbound l…2019-06-13 15 15 12 View south along Interstate 395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) at Exit 2A (Virginia State Rout…20192019-06-13 15 15 12 View south along Interstate 395 (…2019-06-13 15 08 27 View south along Interstate 395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) at Exit 2B (Virginia State Rout…20192019-06-13 15 08 27 View south along Interstate 395 (…2019-06-13 11 50 48 View north along Interstate 395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) at Exit 2B (Virginia State Rout…20192019-06-13 11 50 48 View north along Interstate 395 (…2019-06-13 11 48 08 View north along Interstate 395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) at Exit 2A (Virginia State Rout…20192019-06-13 11 48 08 View north along Interstate 395 (…Lincolnia, Virginia in May 2017 - 22017Lincolnia, Virginia in May 2017 - 2Lincolnia, Virginia in May 2017 - 12017Lincolnia, Virginia in May 2017 - 1
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lincolnia

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Green Spring
Green Spring
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial1
Colonial Revival1
Green SpringColonial

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

People over time

Lincolnia, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00019802000202022,922

Grew from 10,761 people in 1970 to 22,922 in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lincolnia

Nobody well known was born in Lincolnia itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Sandra BullockAmerican actress and film producer · b. 1964
Dermot MulroneyAmerican actor · b. 1963
Angus KingAmerican politician and lawyer · b. 1944
David M. BrownAmerican astronaut · b. 1956
K
Katie CouricAmerican journalist, presenter, producer, and a… · b. 1957
Kali UchisAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1994
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bailey's CrossroadsIts storyDAlexandria45 historic placesAAnnandale1 historic placeBSpringfieldIts storyCFranconiaIts storyD

Questions about Lincolnia’s history

What year was Lincolnia founded?

The Lincolnia post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Lincolnia rank for history?

Lincolnia is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #149 of 253 in Virginia. 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 Lincolnia?

One place: the Green Spring (listed 2003).

How old are the homes in Lincolnia?

0.7% of Lincolnia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.