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–Not graded
History · Lincoln

Lincoln’s post office opened in 1863, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1952 on and old-book passages.

1863first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mimich · Public domain
Quick answers

How Lincoln began

When was Lincoln founded?

1863

The Lincoln post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Rosiere (1871), Euren (1879) and Rio Creek (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 932163 years
Founding year: the first Lincoln post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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 writtenNo old photos of Lincoln are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Lincoln had its own post office from 1863 to 1904. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lincoln
1863–1904
Rosiere
1871–1904
Euren
1879–1904
Rio Creek
1888–1976
Gregor
1899–1904
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EurenGregorvilleRio CreekRosiere
Gone or out of use
Gregor SchoolschoolLiberty SchoolschoolLincoln SchoolschoolRosiere Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lincoln
Gospel Truth HallSaint Huberts CatholicSaint Peters Catholic

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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Lincoln came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lincoln.

Read it all →

Lincoln is the fourth-most Belgian-American community in the United States, by proportion of population. Lincoln was originally named "GrandLez", after the village of Grand-Leez, now a section of the town of Gembloux, Arrondissement of Namur, province of Namur, Belgium (cfr fr:Grand-Leez). Belgians emigrated from there between 1850 and 1860. Prior to March 21, 1862, what is Lincoln today, was part of Ahnapee.

3) Brussels (Door County) : 36.4% ( composed of "Brussels community" & "Namur Community")

ChaptersMost Belgian-American towns

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lincoln in 1909

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

Lincoln's Name, [An exercise for school celebration of Lincoln's Birthday. Each child carries a letter forming the name, Lincoln.] I carry a letter L and it stands for love; And a name that is written in glory above; A name that is honored on land and sea, That Americans love wherever they be.
Wisconsin Memorial Day annual1909 · page 72Read the page →
Read the text

Lincoln's Name, [An exercise for school celebration of Lincoln's Birthday. Each child carries a letter forming the name, Lincoln.] I carry a letter L and it stands for love; And a name that is written in glory above; A name that is honored on land and sea, That Americans love wherever they be.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Chorus: Yes! we love the name of Lincoln; Lincoln, good and true; Under God, he saved the nation; Saved for me, for you.
Wisconsin Memorial Day annual1909 · page 73Read the page →
Read the text

Chorus: Yes! we love the name of Lincoln; Lincoln, good and true; Under God, he saved the nation; Saved for me, for you.

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, 1863 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1863Post officeThe Lincoln post office opens
  3. 1871Post officeThe Rosiere post office opens
  4. 1879Post officeThe Euren post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904Post officeThe Lincoln post office closes
  7. 1904Post officeThe Rosiere post office closes
  8. 1904Post officeThe Euren post office closes
  9. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Lincoln on the map, 1952 to 1978

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

Lincoln on the 1952 USGS mapLincoln on the 1978 USGS map1952Casco 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.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

AhnapeeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRed RiverIts storyB−CascoIts storyB−Brussels5 historic placesA−

Questions about Lincoln’s history

What year was Lincoln founded?

The Lincoln post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.