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History · Lincoln

21% of Lincoln’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1961 on and old-book passages.

0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Lincoln’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 Lincoln are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · 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.
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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.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 296 to 320 (+8%).

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, 1862 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1862Post officeThe Spring Bluff post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1918Post officeThe Spring Bluff post office closes
  5. 1961On 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, 1961 to 1979

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 1961 USGS mapLincoln on the 1979 USGS map1961Oxford 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.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Spring Bluff, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Springbluff
1cemetery inside Lincoln
Pine Grove

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

SpringfieldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAdamsIts storyC−New ChesterIts storyCRichfieldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lincoln’s history

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 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.