Lincoln (originally Lincoln City) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northern Sussex County,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, United States. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The planner who originally laid out the town planned for it to become the county seat. Lincoln lies on U.S. Route 113 between Ellendale and

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

. The town was never incorporated, but streets were laid out and several businesses and residences came, surrounding the current

Delmarva Central Railroad The Delmarva Central Railroad is an American short-line railroad owned by Carload Express that operates of track on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The railroad operates lines from Porter, Delaware to Ha ...

line. Lincoln was formerly the headquarters of the

Delaware Coast Line Railroad The Delaware Coast Line Railroad was a short-line railroad located in Sussex County, Delaware. The company operated two lines on track owned by the State of Delaware: one running from Ellendale east to Milton and another running from Georgeto ...

. Recently there has been a push to incorporate Lincoln, primarily for two reasons. First, the city of Milford is quickly growing towards Lincoln and could eventually envelop the town. Secondly, the

Delaware Department of Transportation The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) is an agency of the U.S. state of Delaware. The Secretary of Transportation is Nicole Majeski. The agency was established in 1917 and has its headquarters in Dover. The department's responsibil ...

is developing a Milford By-Pass for US 113 that could divide the small community of Lincoln, effectively cutting off neighbors from each other, as well as causing the removal of several homes and businesses and at least one of the two schools in Lincoln. In the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, Lincoln was added as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

History

Lincoln City was established by Colonel Abel Stokes Small of New York in 1865 in anticipation of the arrival of the

Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad The Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Railroad is a defunct American railroad that operated passenger service from Broad Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Franklin City, Virginia. At the latter city, steamship connections could be ma ...

, planning the "future metropolis of southern Delaware." Early mention of the area include the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

which has record of a newspaper, The Lincoln Herald, published in the community beginning in October 1865 and the paper was later mentioned in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

in the March 2, 1866 issue. The

Evening Telegraph ''Evening Telegraph'' is a common newspaper name, and may refer to: * ''Evening Telegraph'' (Dundee), Scotland * ''Evening Telegraph'' (Dublin), Ireland, published 1871–1924. * ''Coventry Evening Telegraph The ''Coventry Telegraph'' is a lo ...

makes mention of a fundraising effort in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to erect a church in Lincoln in the May 29, 1869 issue. By April 1888, the

had updated their railroad station to "Lincoln City". Colonel Small established a lumber and planing mill in the community, but it was destroyed by fire on January 2, 1889. Days later, the death of Colonel Small on January 6, 1889, was announced. A

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...

was established in the community by 1891. A fire on Christmas morning 1897 destroyed a store,

granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...

, and ice house, while damaging four more stores in Lincoln City.

Education

Lincoln is in the

Milford School District Milford School District (MSD) is the school district of Milford, Delaware, United States. It includes areas in Kent County and Sussex County, including all of Milford, Ellendale, Houston, Lincoln, Slaughter Beach, and a portion of Frederica. ...

Demographics

References

External links

* Unincorporated communities in Sussex County, Delaware Unincorporated communities in Delaware Census-designated places in Sussex County, Delaware Census-designated places in Delaware {{Delaware-geo-stub

History

Education

Demographics

See also

References

External links