Lincoln is a city in Logan County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. First settled in the 1830s, it is the only town in the

that was named for

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

before he became

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

; he practiced law there from 1847 to 1859. Lincoln is home to one

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

- Lincoln Christian University - and two prisons. It is also the home of the world's largest

covered wagon The covered wagon or prairie wagon, historically also referred to as an ambulance or prairie schooner, was a vehicle usually made out of wood and canvas that was used for transportation, prominently in 19th-century America. With roots in the he ...

and numerous other historical sites along the Route 66 corridor. The population was 13,288 at the 2020 census. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Logan County.

History

The town was officially named on August 27, 1853, in an unusual ceremony.

, having assisted with the

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ting of the town and working as counsel for the newly laid Chicago & Mississippi Railroad which led to its founding, was asked to participate in a naming ceremony for the town. On this date, the first sale of lots took place in the new town. Ninety were sold at prices ranging from $40 to $150. According to tradition Lincoln was present. At noon he purchased two watermelons and carried one under each arm to the public square. There he invited Latham, Hickox, and Gillette, proprietors, to join him, saying, "Now we'll christen the new town," squeezing watermelon juice out on the ground. Legend has it that when it had been proposed to him that the town be named for him, he had advised against it, saying that in his experience, "Nothing bearing the name of Lincoln ever amounted to much." The town of Lincoln was the first city named after Abraham Lincoln, while he was a lawyer and before he was President of the United States. Lincoln College (chartered Lincoln University), a private four-year liberal arts college, was founded in early 1865 and granted 2 year degrees until 1929. News of the establishment and name of the school was communicated to President Lincoln shortly before his death, making Lincoln the only college to be named after Lincoln while he was living. The College had an excellent collection of Abraham Lincoln–related documents and artifacts, housed in a museum which is open to the general public. The City of Lincoln was located directly on U.S. Route 66 from 1926 through 1978. This is its secondary tourist theme after the connection with Abraham Lincoln. American author

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...

spent one year of his youth in Lincoln. Later on, he was to write to his eighth-grade teacher in Lincoln, telling her his writing career began there in the eighth grade, when he was elected class poet. American theologians

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...

and

Helmut Richard Niebuhr Helmut Richard Niebuhr (September 3, 1894 – July 5, 1962) is considered one of the most important Christian theological ethicists in 20th-century America, best known for his 1951 book ''Christ and Culture'' and his posthumously published book ...

lived in Lincoln from 1902 through their college years. Reinhold Niebuhr first served as pastor of a church when he served as interim minister of Lincoln's St. John's

German Evangelical Synod The Evangelical Synod of North America, before 1927 German Evangelical Synod of North America, in German ''(Deutsche) Evangelische Synode von Nord-Amerika'', was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States existing from the mid-19th c ...

church following his father's death. Reinhold Niebuhr is best known as the author of the

Serenity Prayer The Serenity Prayer is a prayer attributed to the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) in 1943. However, Winnifred Crane Wygal wrote an early version in the Santa Cruz Sentinel of March 15, 1933, as noted in the above cited research ...

. The City of Lincoln features the stone, three-story, domed Logan County Courthouse (1905). This courthouse building replaced the earlier Logan County Courthouse (built 1858) where Lincoln once practiced law; the earlier building had fallen into serious decay and could not be saved. In addition, the

Postville Courthouse State Historic Site The Postville Courthouse State Historic Site is a replica county courthouse in Lincoln, Illinois, United States. The original frame courthouse was built in 1840 and later moved to Greenfield Village in Michigan; the current courthouse, which is a ...

contains a 1953 replica of the original 1840 Logan County courthouse; Postville, the original county seat, lost its status in 1848 and was itself annexed into Lincoln in the 1860s. Lincoln was also the site of the

Lincoln Developmental Center The Lincoln Developmental Center was a state school for people with developmental disabilities in Lincoln, Illinois. It was founded in 1877 as the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children, became the Lincoln State School in 1954, and adopted its ...

(LDC); a state institution for the developmentally disabled. Founded in 1877, the institution was one of Logan County's largest employers until closed in 2002 by former Governor George Ryan due to concerns about patient maltreatment. Despite efforts by some Illinois state legislators to reopen LDC, the facility remains shuttered.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Lincoln has a total area of , all land. I-55 (formerly U.S. Route 66) connects Lincoln to Bloomington and Springfield. Illinois Route 10 and

Illinois Route 121 Illinois Route 121 (IL 121) is a major state highway in the central part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Although it travels from northwest to southeast, it is marked as a north–south highway.Sarjeant, CharlesIllinois 121. Retrieved ...

run into the city.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

serves

Lincoln Station Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Linco ...

daily with its '' Lincoln Service'' and ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...

'' routes. Service consists of four '' Lincoln Service'' round-trips between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and St. Louis, and one ''

'' round-trip between

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

and Chicago. Three days a week, the ''Eagle'' continues on to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Lines of the Union Pacific and

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

railroads run through the city.

Salt Creek (Sangamon River Tributary) Salt Creek is a major tributary to the Sangamon River, which it joins at the boundary between Mason and Menard County, Illinois. There are at least two other Salt Creeks in Illinois, Salt Creek (Des Plaines River Tributary), and in Effingham Count ...

and the

Edward R. Madigan State Fish and Wildlife Area The Edward R. Madigan State Fish and Wildlife Area is a conservation area located in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located south of Lincoln, Illinois. Founded in 1971 as ''Railsplitter State Park'', it was renamed in 1995 in honor of Edwar ...

are nearby.

Climate

Lincoln has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

( Köppen: Dfa). Monthly means range from in January to in July. There are 126 days below freezing while there are 24 days above . Since having an average record minimum of (-24 °C) according to XMACIS, It lies in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 5b. The highest temperature was on July 15, 1936, and the lowest was on January 15, 1927.

Demographics

According to the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, Lincoln had 14,504 people. Among non-Hispanics this includes 13,262

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

(91.4%), 528

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

(3.6%), 118 Asian (0.8%), and 227 from two or more races. The

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino population included 336 people (2.3%). There were 5,877 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 8.4% had a female householder with children & no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 29.7% had someone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.83. The population was spread out, with 78.5% over the age of 18 and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.0 years. The gender ratio was 47.9% male & 52.1% female. Among 5,877 occupied households, 64.6% were owner-occupied & 35.4% were renter-occupied. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 15,369 people, 5,965 households, and 3,692 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 6,391 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.79%

, 2.82%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.16% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.45% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population. There were 5,965 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were

living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.89. The town's population is spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 13.8% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,435, and the median income for a family was $45,171. Males had a median income of $33,596 versus $22,500 for females. The per-capita income for the town is $17,207. About 8.5% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

operates the Lincoln Post Office. The

Illinois Department of Corrections The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the adult state prison system. The IDOC is led by a director appointed by the Governor of Illinois, and its headquarters are in Sp ...

Logan Correctional Center Logan Correctional Center is an Illinois Department of Corrections prison for female offenders in Broadwell Township, Logan County, Illinois, near Lincoln and north of Springfield. The prison opened in January 1978. A plot of fenced land hou ...

is located in unincorporated Logan County, near Lincoln.Logan Correctional Center
"

. Retrieved on October 12, 2010. "1096 1350th Street P.O. Box 1000 Lincoln, Il 62656" Cresco Labs opened their cultivation site there and has since replaced over 250 jobs lost when the bottle factory closed down. The farm has shown to be an integral factor in Lincoln’s economy.

Education

* Lincoln Christian University * Lincoln College * Lincoln Community High School

Notable people

* Scott Altman, NASA astronaut and space shuttle Columbia commander * Brian Cook, forward for five NBA teams * Henry Darger, writer and artist * William D. Gayle, Illinois State Representative and Mayor of Lincoln *

, poet, novelist, playwright * Terry Kinney, actor, cofounder of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company *

David T. Littler David Talbot Littler (February 7, 1836–June 23, 1902) was an American lawyer and politician. Littler was born in Clifton, Ohio. In 1857, he moved to Lincoln, Illinois and worked as a carpenter. He studied law and was admitted to the Illinoi ...

, Illinois state legislator and lawyer * Edward R. Madigan, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1991–1993), congressman (1973–1991) * Robert Madigan, Illinois State Senator * William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., author; his 1979 novel '' So Long, See You Tomorrow'' is set in Lincoln * Kelly McEvers, journalist and correspondent for NPR *

Alberta Nichols Alberta Nichols (December 3, 1898 – February 4, 1957) was a popular songwriter of the 1930s and 1940s. Together with her husband, lyricist Mann Holiner, they composed over 100 songs, of which their most famous were "Until the Real Thing Comes Al ...

, composer for Broadway, radio and films of the 1920s, 30s and 40s *

H. Richard Niebuhr Helmut Richard Niebuhr (September 3, 1894 – July 5, 1962) is considered one of the most important Christian theological ethicists in 20th-century America, best known for his 1951 book ''Christ and Culture'' and his posthumously published book ...

, prominent American theologian, brother of Reinhold Niebuhr *

, prominent American theologian and author of

, brother of H. Richard Niebuhr * Stella Pevsner, children's book author * Clifford Quisenberry, Illinois State Representative * Rip Ragan, MLB pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *

Dick Reichle Richard Wendell Reichle (November 23, 1896 – June 13, 1967) was a professional baseball player who appeared in 128 games for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1922 and 1923 seasons. Listed at and , he batted left-hand ...

, MLB outfielder for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Bill Sampen William Albert Sampen (born January 18, 1963) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1990-1994. Sampen owns an instructional baseball program in Brownsburg known as "Samp's Hack Shack.” In 2016, Sampen f ...

, former Major League baseball pitcher *

Kevin Seitzer Kevin Lee Seitzer (; born March 26, 1962) is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. He is currently the hitting coach for the Atlan ...

, former Major League Baseball player *

Tony Semple Anthony Lee Semple (born December 20, 1970 in Springfield, Illinois) is a former professional American football player who played guard for eight seasons for the Detroit Lions. He was the Offensive Line Coach at Hope College Hope College is ...

, former National Football League player * Willis R. Shaw, Illinois state senator * John Schlitt, lead singer of Christian rock band

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to the mountain of Ja ...

* Larry Tagg, rock musician, songwriter, teacher, and historian *

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...

Illinois State Representative and judge * Emil Verban, MLB second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Boston Braves * Dennis Werth, MLB first baseman for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20091027001639/http://geocities.com/findinglincolnillinois/ * http://www.lincolnil.gov * http://www.lincolnparkdistrict.com/ * http://www.lincolnpubliclibrary.org/ * http://lchs.k12.il.us/ * {{authority control Cities in Logan County, Illinois Micropolitan areas of Illinois Cities in Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1853 1853 establishments in Illinois Abraham Lincoln