City of Lincoln, Alabama...History Pages

The City of Lincoln's history begins with the local Indians who settled here well before the Spaniards, under the direction of Hernando De Soto, came looking for gold in our area. The area in and around Lincoln was settled by what white men called Creek Indians. Their true name was Muskogee, and the local tribes in our area were called Conchardee. The Conchardee are gone now, but they have left their imprint on our area. Many of the local place names serve to remind us of these first settlers. There is Blue Eye Creek which begins near the Talladega/Calhoun County line and winds its way through Lincoln. Blue Eye is remarkable in the fact that the story of its name comes from one of the best known local legends. It was supposedly named after a Conchardee chief who had one brown eye and one blue eye and because this was so rare the creek was named in his honor. Chocolocco Creek is also a tribute to their presence and named for another local chief. This creek runs through the south end of the city and at last survey was just one foot too short to be called a river. Another local attraction associated with the Muskogee and Conchardee is the Sleeping Giant. Although best seen from atop Mt. Cheaha, the Sleeping Giant can be seen in the distance on Alabama Highway 77 heading south out of Lincoln. The Sleeping Giant is really just a collection of foothills that, when seen from a distance, resemble a huge man sleeping on the horizon. There is, of course, a legend associated with the Sleeping Giant.

The first white men in this area were those of Hernando De Soto's who came looking for gold. They did not find any gold but they did map the area. According to E. Grace Jemison, a local historian, one of De Soto's men stayed behind and was given a desperately ill black Christian slave. These two became the first white and black men to take up residence in Alabama. We do not know the slave's name, and the only name for DeSoto's man that can be found is simply "Furada". Soon, English traders from the Carolinas were coming through bartering with the Muskogee Indians. At that time the only means of tranpsortation were wagons or just horseback. The traders used old hunting trails and sometimes the Coosa River to bring their wares to trade for skins and furs. It wasn't until much later that the old plank roads were built, and then because of an unwillingness to pay for them to be built, the plank road was built in Winterboro, just south of Talladega and Lincoln, and named in honor of one of the local settlers.

During the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson and his men camped at Fort Strother on the banks of the Coosa River near Ten Islands, just north of Lincoln. They arrived at the fort with no supplies and foraged for food over a wide area. The Lincoln area was noted by these men to have a good supply of fresh water and fertile land and many came back after the war was over to settle the area. Andrew Jackson also cut a trail through Lincoln on his way to Talladega for the Battle of Talladega. This battle took place on what is now known as Battle Street in the heart of Talladega. This battle was between the Red Sticks, a sect of the "Creeks" opposed to white control, and Andrew Jackson's men. Since then, the trail has been paved and is now known as Jackson Trace Road, part of it running parallel to the Talladega Super Speedway.

The first post office in Lincoln was established on January 29th, 1850. The name of the post office and the area around it was called Kingsville at the time. Jesse Calhoun was the first postmaster. On January 17, 1856 the postoffice officially became known as the Lincoln Post Office with Jesse Hardin as the first postmaster.

The town was named for a soldier in the War of Independence. This man's name was Benjamin Lincoln and he became known as the Defender of Charleston for his valor in the line of fire. His fame spread all the way across the Southern states. General Benjamin Lincoln was second in command of the Revolutionary Army and accepted the sword of surrender from General Cornwallis at the Battle of Jamestown, which ended the War of Independence. Early settlers brought the name from North Carolina or Georgia. These early settlers were Theodore Burns, John Groce, and Henry Turner. While some of their descendants still live in the area, other early settlers names were: Embry, McClellan, Bell, Burns, Montgomery, Acker, Wilson, Watson, Weed, Brewer, Mynatt, Collins, Groce, Dickinson, Franklin, Schmidt and Jones. Many of these early settlers came by wagon to develop the wilderness and make homes for their families. Some were farmers, others ministers and teachers, a few doctors, millwrights, carpenters and a few merchants.

The Georgia Pacific railroad came through Lincoln in 1883. The laying of the railroad actually moved the town 1/4 mile south of the old site. The new businesses were centered around the railroad.

Lincoln was incorporated in 1911. The first mayor was W.D. Henderson with the first council members being: L.U. Dickinson, J. L. Richey, J.M. Cunningham, W.N. Jons and W.D. Davis. W.C. Madden was the town cleark and Lon Embry was the constable. The area of the new town was approximately one square mile.

One of the first acts of business was to open Third Avenue between Magnolia and Chestnut Streets and extend Magnolia Street to the high school area. This was very important because Lincoln had been selected as the for the Talladega County High School. E.D. Acker and R.D. Burns, members of the Alabama Legislature deserve much of the credit for the school being located in Lincoln, although they never officially received much credit for it.

Before the Depression, as with most small towns in the South, cotton was the primary industry and all business was centered around the railroad. There were two banks, fifteen businesses, a hotel, a cottonseed oil mill and two cotton gins. The town had electricity and a telephone system.

The 1929 crash closed both banks and gradually strangled the businesses in town. In the same year, U.S. Highway 78 came through Lincoln. New businesses were built along the new highway. During the 1930's a water system was installed under the WPA program by then Mayor James I. Kirksey. In the 1960's Interstate 20, part of the Eisenhower Interstate System, came through Lincoln prompting more entrepreneurs to open businesses around the 165 exit and 168 exit. U.S. Highway 78 and Interstate 20 now are primary business areas of the city.

Lincoln has been rated the eighth fastest growing city in the State of Alabama and if you're ever nearby, don't hesitate to stop in. We may be growing and industrializing, but we still have southern hospitality.

The printed sources for this web page are:
"A Brief History of Lincoln" by Mary Henderson.
"Historic Tales of Talladega" by E. Grace Jemison.

Much of the history of the area is oral. There has never been a definitive history of the City of Lincoln written that could be found to verify many of the statements and claims made by the contributors. Much of this history is not only an oral history, but is second and third-hand (my grandfather was told by his grandfather that..., etc.) If you know of something different or have more information to contribute to this web-page please e-mail us and let us know. If possible, we will amend or add whatever is necessary.