Lincoln

Lincoln is located in northwest Talladega County, in east-central Alabama. Initially a town dependent on the cotton economy, Lincoln is now home to a large Honda Motor Company automobile manufacturing facility.

The area in which Lincoln was settled was first noted by Andrew Jackson's men during the Creek War of 1813-14 for its ample water supply, given its location on the Coosa River, and fertile soils. After the Creeks were defeated and forced from their land, some of the men returned and settled in the area. The community was first known as Blue Eye, then Kingsville, with the first post office being established in 1850. By 1856, the name of the post office had been changed to Lincoln, after Revolutionary War hero Benjamin Lincoln.

The Georgia Pacific Railroad constructed a line through Lincoln in 1883, with the business district shifting its location slightly to the south to be nearer to the line. Lincoln incorporated in 1911 and held its first city elections. The first high school in Talladega County was built in Lincoln in 1912. Dependent like many other Alabama towns in the southern half of the state on cotton production, Lincoln suffered a double blow with the boll weevil infestation of the 1910s and then the Great Depression in 1929. The building of U.S. Highway 78 through the town in 1930 brought some new businesses along the highway's route.

In 1999, Honda Motor Company chose Lincoln as the location of its new manufacturing facility, resulting in business and residential construction and an accompanying rise in population. The facility began production in 2001 with a major expansion in 2018. The state also constructed a large training facility across the street from the new Honda plant.

According to 2020 Census estimates, Lincoln recorded a population of 6,805. Of that number, 65.5 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 26.6 percent as African American, 7.4 percent as two or more races, 0.3 percent as Hispanic, and 0.1 percent as Asian. The town's median household income was $63,824, and the per capita income was $27,546.

According to 2020 Census estimates, the workforce in Lincoln was divided among the following industrial categories:

Education 

Schools in Lincoln are part of the Talladega County School system; the town has one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school.

U.S. Highway 78 runs through Lincoln east-west, and State Highway 77 runs north-south through the city. Interstate 20, running east-west, lies about one mile south of the city. The Talladega Municipal Airport is located eight miles southeast of the city.

Lincoln has five city parks with walking trails, playgrounds, pavilions, baseball fields, tennis courts, and soccer fields. The Lincoln City Center has a gym and meeting rooms.

The Merkl House, the Oaks/Burns Home, the Truss-Law-Watson House, and the Old Town Lincoln Commercial Historic District are listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Additional Resources

Talladega County Heritage Book Committee. Heritage of Talladega County. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2000.