Lincoln

History

The original townsite was surveyed and laid out in 1859 by Theodore Judah along the proposed line of the California Central Railroad. The name Lincoln was conferred in honor of Charles Lincoln Wilson, one of the organizers, who was a fundraiser and a management contractor of the California Central Railroad (CCRR). The CCRR was planned as a rail link between the cities of Marysville and Sacramento via a connection to the Sacramento Valley Railroad in Folsom. Grading from Folsom to Marysville commenced in 1858 and was completed up to Grider's Ranch (Roseville) by 1859. At Auburn Ravine, where the line makes an elbow and turns northward toward Marysville, a new railway town Lincoln was located by Judah with town lots on sale from Wilson. At an auction in Sacramento on November 23, 1859, over $4,000 was raised from the sales of lots in Lincoln, ranging from $20 to $400 for each lot. With the grading on the first division of the road from Folsom completed to Lincoln, track laying began at Folsom on December 30, 1859. With the help of the Chinese laborers, the company was able to complete the railroad to Lincoln on October 14, 1861. The completion of the railroad "changed the appearance of the locality, and breathed into the town the breath of life", birthing possibly the first platted railroad town in California. At this point, due to a lack of funds, further construction on the California Central was temporarily halted and Lincoln experienced a small-scale boom as the northern terminus of this new railroad. Within a few years, however, more investors were found and the line was extended to Wheatland, in Yuba County, bringing an end to this early stage of Lincoln's development. When most of its population and business moved on with the railroad, the town settled into a…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.18 percent, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  14,329
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,949
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  12,686
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  12,350
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  11,926
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  11,728
• Oak Titmouse

  Baeolophus inornatus (Gambel, 1845) · Aves
  10,832
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,566

Largest nearby schools

• Rocklin High
  High · Rocklin · 2,098 students · 22.8:1 ratio
• Woodcreek High
  High · Roseville · 1,988 students · 22.9:1 ratio
• Whitney High
  High · Rocklin · 1,984 students · 21.8:1 ratio
• Del Oro High
  High · Loomis · 1,620 students · 23.5:1 ratio
• Roseville High
  High · Roseville · 1,617 students · 22.5:1 ratio
• John Adams Academy - Roseville
  Other · Roseville · 1,590 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Horizon Charter
  Other · Lincoln · 1,508 students · 21.5:1 ratio
• West Park High
  High · Roseville · 1,498 students · 24.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.64 — 2026-04-29
  2 km NW of Granite Bay, CA
• M 3.11 — 2026-03-17
  9 km ENE of Colusa, CA
• M 3.22 — 2026-03-05
  15 km E of Willows, CA
• M 2.74 — 2026-02-06
  25 km W of Sunnyside-Tahoe City, CA
• M 2.95 — 2026-01-25
  15 km N of Pittsburg, CA
• M 2.85 — 2026-01-14
  20 km W of Winters, CA