Settled by Europeans in 1654 as part of Concord, Lincoln incorporated as a separate town in 1754. It was named after Lincolnshire, England, the home of Russell Chambers, who was influential in the town’s creation and owner of the property known today as the Codman Estate.

It was in Lincoln that on the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere was captured by the British while he was en route to Concord. That site, now part of Minute Man National Historical Park, is located on Route 2A.

Country estates and summer homes were constructed during the twentieth century in Lincoln, some now owned by organizations such as the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Carroll School. Three notable architectural structures—Gropius House, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the Codman Estate—are now museums.

With a population of approximately 6,000, Lincoln retains its agricultural character, small-town heritage, extensive open space network, and historical legacy.