Community Connection

The history of Lincoln Woods is closely connected to the Town of Lincoln. An ongoing relationship continues to this day.

Lincoln is a small New England town of approximately 5,700 people governed by a Board of Selectmen. Decisions are made at the annual, old-fashioned Town Meeting. Founded in 1754, now 250 years old, Lincoln was originally a part of Concord, Weston and Lexington. It was a farm community and, even today, retains its rural characteristics. There is a strong interest in conservation with over 71 miles of conservation trails. The people of Lincoln have worked diligently to preserve the town's rural character. Some residents live upon land that was occupied by their family members continuously from the early 1700's much before Lincoln became a town.

We are fortunate in Lincoln to have Drumlin Farm, which now houses the Massachusetts Audubon Society, left by the estate of Louise Hathaway. James and Helen Storrow's estate is now the Carroll School. Julian Decordova's property has become the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park. Walden Pond lies on the border of Concord and Lincoln, where you can see a replica of Henry David Thoreau's hideaway. Both the Codman House and Walter Gropius
House are owned and operated by The Society of the Preservation of new England Antiquities (SPNEA).

Much of the former 700-acre Chambers-Russell-Codman family estate remained in the family until the death of Dorothy Codman in 1968. Following her death, the Rural Land Foundation (RLF) acquired 71 acres of the estate, part of which became Codman Community Farm with the remainder preserved as open land. In 1972, 67 acres of the land was rezoned so that 17 acres were held to later become Lincoln Woods.

The town played an important and innovative role in the building of Lincoln Woods. An awareness of its great legacy of open land, combined with the additional concern for the need to develop low and moderate income housing, supported the organization of several non-profit groups. Lincoln Woods was created by the town explicitly and intentionally to support diversity. A study in 1967 revealed that the reason for the departure of many residents was due to the increasing high property and rental costs, and discouraged people outside of Lincoln from settling here. Only one year after the study, 200 residents founded a non-profit corporation, the Lincoln Foundation, INC., to build the town's first affordable multi-family community. Many town groups worked in unison to help make Lincoln Woods a reality. These included the Lincoln Planning Board, Lincoln Foundation, Lincoln Land Trust, the Rural Land Foundation and the League of Women Voters. In 1974, after six (6) years of effort, the Lincoln Foundation secured total funding from Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (currently Massachusetts Housing Agency, MHA) through a 40-year mortgage, and Lincoln
Woods became a reality. Wells Road was named for a beloved Town Clerk, George Wells, who warmly supported the project for the onset.

Lincoln Homes Corporation, Lincoln Woods, is a cooperative corporation (co-op) where shareholders own shares of stock and pay a monthly fee based on the size of their dwelling and income. We are proud to have a community with such a wide variety of people from many cultural backgrounds.

By Mary Troy, Lincoln Woods resident, '04.

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