Lincoln Park, Rockville, Maryland

Lincoln Park is an African-American neighborhood of the Rockville City in the East Rockville side the nickname is known as LP. Most residents of the LP attend(ed) Richard Montgomery High School. It is also known for its local community center, which has aimed to help those in the area. In the late 1890s, Lincoln Park was established as one of the first real estate ventures in the county intended for sale to Blacks. Other African American communities in the county generally traced their origins to a gift from, perhaps, a slave owner, or purchase of land by freed slaves after the Civil War.

About 40 communities in Montgomery County were settled by freed slaves in the 19th century. Today, these historic African American enclaves include Ken-Gar in Kensington, Scotland and Tobytown in Potomac, Stewartown and Emory Grove in Gaithersburg, and Lyttonsville in Silver Spring.

Although Lincoln Park’s origins differed from those of earlier African American communities in the county. Many of the initial homebuyers were related to one another either by blood or by marriage.” As a result, Lincoln Park residents like the Sheltons, the Summerours, Hills and Prathers have maintained strong kinship and community ties for three, four and five generations, with descendants of many original homeowners still living there.

Today, Lincoln Park is a low-to-moderate income community of about 320 households. It retains the ambience of a small town within Rockville and the Legacy development represents an important ingredient in its revitalization and transformation. A homeowners association is expected to be formed and if an owner wants to sell in less than 30 years, RHE has the right to buy the unit and then re-sell it at a below-market rate.

References

• http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Content/Libraries/lpark/architecture.asp
• http://www.aapc-md.org
• Map of LP