Lincoln Courthouse Square Historic District

Lincoln's central business district, about ten square blocks around the Logan County Courthouse square, forms a historic district of 112 buildings. The town was laid out in 1853 parallel to the railroad, and commerce grew in two clusters: one near the tracks and one facing the courthouse. Ten fires between 1870 and 1878 destroyed most early buildings, so the district mainly reflects the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Two and three story brick commercial buildings dominate, 45 of them Italianate with bracketed cornices and decorative hoodmolds. Other styles include Queen Anne duplexes, Mission, Romanesque Revival and Art Deco. The domed neo-classical courthouse of 1903 is the most prominent building. Historically, the area is tied to Abraham Lincoln, who advised the town founders and owned property on the square, and to the Scully family, large farmland owners and early supporters of soil conservation. Storefronts have often been altered, but upper floors and many cornices survive.