Lincoln Heights

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How Lincoln Heights began

Lincoln Heights grew in the 1920s as an unincorporated suburb where Black families, many working in nearby Mill Creek valley industries, could buy homes, at a time when the community had none of the basic municipal services, paved roads, fire or police protection, that its incorporated neighbors enjoyed. A first attempt to incorporate in 1939 was blocked by surrounding communities; voters approved incorporation in a June 18, 1941 special election, when African Americans made up 98 percent of residents, but Hamilton County did not allow it until 1946, and then only across a tenth of the originally proposed area. The Reverend Michael J. Mangham became one of the earliest Black mayors in the northern United States, and at incorporation Lincoln Heights was described as the only Black municipality north of the Mason-Dixon line, drawing organized visits from New Yorkers under Governor Thomas E. Dewey. Factory closures in the 1970s and 1980s brought a long population decline that the village is still working through.

Settled 1920s, incorporated 1946, by Grew as an unincorporated Black homeowner suburb in the 1920s; incorporated 1946 after a 1941 special-election vote, with Rev. Michael J. Mangham as first mayor.

Where the name comes from

No source consulted gives a documented explanation for the specific choice of the name "Lincoln Heights," though the reference to Abraham Lincoln is self-evident given the community's identity as a Black-founded suburb; this connection is not confirmed by a cited source and is not presented as fact.

Before the town

No source found records a Native American village, trail, mound or treaty line specific to the Lincoln Heights site itself, in the lower Mill Creek valley.

Timeline

1. 1920s — Lincoln Heights develops as an unincorporated suburb where Black families, many employed in nearby industry, can buy homes, without paved roads or fire or police service.
2. 1923-10-20 — Roy M. Haley, Katherine Livingston and Wallace R. Livingston form the Haley-Livingston Land Company to sell 47.5 acres in Springfield Township bought from Henry Kuneven; the first lots of the Cincinnati Industrial Subdivision, 355 in all, have no paved streets or utilities, and the first Black residents are Sadie and William Gooch and Allie and Peter Finch.
3. 1925 — Mount Moriah Baptist Church is founded and buys lot 159 from the land company; it calls itself the mother church of Lincoln Heights.
4. 1939 — A first attempt to incorporate Lincoln Heights is blocked by neighboring communities.
5. 1941 — On June 18, residents approve incorporation in a special election, at a time when African Americans make up 98 percent of the population.
6. 1941-1946 — While the incorporation request is delayed, Woodlawn on the west and Evendale on the east incorporate over land Lincoln Heights wanted (our Evendale entry dates that village's incorporation to 1952, so the sources do not agree here), and the Wright Aeronautical plant manager files an objection to being inside a majority-Black village.
7. 1946 — Hamilton County officially allows incorporation, granting only about 10 percent of the originally proposed area; Rev. Michael J. Mangham becomes the village's first mayor, one of the earliest Black mayors in the northern United States.
8. 1950s-1960s — Lincoln Heights experiences its "halcyon days," a period of relative post-World War II economic stability.
9. 1960 — Lincoln Heights reaches its peak population of 7,798.
10. 1967 — The Lincoln Heights Health Center is established.
11. 1970s-1980s — Factory closures in the area bring economic decline and population loss to the village.
12. 2000 — The census counts 4,113 residents in Lincoln Heights.
13. 2010 — The census counts 3,286 residents in Lincoln Heights.
14. 2020 — ArtWorks and The Heights Movement unveil a mural of village history.
15. 2020 — The census counts 3,144 residents in Lincoln Heights.
16. 2026-09 — Lincoln Heights holds a three-day celebration of the 80th anniversary of its 1946 incorporation, which officials describe as the first self-governed Black municipality north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Stories

Incorporation granted at a tenth of the size asked

Lincoln Heights had grown through the 1920s and 1930s as one of the only places in the Cincinnati area where Black families could simply buy a house, but without a government of their own, residents had no paved roads, no fire department and no police, services their incorporated white neighbors took for granted. A first attempt to incorporate in 1939 was blocked outright by surrounding communities, and even after voters overwhelmingly approved incorporation in a June 1941 special election, when the village was 98 percent African American, Hamilton County withheld approval for five more years, finally granting it in 1946 across only about a tenth of the area residents had originally proposed. What resulted was still historic: with Rev. Michael J. Mangham as its first mayor, Lincoln Heights became, by contemporary account, the only Black-governed municipality north of the Mason-Dixon line, notable enough that New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey organized tours bringing New Yorkers to see it firsthand.

A subdivision with no pavement, and a village with no factory

On October 20, 1923, Roy Haley and Katherine and Wallace Livingston formed a land company to sell 47.5 acres in Springfield Township to Black families, who were shut out of other suburbs by redlining. The Cincinnati Industrial Subdivision had 355 lots, unpaved and without curbs, sidewalks or drainage, and its first residents were Sadie and William Gooch and Allie and Peter Finch. Many early residents worked in Mill Creek valley plants such as the Tennessee Fertilizer Company and the Wright Aeronautical plant. When they asked to incorporate in 1939, Lockland objected and the plant manager objected, and neighbouring Woodlawn and Evendale incorporated first (though our Evendale entry dates that village's incorporation to 1952), taking the land with the factories. In 1946 the county allowed about a tenth of the proposed area, under one square mile and with no industry, and Rev. Michael J. Mangham became the first mayor and was later honoured with a New York ticker-tape parade.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · stories.cincinnatipreservation.org · wvxu.org

13 wells in the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer along the Great Miami River near Fairfield, Butler Co. The water here

• Cincinnati Public Water System37% of residentsOhio River (Miller Plant, ~88%) plus Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer wells (~12%)
• Reading City32% of residentsOhio River (Miller Plant, ~88%) plus Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer wells (~12%)
• Wyoming City31% of residentsMill Creek valley aquifer (6 city wells)

Community health centers (1)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

High-hazard dams (1)

Public schools (1)

Police stations (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2025: 3 of 3 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 2 of 2.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Financial Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2025-04-17

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

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