Lincoln was a part of the town of Smithfield until 1871, when it was split off and named in honor of Abraham Lincoln on the eighth day of March, 1871. Lincoln became an important mill town in the late 19th century, with many textile factories running along the Blackstone River.

The first members of the General Assembly elected from the town of Lincoln were: Senator, Hon. Edward L. Freeman; Representatives, Edward A. Brown and Samuel Clark. There has been no change in the general form of the government since its first formation.

At the first town meeting, the ordinances of the old town of Smithfield were adopted, and on June 24, 1871, Joseph M. Ross, John P. Gregory, and Frederick N. Goff were appointed to a committee to draft a code of ordinances for the town of Lincoln.

Lincoln was home to brick and stone mills, owned by the Albion Company and the Londsdale Company, in Albion & Londsdale and the Manville-Jenkes mill that burned down in 1956. The mill was a popular place to work in the village. Several row houses were constructed by mill owners to house their workers in the early 1900s. These rowhouses are known as the residents of Manville as "the Brick Blocks”.

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