Lincoln Park, Michigan

Lincoln Park is a city located in Wayne County, Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 40,008. The area was founded as a village in 1921 and reorganized as a city in 1925. The area was originally home to the Potawatomi Indians who ceded the land to a French settler, Pierre St. Cosme in 1776. The area developed as a bedroom community providing homes to workers in the nearby steel mills and automobile plants of the Detroit area while having no industry within its bounds.

The town has an extensive school system, primarily serving its 9,700 people under the age of 18. This system includes Lincoln Park High School, Lincoln Park Middle School, as well as eight different elementary schools.

Contents

1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 4 External links

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.2 km² (5.8 mi²). 15.2 km² (5.8 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water. The north and south branches of the Ecorse River run through Lincoln Park and join just before leaving the city.

Lincoln Park borders the cities of Detroit, Allen Park, Melvindale, Ecorse, Wyandotte and Southgate.

History

Before Lincoln Park was incorporated as a city, an area in its eastern region adjacent to Ecorse River served as a staging point for the combined Native American forces under the command of Ottawa Chief Pontiac, who led his warriors on an attempted attack on Fort Detroit during Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763. He was known to have given a rousing speech to insprire his followers (excerpt follows). Today, one can visit the area and find a small, modest engraved boulder that marks the occassion.

It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our lands this nation which seeks only to destroy us. You see as well as I that we can no longer supply our needs, as we have done from our brothers, the French. [...] From all this you can see well that they are seeking our ruin. Therefore, my brothers, we must all swear their destruction and wait no longer. Nothing prevents us; they are few in numbers, and we can accomplish it.

Chief Pontiac, Fort Detroit, 1763

Later, during the 20th century, Lincoln Park grew as a bedroom community for the numberous workers at Henry Ford's Ford Rouge Plant and other mills and factories of the auto industry.

Among Lincoln Park's minor claims to fame is that it was the home of the the members of the seminal punk rock group MC5 in the 1960's. The band was rumored to have evolved out of the group's habit of listening to music from a car radio in the parking lot of the local White Castle restaurant in the small downtown area.

Lincoln Park gained brief notoriety in 1999 when the high school's principal enacted a new dress code intended to keep out gang symbology and colors. However, included among the prohibited paraphenelia were any items related to the "pagan" or "goth" lifestyle/fashion sense, including most notably, representations of the pentagram. The decision sparked animosity between the administration and the students and teachers, who generally saw it as an excessive measure given gang activity in the school had been largely eliminated in the late 1980's. This animosity culminated in legal action against the school initiated by the ACLU, on behalf of a student who self-identified as a practicing pagan. Under mounting pressure from the courts and media, the administration formally made an exception in the policy of practicing witches, though informally it dropped the matter entirely.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 40,008 people, 16,204 households, and 10,581 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,640.5/km² (6,834.9/mi²). There are 16,821 housing units at an average density of 1,110.2/km² (2,873.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 93.26% White, 2.06% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.82% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. 6.39% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 16,204 households out of which 30.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% are married couples living together, 13.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% are non-families. 29.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.46 and the average family size is 3.04.

In the city the population is spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $42,515, and the median income for a family is $49,747. Males have a median income of $40,197 versus $26,549 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,140. 7.7% of the population and 6.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.3% of those under the age of 18 and 4.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• Official website (http://lincolnpark.govoffice.com/)
• Community website (http://www.yourlincolnpark.com/)