Building off momentum from its 100th birthday last year, the Lincoln Beach community in Upper Burrell is organizing community development and revitalization initiatives.
“It’s a recognition and respect of our roots and foundations,” said William “Tim” Miles, of Washington, D.C., who grew up in Lincoln Beach and still owns property there. “I think of family, great memories and great times.
“It doesn’t look like it used to, but there’s a belief that if we came together, we can advocate together.”
Lincoln Beach, tucked behind Puckety Creek off Greensburg Road, was established in 1925 as a residential community for Black people.
In its heyday, Lincoln Beach had more than 60 homes and 300 residents, its longtime residents say.
Now, there are about 20 households, two churches and a restaurant.
On Saturday, about 50 people, both current and former residents of Lincoln Beach, met to establish the “Lincoln Beach Community Revitalization Mission of Service,” a nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life, health, environment and economic opportunities for the neighborhood.
“We really want to solidify the future of the Beach,” Miles said. “Whether it’s development, improving infrastructure, whatever we can do to pour back into the beach, because it’s poured so much into us.”
Upcoming events include a community cleanup day in April and a July 4 celebration, “LB 101,” celebrating the community’s 101st anniversary.
“I want to see the community prosper,” said Jocelyn Farrell of Arnold. “It’s a good community, it’s where I was born and raised. We want them to have an enriched childhood like we had. It’s a good place to raise a family.”
Miles said the initiative is something the community did years ago, in 1948, when it established the Lincoln Beach Progressive League.
The league helped secure things like a new bridge, street signs and direct mailboxes for the community, Miles said. It went away about 40 years ago.
“If those folks could do it with less opportunities and less resources, we should be able to do it,” Miles said.
Lincoln Beach resident Cathy Peterson would like to see community gardens, park benches or pavilions and manual trash pickup for the neighborhood.
“I remember what it used to be,” she said. “I like it. It’s where people can remember memories of growing up.”
Doug Clements, another Lincoln Beach resident, said he would like to see educational, mentorship or workforce development opportunities offered in the neighborhood.
“It’s changed, but much is still the same,” he said of Lincoln Beach. “The people and the community haven’t changed.”
Julianne Vilca, a Lincoln Beach native now living in Gaithersburg, Md., said she wanted to get involved in the revitalization efforts because of the sense of community she feels when in Lincoln Beach.
Vilca’s grandmother, Evelyn Manley, was a member of the Lincoln Beach Progressive League years ago. Vilca envisions a future Lincoln Beach that draws families into the neighborhood.
“Once you pull across the bridge, you connect with family and friends,” Vilca said. “You always feel like you’re at home here. It triggers that childhood.”
