Lincoln Acres, California
Lincoln Acres is an unincorporated community of San Diego County located wholly within the boundaries of the incorporated city of National City. It has a population of approximately 2,100 residents. Lincoln Acres has a fire station and library, but relies on the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to provide police protection. Even though it has a post office, it shares its ZIP code, 91950, with National City. However the United States Postal Service lists the zip code 91947 as being located within Lincoln Acres for P.O. Box use. The community is in area code 619.
Lincoln Acres was first settled during the Great Depression, mainly by farmers from the Dust Bowl.
Lower Sweetwater Fire Protection District
While Lincoln Acres relies on the County of San Diego for governmental services, there is one elected body that is exclusive to Lincoln Acres; the Lower Sweetwater Fire Protection District. This fire district owns no fire trucks nor has any firefighters on its payroll. This special district has a board of three members who have the sole task of administering a $155,473-a-year contract with the National City Fire Department, which provides fire protection to the community. The contract is paid for by Lincoln Acres landowners' property taxes.
After the November 2006 elections only one person was currently serving on the fire district board: Butch Fimpel. On Tuesday, January 9, 2007 the County Board of Supervisors appointed Mary Martinez to the board. Martinez had been previously serving on the board, but did not run for re-election in November 2006. The third remaining seat on the board remains vacant. The board meets monthly and the positions are unpaid, though in the past the board members were paid $20 per meeting.
In 2002 there was an attempt to dissolve the Lower Sweetwater Fire Protection District, "Proposition R," but the measure failed when 156 Lincoln Acres residents voted against dissolution, defeating the measure by 62%. Only 29% of the community's 882 registered voters went to the polls that day. But many of those who did vote feared dissolution of the fire district would lead to the community's annexation to National City.[1]
Library
Lincoln Acres is served by a branch of the San Diego County Library system. Originally an old military barrack, the Lincoln Acres branch library first opened to the community on June 18, 1947. Only 800 square feet (74 m2), this small library is the second smallest in the county.[2] On Aug. 6, 2010, ground was broken for a new library which will be more than three times larger than the old location.[3] It is expected to open in late 2012.
La Vista Cemetery
The largest plot of land in Lincoln Acres is filled by the La Vista Cemetery. The cemetery has a large section that is considered an endowed cemetery, meaning money is set aside for regular maintenance and upkeep, and a non-endowed side, known as Rest Haven, where no money is set aside for maintenance, and therefore the families of those buried there are responsible for maintaining their grave sites. This means that in the Rest Haven side, there are tilted headstones, and out of kilter old wooden crosses marking the graves. People construct their own headstones for the inexpensive plots, creating a personal, individual experience for family and friends of those buried there.[4]
References
- ↑ Enthusiasm to serve on board of fire district hasn't been so hot | The San Diego Union-Tribune
- ↑ This text taken from the description of the library posted at Amazon.com's wishlist page for the Lincoln Acres branch library http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html/103-5505979-0630257?_encoding=UTF8&id=339FOJB38HRML
- ↑ http://gregcox.com/news/press-releases/pr100806/
- ↑ Personal plots | The San Diego Union-Tribune
Coordinates: 32°40′04″N 117°04′22″W / 32.667778°N 117.072778°W
