West Lebanon

History

West Lebanon was laid out and platted in the fall of 1830 by Ebenezer Purviance, John G. Jemison and Andrew Fleming, and consisted of 64 lots. Originally named Lebanon, the name was changed to West Lebanon in 1869 when the town was incorporated, possibly in deference to the Boone County community of the same name which established its post office on December 15, 1832, just eleven days before their own. Not being close to any waterways, West Lebanon's early growth was relatively slow and for many years had no more than 20 families. However, with the completion of the Wabash Railroad line one mile north of town in 1856, the community's fortunes improved and led to most of the town relocating closer to the station. The original settlement area became known as Old Town. A Carnegie library was built at the corner of High Street and North Street in 1916 and continues to operate as the West Lebanon-Pike Township Public Library. Fire destroyed part of West Lebanon's business district the evening of January 26, 2011, destroying a row of buildings along the west side of High Street between First and North streets.

Geography

West Lebanon is located just south of State Road 28 about east of the Illinois border and about west of Williamsport. State Road 263 is concurrent with High Street and intersects State Road 28 at the north edge of town. A line of the Norfolk Southern Railway also passes through the north edge of the town. Rock Creek, east of town, flows south toward the Wabash River and forms the township's eastern border; it is fed by the small Johnson Branch which crosses the north edge of town. According to the 2010 census, West Lebanon has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  227
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  219
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  205
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  201
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  172
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  147
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  142
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  142

Largest nearby schools

• Seeger Memorial Jr-Sr High School
  High · West Lebanon · 620 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Warren Central Elementary School
  Elementary · West Lebanon · 371 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• Williamsport Elementary School
  Elementary · Williamsport · 221 students · 14.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2023-10-31
  7 km ESE of Linden, Indiana
• M 3.82 — 2021-06-17
  Illinois-Indiana border region