Lebanon County ( ; ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 143,257. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is the city of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. It lies 72 miles northwest of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, which is the nearest major city. The county is part of the South Central region of the commonwealth. The county was formed from portions of Dauphin and Lancaster counties in 1813, with minor boundary revisions in 1814 and 1821. Lebanon County comprises the Lebanon metropolitan statistical area, which is part of the

Harrisburg–York–Lebanon combined statistical area The Harrisburg–York–Lebanon, PA combined statistical area (CSA) is a region assigned by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget that includes six cities in the Harrisburg and York areas along with several metropolitan statistical areas of ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. Most of it is drained by the Swatara Creek into the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

while some eastern portions are drained by the Tulpehocken Creek (which originates in the county near Myerstown) eastward into the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

. It consists in large part of a valley.

Climate

The county has a hot-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfa'') and the

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 7a, except in higher areas north of the Interstate 78 and 81 corridor, where it is 6b. Average monthly temperatures in center-city Lebanon range from 29.4 °F in January to 74.3 °F in July.

Adjacent counties

* Schuylkill County (northeast) * Berks County (east) * Lancaster County (south) * Dauphin County (west and northwest)

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 120,327 people and 32,771 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 49,320 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.46%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.29%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.26% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 4.96% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 45.6% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 11.8% and 6.1% Irish ancestry. 92.5% spoke English, 4.2%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and 1.1%

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

as their first language. There were 46,551 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.70% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

2020 census

Metropolitan statistical area

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has designated Lebanon County as the Lebanon, PA metropolitan statistical area (MSA). As of the 2010 U.S. census the metropolitan area ranked 16th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 296th most populous in the United States with a population of 133,568. Lebanon County is also a part of the larger

(CSA), which combines the populations of Lebanon County as well as Adams,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, Dauphin,

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

, and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

counties in Pennsylvania. The combined statistical area ranked 5th largest in the state and 43rd largest in the U.S., with a population of 1,219,422.

Politics and government

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans comprise a majority of registered voters in Lebanon County.

United States House of Representatives

The county is located in the 9th congressional district, represented by

Dan Meuser Daniel Philip Meuser ( ; born February 10, 1964) is an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district since 2019. A Republican, he previously served as the ...

, Republican.

State senate

All of the county falls within the 48th Senatorial District. The seat is currently held by Lebanon business owner and Republican Chris Gebhard.

State House of Representatives

The county is divided into the 98th, 101st, and 102nd Pennsylvania House Districts.

98th District

The 98th District, which includes Mt. Gretna Borough, South Annville Township, and South Londonderry Township is represented by Republican Tom Jones.

101st District

:The 101st District, served by Republican John Schlegel, includes:

102nd District

:The 102nd District, served by Republican Russ Diamond, includes:

County government

The county is governed by three commissioners, who are elected every four years from a slate of four candidates (two Democrats and two Republicans). Other elected officials include County Controller, Sheriff, Coroner, Prothonotary and Clerk of Court, Recorder of Deeds, County Treasurer, and Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court.

Electoral history

For most of its history, Lebanon County has been one of the most Republican counties in Pennsylvania. The county is strongly Republican even by the standards of south-central Pennsylvania. It is very conservative for an urban county, having only supported a Democrat for president once since 1880. That came when

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

won it in his 46-state landslide reelection; even then, FDR only carried it by 587 votes. The only other time since 1880 that the county has failed to support a Republican was in 1912, when the GOP was mortally divided and

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

carried it on the Bull Moose ticket. In 1964, Lebanon County was one of only four counties in the state to vote for

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

, along with Snyder, Union, and Wayne counties. In the 2006 election for U.S. Senate, the county cast 21,756 votes (55.1%) for Republican

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...

and 17,737 (44.9%) for Democrat Bob Casey, Jr., who won the race. In that year's

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, the county cast 22,775 votes (57.5%) for Republican

Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...

and 16,813 (42.5%) for Democrat Ed Rendell, who won the race. In the 2004 presidential election, the county cast 37,089 votes (66.6%) for Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and 18,109 (32.5%) for Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

. In that same year's election for U.S. Senate, the county cast 35,336 votes (66.8%) for Republican

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...

, 13,182 for Democrat Joe Hoeffel, 3,320 (6.3%) for Constitution Party candidate Jim Clymer, and 1,083 (2.0%) for

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

Betsy Summers. In the 2008 presidential election the county cast 34,314 votes (58.59%) for Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

and 23,310 votes (39.8%) for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. In the 2016 presidential election, the county cast 38,804 votes (65,9%) for Republican

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and 17,860 votes (30,3%) for Democrat

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. In the 2002 gubernatorial election, the county cast 22,659 votes (62.7%) for Republican Mike Fisher and 12,712 (35.2%) for Democrat Ed Rendell, who won the race. In the 2002 race for the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican George Gekas received 21,733 votes (60.9%) from the county while Democrat Tim Holden received 13,945 (39.1%); Holden won.

Education

Colleges and universities

* Harrisburg Area Community College (Lebanon Campus) * Lebanon Valley College * Evangelical Seminary

Public school districts

* Annville-Cleona School District * Cornwall-Lebanon School District * Eastern Lebanon County School District * Lebanon School District * Northern Lebanon School District * Palmyra Area School District

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

, townships, and, in at most two cases,

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Lebanon County:

City

(county seat)

Boroughs

* Cleona *

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...

* Mount Gretna * Myerstown *

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

* Richland

Townships

* Annville *

Bethel Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bet ...

* Cold Spring * East Hanover *

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

* Jackson * Millcreek * North Annville * North Cornwall * North Lebanon * North Londonderry * South Annville * South Lebanon * South Londonderry * Swatara * Union * West Cornwall * West Lebanon

Census-designated places

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

s are geographical areas designated by the

for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. * Annville * Avon * Campbelltown *

Fort Indiantown Gap Fort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and National Guard Training Center primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. A portion of the installation is located in eastern ...

* Fredericksburg *

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

* Lebanon South * Mount Gretna Heights * Newmanstown * Pleasant Hill * Quentin * Sand Hill * Schaefferstown * Timber Hills

Other unincorporated communities

Anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...

* Bellegrove * Beverly Heights * Bordnersville * Buffalo Springs * Bunker Hill * Canaan Grove * Clear Spring * Coffeetown * Colebrook * Coheva * Dogtown * East Hanover * Ebenezer * Edisonville * Eustontown * Flintville * Fontana * Freeport Mills *

Gold Mine Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to more comple ...

* Gravel Hill * Greble * Green Point * Hamlin * Harper Tavern * Hauckville * Heilmandale * Indiantown * Inwood *

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

* Johnstown * Kleinfeltersville * Kutztown *

Lawn A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...

* Lickdale * McGillstown * Midway * Millardsville * Millbach * Millbach Springs *

Mount Ararat Mount Ararat, also known as Masis or Mount Ağrı, is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in Eastern Turkey, easternmost Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest p ...

* Mount Pleasant * Mount Wilson *

Mount Zion Mount Zion (, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; , ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City to the south. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David ( ...

* Murray * Nacetown * Ono * Pansy Hill * Plainville * Prescott * Reinoeldville * Reistville * Rocherty * Rockwood * Sheridan * Shirksville * Springhaven * Stricklerstown * Syner * Union Water Works * Upper Lawn * Valley Glenn * Waldeck * Weavertown, Jackson Township * Weavertown, North Lebanon Township * West Jonestown * Westmont * Woodfort * Zinns Mill

Ghost towns

* Cold Spring * Rausch Gap

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Lebanon County. † ''county seat''

Parks and recreational places

* Memorial Lake State Park * Swatara State Park * Union Canal Tunnel Park * Lions Lake Park * Coleman's Memorial Park * Stoever's Dam Park * South Hill's Park * Mount Gretna Lake * Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area * Lebanon Valley Rails to Trails * Bordner CabinBordner Cabin
/ref>

References

External links

*
County of Lebanon
(official website)
Lebanon County Pages

Lebanon County Historical Society
*
Lebanon Valley Exposition Center and Fairgrounds
{{coord, 40.37, -76.46, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-PA_source:UScensus1990 1813 establishments in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1813