West Lebanon is a town in Pike Township,

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The population was 723 at the 2010 census.

History

West Lebanon was laid out and

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted 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 The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary co ...

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 The West Lebanon-Pike Township Public Library in West Lebanon, Indiana, United States, is a Carnegie library serving southwestern Warren County. Its original brick-and-limestone building was constructed in 1916 using a $7,500 gift from Andrew Ca ...

. 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 The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

also passes through the north edge of the town. Rock Creek, east of town, flows south toward the

Wabash River The Wabash River (French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows from ...

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.

Demographics

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 723 people, 287 households, and 192 families residing here. The population density was . There were 327 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 99.2% white, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 19.8% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 8.4% were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and 6.6% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Of the 287 households, 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 37.4 years. The median income for a household was $49,226 and the median income for a family was $53,708. Males had a median income of $42,500 versus $34,063 for females. The per capita income for was $19,388. About 1.4% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 16.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

There are more than 25 businesses in West Lebanon. Industry includes Tru-Flex Metal Hose, which has made stripwound and corrugated flexible metal hose since 1962, and Dyna-Fab, which specializes in metal stampings and weldments.

Education

The town is served by the West Lebanon-Pike Township Public Library, one of two public libraries in Warren County. Warren Central Elementary School and

Seeger Memorial Junior-Senior High School Seeger Memorial Junior-Senior High School is the single high school and middle school serving Warren County, Indiana, and is located a mile and a half north of the town of West Lebanon. It is administered by the Metropolitan School District of Wa ...

are both located about a mile-and-a-half north of town.

Arts and culture

Each year on the last weekend of September the town holds the West Lebanon Patriot Festival, an event named for the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

mascot of nearby Seeger High School. The festival features flea market vendors, a parade, cake walks, live music, fireman's water ball competition, outhouse races and other attractions. The festival was previously known as West Lebanon Fun Days.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Warren County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Populated places established in 1830 1830 establishments in Indiana