Mt. Lebanon (locally ) is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

with home rule status in

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Allegheny County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, state's second-most populous county, after Philadelp ...

, United States. The population was 34,075 at the 2020 census. It is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Established in 1912 as Mount Lebanon, the township was a farming community. With the arrival of the first

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

lines and the development of the first real estate subdivision, both in 1901, it became a

streetcar suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...

, offering residents the ability to commute to

Downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River an ...

. Furthermore, the opening of the Liberty Tunnel in 1924 allowed easy

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

access to Pittsburgh. In 1975, the renamed Mt. Lebanon adopted one of the first home rule charters in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Codebr>Title 302, Sec. 27.1-101 ''et seq.''
Mtlebanon.org

History

The first European settlers arrived in 1773–1774, having purchased the land from the descendants of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

; other pioneers soon bought land from the state government. In 1912, Mount Lebanon Township was incorporated as a "First Class Township" under

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 ...

state law. It had formerly been a part of Scott Township, which in turn traces its origins to the long-defunct St. Clair Township. Mount Lebanon was not named for two Cedar of Lebanon trees that were planted in 1850 on Washington Road near the top of Bower Hill Road, but was named after the area from which they came,

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

, due to the similarities between the two landscapes. Prior to the incorporation of the township, the "Mount Lebanon" name was used for the area of Upper St. Clair Township near the cedar trees. In the 1880s, a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

located near the transplanted cedar trees was named "Mount Lebanon". Incorporators of neighboring Dormont Borough initially tried to use the "Mount Lebanon" name in 1909, but were opposed by residents of the future Mount Lebanon Township. In 1928, Mount Lebanon became the first First Class township in Pennsylvania to adopt the council–manager form of government and has had an appointed manager serving as the chief administrative officer since that time. Mount Lebanon was a farming community until the arrival of

lines, the first line to Pittsburgh opening on July 1, 1901 followed by a second in 1924. After the arrival of the streetcar lines, which enabled daily commuting to and from

, Mount Lebanon became a

, with the first real estate subdivision being laid out in November 1901. Further, the opening of the Liberty Tubes in 1924 allowed easy

access to Pittsburgh. Between the 1920 and 1930 censuses, the township's population skyrocketed from 2,258 to 13,403. Today, Pittsburgh's mass transit agency, the

Pittsburgh Regional Transit Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is the public agency responsible for most public transportation services in the Greater Pittsburgh region in Pennsylvania. It is the second-largest public transit agency in Pennsylvania and the 20th-largest in ...

, or "PRT," operates a

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

system whose Red Line, which runs underneath Uptown Mt. Lebanon through the Mt. Lebanon Tunnel, merges with the Blue Line in Pittsburgh's Mt. Washington section. Mt. Lebanon's only platform station, Mt. Lebanon Station, is in Uptown Mt. Lebanon; the adjacent Dormont Junction and Castle Shannon stations are in neighboring municipalities. And 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 33,017 people living in Mt. Lebanon. In 1971,

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

attempted to purchase a home in Virginia Manor, but racial discrimination prevented him from doing so. However, some residents have claimed that the rejection was due to the anticipated publicity and crowds which would result from the sale of the property to Ali. On May 21, 1974, the electorate approved a

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

, which took effect on January 1, 1975; as such, the community is no longer governed under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Township Code. Mount Lebanon became one of the first municipalities in Pennsylvania to adopt a home rule charter. In the charter, the official name of the municipality became Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania; the word "Mount" is abbreviated in all government documents, although the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

continues to use "Mount."

Geography

Mt. Lebanon is located at (40.375, -80.05). According to the

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

, the township has a total area of , all land.

Surrounding communities

Mt. Lebanon is a highly affluent

south of the city's downtown. There are two small borders with Pittsburgh neighborhoods to the northeast ( Brookline) and north ( Banksville). The remainder of the northeast border is with the

borough 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 ...

of Dormont. The entire western border is with Scott Township. To the south are the two towns which, due to their comparable size and affluence, are most often compared with Mt. Lebanon: Upper St. Clair to the southwest and Bethel Park to the southeast. To the east is Castle Shannon, and finally, to the east-northeast is Baldwin Township (not to be confused with the Borough of Baldwin).

Commercial districts

Uptown Mt. Lebanon is the central business district and has Washington Rd. ( U.S. Rt. 19 Truck) as its main thoroughfare. ( U.S. Rt. 19 Truck continues into Pittsburgh and back out into the city's northern suburbs and beyond.) Uptown Mt. Lebanon is one of the more built up central business districts outside of Pittsburgh, featuring numerous coffee shops, small galleries, pizzerias, and clothing boutiques. The neighborhood is organized as The Uptown Mt. Lebanon Business and Professional Association. There are sizable business districts along the borders with Upper St. Clair and Castle Shannon, as well.

Communities within Mt. Lebanon

Neighborhoods within Mt. Lebanon include: Beverly Heights, Cedarhurst Manor, Hoodridge Hilands, Mission Hills, Sunset Hills, Virginia Manor, Twin Hills, and Woodridge. Virginia Manor is an affluent

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

, with streets designed to follow the natural contours of the land. Future Governor James H. Duff helped found Virginia Manor in 1929. File:Historical Soc of Mount Leb jeh.jpg, Historical Society File:St Claire Hospital Mt Lebanon jeh.JPG, St. Clair Hospital on Bower Hill Road File:Mt Lebanon Methodist ch jeh.JPG, Mt Lebanon United Methodist Church File:Southminster Presbyt Ch Lebo jeh.jpg, Southminster Presbyterian Church

Demographics

As of the

of 2000, there were 33,017 people, 13,610 households, and 9,023 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 14,089 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 96.21%

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 ...

, 0.61%

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 2.29% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.18% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races.

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 were 0.80% of the population. There were 13,610 households, out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% 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, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 42 years. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 4.0% were 18 to 24, 26.9% were 25 to 44, 25.4% were 45 to 64, and 18.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $60,783, and the median income for a family was $79,744 (these figures had risen to $73,765 and $98,731 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $56,183 versus $37,008 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $33,652. About 2.2% of families and 3.5% 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 ...

, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

A large portion of Mt. Lebanon is listed as the Mt. Lebanon Historic District on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The district contains 3,341 contributing buildings and 21 contributing sites. Most of the buildings (89%) are residential, though two commercial areas are included. The district is a significant example of the transition from a rural agricultural area to a suburb made possible first by the trolley/streetcar, , and later by the automobile in the 1920s and 1930s with the opening of the Liberty Tubes in 1924. The boundaries of the district include those areas that were developed between 1874 and .

Parks and recreation

Mt. Lebanon provides many recreational opportunities for its residents. Fifteen parks are scattered over throughout the community. In addition to the parks, there is an Olympic size swimming pool, open in summer, and a regulation size ice rink and recreation building located adjacent to Mt. Lebanon Park on Cedar Blvd. Mt. Lebanon also boasts one of the oldest public golf courses in western Pennsylvania and has several tennis and basketball courts which are open year-round. Other recreational facilities include a Sand volleyball court, bocce courts, platform tennis, a plethora of picnic pavilions and over eight children's playgrounds. Mt. Lebanon School District's sports teams are a big part of the community. The mascot is currently the Blue Devil, which has occasionally stirred controversy.

Government and politics

Congressman

Chris Deluzio Christopher Raphael Deluzio (born July 13, 1984) is an American politician, attorney, and former U.S. Navy officer serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

represents the area in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

as a part of Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district. Mt. Lebanon is in District 42 of the Pennsylvania Senate and is represented by

Wayne Fontana Glyn Geoffrey Ellis (28 October 19456 August 2020),

. Mt. Lebanon is in District 42 of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

and is represented by Mt. Lebanon resident Dan Miller. The Mt. Lebanon government takes the form of a commission, made up of 5 commissioners - one from each of Mt. Lebanon's 5 wards.

Education

The district has seven elementary schools: Foster Elementary School, Hoover Elementary School, Howe Elementary School, Jefferson Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Markham Elementary School, and Washington Elementary School. The two middle schools are Jefferson Middle School and Andrew W. Mellon Middle School. There is one high school: Mt. Lebanon High School. The district has won multiple

National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

awards. The high school was rated as one of the Top 500 high schools in the United States by ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' in 2000 and 1st in

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the Unite ...

by the '' Pittsburgh Business Times'' in 2005. Keystone Oaks High School is physically located in Mt. Lebanon but serving the adjacent communities of Greentree, Dormont and Castle Shannon.

Seton-La Salle Catholic High School Seton LaSalle Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. In 2016, Seton LaSalle simplified the f ...

, and the St. Bernard school, both Diocese of Pittsburgh schools, are also in Mt. Lebanon. The Mt. Lebanon Public Library, founded in 1932, is funded almost entirely by the municipality and county. Its home is a $4.2 million building, with shelves for 140,000 books, seats for 165 persons, and more than 50 public computers. When the building opened in 1997, it won an architectural design award and was featured in the architectural issue of ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

''.

Notable people

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

, Olympic gold medalist in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

and former professional wrestler *

Shane Black Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor, known for his distinctive style of Action film, action and action comedy films. He is the original creator of the ''Lethal Weapon (franchise), Lethal Wea ...

, screenwriter and director * Howard J. Burnett, former president of

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, United States. The college traces its origin to three Presbyterian m ...

* Frank Cappelli, children's musician *

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American businessman and television personality. He is the former principal owner and current minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and co-owner of 2929 Entertain ...

, businessman and media personality * Daya, singer * Dave Filoni, filmmaker and animator ('' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', '' Star Wars Rebels'') * Matt Kennedy Gould, former American television personality and current basketball coach * Ian Happ, professional baseball player,

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Gillian Jacobs Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress. She is known for playing Britta Perry in the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), Mickey Dobbs in the Netflix romantic comedy series '' Love'' (2016–2018), and Mar ...

, actress * Ching Chun Li, Chinese-American human geneticist * Joe Manganiello, actor *

Andrew Mason Andrew D. Mason (born 1981) is an American businessman and entrepreneur. He is the founder and former CEO of Groupon, a Chicago-based website offering users discounts on local businesses and scholarships. He is also the founder and CEO of Desc ...

Groupon Groupon, Inc. is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in 13 countries. Based in Chicago, Groupon was launched there in November 2008, launching ...

founder * Marty Pottenger, OBIE-award-winning playwright, performer, civic engagement artist, founder of Art At Work * Peter Safar, cardiopulmonary specialist; died in Mt. Lebanon, where he resided as an adult * Bob Ufer, University of Michigan track and field athlete and radio broadcaster * Keith Van Horne, NFL football player * Ming-Na Wen, actress, partly raised there and attended high school there *

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American journalist and television news anchor. He was a correspondent for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchorman, anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in ...

, NFL football player

References

External links

Municipal websiteMt. Lebanon Public LibraryMt. Lebanon School DistrictMt. Lebanon Fire DepartmentMt. Lebanon MagazineDetail map of historic district
{{Authority control Home Rule Municipalities in Pennsylvania Streetcar suburbs Populated places established in 1773 Pittsburgh metropolitan area Home Rule Municipalities in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1773 establishments in Pennsylvania Townships in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania