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West-Lebanon-High-Street-inPhoto: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · West Lebanon

West Lebanon dates to 1830, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1880.

1830founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From West Lebanon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How West Lebanon began

When was West Lebanon founded?

1830

West Lebanon dates its founding to 1830 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 665 in 18802020 census: 678196 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓

What stands out about West Lebanon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 946 in 1980; 678 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1830: 196 years of West Lebanon.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Lebanon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Lebanon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewJackson Fleming House, West end First S…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

West Lebanon, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 946

Peaked at 946 in 1980; 678 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Lebanon’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

West Lebanon, 1830 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830
    FoundingWest Lebanon is established
  3. 1832Post officeThe West Lebanon post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 946
The story

How West Lebanon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Lebanon.

Read it all →

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

West Lebanon, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Jackson Fleming House, West end First Street, driveway Southwest of Warren & First StreetsDate?Jackson Fleming House, West end First Street, drivewa…
Today8 recent
West-Lebanon-post-office-in2020West-Lebanon-post-office-inWest-Lebanon-library-in2020West-Lebanon-library-inWest-Lebanon-Town-Hall-in2020West-Lebanon-Town-Hall-inWest-Lebanon-RR-tracks-in2020West-Lebanon-RR-tracks-inWest-Lebanon-High-Street-in2020West-Lebanon-High-Street-inWest Lebanon Public Library2010West Lebanon Public LibraryIORM2007IORMWest Lebanon, Indiana2006West Lebanon, Indiana
On the map

West Lebanon on the map, 1961 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Lebanon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

West Lebanon on the 1961 USGS mapWest Lebanon on the 1980 USGS map1961West Lebanon sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Lebanon.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Jackson Fleming House, West end First Street, driveway Southwest of Warren & First Streets
Retake this viewJackson Fleming House, West end First Street, driveway Southwest of Warren & First Streets

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on West Lebanon’s page.

Retake this view · +15

Questions about West Lebanon’s history

What year was West Lebanon founded?

In 1830, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. West Lebanon’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1880 counted 665 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.