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Lebanon Reformed Church, Lebanon, NJPhoto: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+History
History · Lebanon

Lebanon’s post office opened in 1815, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1930.

1815first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Lebanon began

When was Lebanon founded?

1815

The Lebanon post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1926.

First census: 550 in 19302020 census: 1,665211 years

How historic is Lebanon?

B+

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lebanon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1926.
History grade

What drives Lebanon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lebanon is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lebanon’s overall grade.
Founding era1815, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194031.1% of homes (±12.1) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical NJ town 3.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 67%
NewerOlder

New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lebanon’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1926.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about 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.On the map since 18905 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1970. Watch Lebanon change.Deep rootsA post office since 1815: 211 years of Lebanon.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lebanon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how 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.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Lebanon on the map, 1890 to 1970

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

Lebanon on the 1890 USGS mapLebanon on the 1905 USGS mapLebanon on the 1943 USGS mapLebanon on the 1954 USGS mapLebanon on the 1970 USGS map1890High Bridge sheet · 1:62,500

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

Timeline

Lebanon, 1815 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1815Post officeThe Lebanon post office opens
  3. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1967Born hereAdam Dunsby is born here
The story so far

Lebanon, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lebanon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lebanon (pronounced "LEB-uh-nin") is a borough in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,665, the highest ever in any decennial census and an increase of 307 (+22.6%) from the 2010 census count of 1,358, which in turn reflected an increase of 293 (+27.5%) from the 1,065 counted in the 2000 census. Lebanon was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 26, 1926, from portions of Clinton Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 20, 1926. Additional portions of Clinton Township were annexed in 1962. The borough is located north of the Round Valley Reservoir. In th…

Its first post office opened in 1815. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,358 to 1,665 (+23%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Lebanon, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMap
Today3 recent
Borough of Lebanon, NJ Municipal Offices, Dec. 20252025Borough of Lebanon, NJ Municipal Offices, Dec. 2025GG1 in Lebanon Station2007GG1 in Lebanon StationLebanon 019 nj2005Lebanon 019 nj
People over time

Lebanon, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800194019601980200020201,665

Grew from 550 people in 1930 to 1,665 in 2020, 3 times over.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Questions about Lebanon’s history

What year was Lebanon founded?

The Lebanon post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1926.

How does Lebanon rank for history?

Lebanon is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Lebanon?

31% of Lebanon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.1 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1980.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.