Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lebanon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lebanon is more historic than 68% 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.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lebanon’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York 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 (±5.9 points). Two sources give 1807.
Founding year: Wikidata (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.
Settlement of Lebanon began circa 1791. The town was established in 1807, from part of the town of Hamilton. Many of the early inhabitants were from Connecticut.
The town was founded by General Erastus Cleveland. "When asked for the new town's name, he cried out, alluding to the Bible, 'Ah, as the cedars of Lebanon. The new town of Lebanon.' The name pleased many of them who had trudged long miles from Lebanon, Connecticut, and they believed that the general had suggested the name as a tribute to them."
Passages that mention Lebanon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Lebanon, N.H., 1761-18871908 · page 211Read the page →
Read the text
On the other side : The said committee further represent that they are informed by David Hough, one of the selectmen of the town of Lebanon, that the town of Lebanon has voted to raise the sum of six hundred dollars to be paid said proprietors if said road should eventually be made to cross Mascoma river at Dr Pheneas Parkhurst's and twice more before it arrived at the meeting house [at staple bridge and at Coles foundery] and by said meeting house to Ichabod Packards, thence on to the south
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Upon the petition of Elisha Payne of Lebanon, Russell Freeman of Hanover and Constant Storrs of Lebanon, the New Hampshire Legislature granted, November 25, 1800, a charter for a turnpike road, "four rods wide from the east bank of Connecticut river in the town of Lebanon, nearly opposite the mouth of White river eastwardly to the west branch of ]Merrimack river in the town of Salisbury or Boscawen also to survey lay out, make and keep in repair a turnpike road four rods wide
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Lebanon, 1807 to 1911
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1807, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lebanon’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1820 counted 1,940 people here.
How does Lebanon rank for history?
Lebanon is more historic than 68% 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?
35% of Lebanon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
