Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to New Lebanon

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · New Lebanon

New Lebanon’s post office opened in 1849, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1870.

1849first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How New Lebanon began

When was New Lebanon founded?

1849

The New Lebanon post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1866.

First census: 273 in 18702020 census: 183177 years
Founding year: the first New Lebanon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1866.

What stands out about New 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 writtenNo old photos of New Lebanon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19114 editions of the USGS map, 1911 to 1970. Watch New Lebanon change.Deep rootsA post office since 1849: 177 years of New Lebanon.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Lebanon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

New Lebanon on the map, 1911 to 1970

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

New Lebanon on the 1911 USGS mapNew Lebanon on the 1943 USGS mapNew Lebanon on the 1960 USGS mapNew Lebanon on the 1970 USGS map1911Stoneboro 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 New Lebanon.

Timeline

New Lebanon, 1849 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849Post officeThe New Lebanon post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1934Post officeThe New Lebanon post office closes
The story so far

New Lebanon, in brief

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

New Lebanon is a borough in northeastern Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 186 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hermitage micropolitan area.

Its first post office opened in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 188 to 183 (-3%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about New Lebanon in 1888

Passages that mention New Lebanon, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Schools. — Prior to the erection of the borough of New Lebanon the territory was a part of sub-district No. 7, of Mill Creek Township. The first house was a two-story frame, about 24x30, and was erected by David Randall in 1855. On the 11th of March, 1858, it was determined to subdivide the lower r…
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 479Read the page →
Read the text

Schools. — Prior to the erection of the borough of New Lebanon the territory was a part of sub-district No. 7, of Mill Creek Township. The first house was a two-story frame, about 24x30, and was erected by David Randall in 1855. On the 11th of March, 1858, it was determined to subdivide the lower room, affording advantages in the two rooms for smaller grades of public school pupils, and using the upper room for the purpose of a select school.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The only village in the township, outside of the borough of New Lebanon, is that of Kerrtown, which was named in honor of Judge Kerr many years ago. The town has for a number of years been progressing backward. A few houses now mark its site.
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 559Read the page →
Read the text

The only village in the township, outside of the borough of New Lebanon, is that of Kerrtown, which was named in honor of Judge Kerr many years ago. The town has for a number of years been progressing backward. A few houses now mark its site.

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.

By decade

New Lebanon, decade by decade

Today6 recent
PA 173 sb in New Lebanon, June 20242024PA 173 sb in New Lebanon, June 2024PA 173 nb in New Lebanon, June 20242024PA 173 nb in New Lebanon, June 2024Georgetown Road wb entering New Lebanon, PA, June 20242024Georgetown Road wb entering New Lebanon, PA, June 2024Mercer Street2019Mercer StreetCourse of Mill Creek (French Creek tributary)2019Course of Mill Creek (French Creek tributary)Pennsylvania State Route 1732014Pennsylvania State Route 173
People over time

New Lebanon, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 279

Between 118 and 279 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to New Lebanon

Nobody well known was born in New Lebanon itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Terry TurnerAmerican baseball player · b. 1881
Albert Gallatin EgbertUnion Army soldier, politician · b. 1828
H
Hank EvansAmerican basketball player · b. 1914
Harold W. DoddsAmerican academic administrator · b. 1889
M. Richard RoseAmerican academic · b. 1933
G
Glenn M. DeVoreAmerican attorney and politician · b. 1886
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

New Lebanon had its own post office from 1849 to 1934.

New Lebanon
1849–1934
18401930today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Mill Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about New Lebanon’s history

What year was New Lebanon founded?

The New Lebanon post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1866.

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 (6), 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.