West Lebanon is a town in Pike Township, Warren County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

Not being close to any waterways, West Lebanon's early growth was relatively slow and for many years had no more than 20 families. However, with the completion of the Wabash Railroad line one mile north of town in 1856, the community's fortunes improved and led to most of the town relocating closer to the station. The original settlement area became known as Old Town.

A Carnegie library was built at the corner of High Street and North Street in 1916 and continues to operate as the West Lebanon-Pike Township Public Library.

Fire destroyed part of West Lebanon's business district the evening of January 26, 2011, destroying a row of buildings along the west side of High Street between First and North streets.

Geography

thumb|left|Map of West Lebanon

West Lebanon is located just south of State Road 28 about east of the Illinois border and about west of Williamsport. State Road 263 is concurrent with High Street and intersects State Road 28 at the north edge of town. A line of the Norfolk Southern Railway also passes through the north edge of the town. Rock Creek, east of town, flows south toward the Wabash River and forms the township's eastern border; it is fed by the small Johnson Branch which crosses the north edge of town.

According to the 2010 census, West Lebanon has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 723 people, 287 households, and 192 families residing here. The population density was . There were 327 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 99.2% white, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.1% of the population.

Of the 287 households, 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 37.4 years.

Economy

There are more than 25 businesses in West Lebanon. Industry includes Tru-Flex Metal Hose, which has made stripwound and corrugated flexible metal hose since 1962, and Dyna-Fab, which specializes in metal stampings and weldments.

Education

It is in the Metropolitan School District of Warren County<!--UNI 06080-->. Warren Central Elementary School and Seeger Memorial Junior-Senior High School are both located about a mile-and-a-half north of town.

The town is served by the West Lebanon-Pike Township Public Library, one of two public libraries in Warren County.

Arts and culture

Each year on the last weekend of September the town holds the West Lebanon Patriot Festival, an event named for the Patriot mascot of nearby Seeger High School. The festival features flea market vendors, a parade, cake walks, live music, fireman's water ball competition, outhouse races and other attractions. The festival was previously known as West Lebanon Fun Days.

References

Further reading

  • Clifton, Thomas A. (editor) (1913), Past and Present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Co.
  • Warren County Historical Society (2002), A History of Warren County, Indiana (175th Anniversary Edition)
  • Official website