Lebanon Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Lebanon Area Cameras

Village · Red Willow County · Population 46 (2020 census) · ZIP 69036 · Founded 1872 · Peak population 262 (1930)

About Lebanon

Lebanon is a village of 46 on Beaver Creek and NE 89 in the southeast corner of Red Willow County, about 3½ miles north of the Kansas line and 7 miles east of Danbury. Its ZIP code is 69036.

History

Settlers including B. F. Bradbury and William Halsey arrived on Beaver Creek in April 1872, and a post office opened in 1873 (local history says 1874) at Bradbury's homestead, half a mile west of the present village. The town was platted in 1887 when the Burlington built up the valley, and its first newspaper appeared that December. A state place-names study says the name commemorates the cedars of Lebanon; local tradition credits "Grandma" Bowers, who owned the townsite, and another account names Lebanon, Ohio, Bradbury's former home. Lebanon incorporated as a village on February 9, 1906, and reached its largest population, 262, in 1930.

In April 1955 Charles B. Harris, 24, of Lebanon, traveling with a goodwill tour of American towns named Lebanon, was shot and killed after he accidentally walked into no-man's land in divided Jerusalem, an incident that drew a United Nations inquiry. The rail line through town has had no trains since about 2015.

Highways and trails through Lebanon

Route	One way	Other way
NE 89East–west through the village	East to Wilsonville and Beaver City	West to Danbury (about 7 mi) and US 83

Nearby towns

Shippee	about 4 mi east	County roads
Danbury	about 7 mi west	NE 89
Wilsonville	about 10 mi east-northeast	NE 89
Bartley	about 14 mi north	County roads
Indianola	about 15 mi north-northwest	County roads
Mccook	about 21 mi west-northwest	NE 89 and US 83

Things to see

Lebanon Cemetery and Hamburg Cemetery · Shippee, about 4 mi east · the Danbury Depot Museum, about 7 mi west

Schools and health care

Schools: Southwest Public Schools (district 73-0179): Southwest Elementary (PK–5), 719 E St., Indianola, and Southwest Middle School and Junior/Senior High, 900 Coke St., Bartley

Health care: No clinic in Lebanon; nearest hospitals: Community Hospital, 1301 East H St., McCook, (308) 344-2650, a 25-bed critical access hospital, about 21 mi, or Decatur Health, Oberlin, Kansas, about 21 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Johnson's History of Nebraska (1880); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Who's Who in Nebraska, Red Willow County (1940); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names; Southwest Nebraska Genealogical Society and NEGenWeb Red Willow County; McCook Gazette; History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Department of Revenue; school, hospital, library and city websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.