- For other places with the same name, see Lebanon (disambiguation).
Lebanon (commonly pronounced "Leba-nen") is the county seat of Boone County, Indiana, United States. The population was 14,222 at the 2000 census. The city was named Lebanon because a stand of hickory trees on the site reminded one of the town's commissioners of the Biblical cedars of Lebanon. [1] The city is the county seat of Boone County[4]. Lebanon is located in central Indiana, northwest of Indianapolis.
Geography
Lebanon is located at 40°3′8″N 86°28′18″W / 40.05222°N 86.47167°W / 40.05222; -86.47167 (40.052137, -86.471570)[5].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.3 square miles (18.9 km²), all of it land.
Notable architecture
The county courthouse of Lebanon is notable for its single-piece vertical Ionic order limestone columns. They were at one time the largest single-piece limestone columns in the world.[citation needed]
Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 14,222 people, 5,834 households, and 3,780 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,952.9 people per square mile (754.3/km²). There were 6,202 housing units at an average density of 851.6/sq mi (328.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.67% White, 0.33% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.58% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.61% of the population.
Lebanon, Indiana, about
1909.
There were 5,834 households out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,791, and the median income for a family was $47,769. Males had a median income of $35,614 versus $22,791 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,245. About 4.4% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The government consists of a mayor and a city council. The mayor is elected in citywide vote. The city council consists of seven members. Five are elected from individual districts. Two are elected at-large.
Schools
Public
Lebanon Community School Corporation has six schools under its jurisdiction: four elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. Lebanon High School has won 6 education awards in the past 10 years.
Notable natives and former residents
- Rick Mount, 1966 Indiana "Mr. Basketball" award recipient, former Purdue basketball player, member of the 1972 ABA Championship Indiana Pacers team.
- Craig Terrill, former Purdue football player, current defensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL.
- Mel Kenyon, hall of fame midget car driver.
- Doug Jones, former relief pitcher and All-Star in Major League Baseball
- Kent Poole, played the role of "Merle" in the 1986 movie Hoosiers, had a role in the 1988 movie Fresh Horses.
- Jeff C. Young, Spur Award winning author of nonfiction books for young readers.
Politics
Former Mayor Jim Acton (Democratic Party) did not file to run for a fifth term, which left the 2007 election open to new candidates.
The last mayoral election occurred in November 2007. The candidates were: Republican John Lasley, President of the Lebanon City-Council, Democrat Roger Neal, Lebanon Community School Corporation School Board member and former Lebanon Parks and Recreation Director, and independent candidate George Piper who formerly was an editor at The Lebanon Reporter, which is Boone County's largest newspaper. Secretly, Piper ran at the behest of members of the Boone County Republican Party, in order to siphon votes away from Neal, ensuring Lasley's victory[citation needed].
Democrat Roger Neal had clashed with the City Council (of which John Lasley was President) in the past regarding funding for the Parks Department and citing the council for violations of the Indiana Open Door Law. After Neal announced he was running for Mayor, the city council cut the parks department budget by over 50% during the next two years[citation needed]. Neal was the director of the Parks department for almost 10 years. Mayor Jim Acton fired Roger Neal from the position of Parks and Recreation Director without citing any reason. The local newspaper quoted Neal who stated that he was ordered by Acton to do something which neither he nor the Mayor had legal authority to do regarding the construction of a Veterans Monument in Lebanon Memorial Park[citation needed]. The Mayor blocked the construction stating that Neal did not raise sufficient funds to build it[citation needed]. An outside professional audit performed later showed that the necessary funds were there all along[citation needed].
Republican City Council President John Lasley won the election with 48% of the vote, to Democrat Roger Neal's 27% and Independent George Piper's 25%[6].
30% of registered voters cast votes in the 2007 election[7].
Lasley died on May 2, 2009. He was battling a recurrence of cancer since December. City Council President Dick Robertson assumed the mayoral duties until the Republican Party precinct chairpersons met to choose Harold "Huck" Lewis as his successor.
Despite having recently elected Democratic mayors, Lebanon can be considered to be highly Republican when it comes to national and state politics. In the 2008 election, Boone County (the county in which Lebanon is located) voted 62% for Republican presidential candidate John McCain and more than 80% for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels[8]
References
Lebanon is governed by Mayor Huck
External links
