Lebanon, Maine
Encyclopedia
Lebanon is a town in York County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 5,083 at the 2000 census. Lebanon includes the villages of Center Lebanon, West Lebanon, North Lebanon, South Lebanon and East Lebanon. It is part of the Portland
–South Portland
–Biddeford
, Maine metropolitan statistical area
. Lebanon is home to Skydive New England.
. On April 20, 1733, the Massachusetts General Court
granted Towwoh Plantation to 60 colonists, who first settled it in 1743. The township was incorporated on June 17, 1767, renamed Lebanon after the biblical land of Lebanon
. It was Maine's 23rd town. Lebanon annexed unincorporated land in 1785, and some from Sanford
in 1787. It swapped land with Shapleigh
, giving some in 1793, then annexing some in 1825.
Farmer
s found the surface of the town relatively level in the southeast, with extensive pine plains in the northwest. The chief crop would be hay
. At the Salmon Falls River and the Little River
were water power sites for mills
. Lebanon had four sawmill
s, three gristmill
s, a shingle
mill, a wool
carding
mill and a tannery
. In 1850, Oren B. Cheney
founded West Lebanon Academy. Beginning in the early 1870s, the Portland & Rochester Railroad ran the length of the town's southeast side, with the Portsmouth, Great Falls & Conway Railroad crossing for a short distance on the western side.
, the town has a total area of 55.8 square miles (144.5 km²), of which, 54.7 square miles (141.7 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (1.94%) is water. Lebanon is drained by the Little River and Salmon Falls River
.
The town is crossed by U.S. Route 202 and State Route 11. It borders the towns of Acton
to the north, Sanford
to the east, Berwick and North Berwick to the southeast, and the New Hampshire
towns of Milton
and Rochester
to the west.
of 2000, there are 5,083 people, 1,823 households, and 1,405 families residing in the town. The population density
is 92.9 people per square mile (35.9/km²). There are 2,090 housing units at an average density of 38.2 per square mile (14.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town is 98.49% White, 0.31% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.08% from other races
, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.63% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,823 households out of which 38.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% are married couples
living together, 9.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 22.9% are non-families. 17.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.79 and the average family size is 3.10.
In the town the population is spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $40,021, and the median income for a family is $41,713. Males have a median income of $33,551 versus $22,292 for females. The per capita income
for the town is $15,503. 10.4% of the population and 8.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 12.9% of those under the age of 18 and 7.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
York County, Maine
York County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, the population was 197,131. Its county seat is Alfred.Founded in 1636, it is the oldest county in Maine and one of the oldest in the United States....
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 5,083 at the 2000 census. Lebanon includes the villages of Center Lebanon, West Lebanon, North Lebanon, South Lebanon and East Lebanon. It is part of the Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
–South Portland
South Portland, Maine
South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state. Founded in 1895, as of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,002. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is situated on Portland Harbor and overlooks the skyline of...
–Biddeford
Biddeford, Maine
Biddeford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is the largest town in the county, and is the sixth-largest in the state. It is the most southerly incorporated town in the state and the principal commercial center of York County. The population was 21,277 at the 2010 census...
, Maine metropolitan statistical area
Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area
The Portland–South Portland–Biddeford Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Greater Portland, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Maine, anchored by the city of Portland and the smaller cities of South Portland and Biddeford...
. Lebanon is home to Skydive New England.
History
It was called Towwoh by the Newichawannock Abenaki tribe, whose main village was further down the Salmon Falls RiverSalmon Falls River
The Salmon Falls River is a tributary of the Piscataqua River in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire. It rises at Great East Lake and flows south-southeast for approximately , forming the border between Maine and New Hampshire....
. On April 20, 1733, the Massachusetts General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
granted Towwoh Plantation to 60 colonists, who first settled it in 1743. The township was incorporated on June 17, 1767, renamed Lebanon after the biblical land of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. It was Maine's 23rd town. Lebanon annexed unincorporated land in 1785, and some from Sanford
Sanford, Maine
Sanford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,798 in the 2010 census, the highest of the York County towns, and the 8th largest in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale...
in 1787. It swapped land with Shapleigh
Shapleigh, Maine
Shapleigh, pronounced "SHAP-lee", is a town in York County, Maine, United States which was incorporated as the state's 43rd town in 1785. The population was 2,326 at the 2000 census. Shapleigh is divided into the villages of North Shapleigh, Shapleigh Corner, Ross Corner and Emery Mills...
, giving some in 1793, then annexing some in 1825.
Farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s found the surface of the town relatively level in the southeast, with extensive pine plains in the northwest. The chief crop would be hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
. At the Salmon Falls River and the Little River
Little River (Salmon Falls River)
The Little River is a tributary of the Salmon Falls River in the U.S. state of Maine. It rises from streams in York County, flows southwest through Lebanon, and reaches its confluence with the Salmon Falls River in Berwick.-References:**...
were water power sites for mills
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
. Lebanon had four sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s, three gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
s, a shingle
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
mill, a wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
carding
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
mill and a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
. In 1850, Oren B. Cheney
Oren B. Cheney
Oren Burbank Cheney was the founder of Bates College, an abolitionist, and a Free Will Baptist clergyman.-Early life:...
founded West Lebanon Academy. Beginning in the early 1870s, the Portland & Rochester Railroad ran the length of the town's southeast side, with the Portsmouth, Great Falls & Conway Railroad crossing for a short distance on the western side.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 55.8 square miles (144.5 km²), of which, 54.7 square miles (141.7 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (1.94%) is water. Lebanon is drained by the Little River and Salmon Falls River
Salmon Falls River
The Salmon Falls River is a tributary of the Piscataqua River in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire. It rises at Great East Lake and flows south-southeast for approximately , forming the border between Maine and New Hampshire....
.
The town is crossed by U.S. Route 202 and State Route 11. It borders the towns of Acton
Acton, Maine
Acton is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,145 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of Acton, Miller Corner and South Acton. The town is home to the Acton Fairground, which holds the Acton Fair every late summer...
to the north, Sanford
Sanford, Maine
Sanford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,798 in the 2010 census, the highest of the York County towns, and the 8th largest in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale...
to the east, Berwick and North Berwick to the southeast, and the New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
towns of Milton
Milton, New Hampshire
Milton is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,598 at the 2010 census. A manufacturing, resort and residential town, Milton includes the village of Milton Mills...
and Rochester
Rochester, New Hampshire
Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 29,752. The city includes the villages of East Rochester and Gonic. Rochester is home to Skyhaven Airport and the annual Rochester Fair....
to the west.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there are 5,083 people, 1,823 households, and 1,405 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
is 92.9 people per square mile (35.9/km²). There are 2,090 housing units at an average density of 38.2 per square mile (14.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town is 98.49% White, 0.31% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.08% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.63% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,823 households out of which 38.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% are married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 22.9% are non-families. 17.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.79 and the average family size is 3.10.
In the town the population is spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $40,021, and the median income for a family is $41,713. Males have a median income of $33,551 versus $22,292 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town is $15,503. 10.4% of the population and 8.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 12.9% of those under the age of 18 and 7.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Notable people
- Ole BullOle BullOle Bornemann Bull was a Norwegian violinist and composer.-Background:Bull was born in Bergen. He was the eldest of ten children of Johan Storm Bull and Anna Dorothea Borse Geelmuyden . His brother, Georg Andreas Bull became a noted Norwegian architect...
, violinist and composer (summer resident) - Oren B. CheneyOren B. CheneyOren Burbank Cheney was the founder of Bates College, an abolitionist, and a Free Will Baptist clergyman.-Early life:...
, clergyman, abolitionist, founded Bates CollegeBates CollegeBates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists... - Elihu B. HayesElihu B. HayesElihu Burritt Hayes was an American shoe manufacturer, newspaperman, and politician, who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 18th Essex District, and as the twenty fifth Mayor of Lynn, Massachusetts.-Early life:Hayes was born in West Lebanon, Maine on...
, manufacturer, newspaper owner and politician - Charles Coffin JewettCharles Coffin JewettCharles Coffin Jewett was the Librarian and Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1848 before becoming Superintendent of the Boston Public Library in 1858.-Early life:...
, superintendent of the Boston Public Library - Sumner Increase KimballSumner Increase KimballSumner Increase Kimball, Sc.D. was the organizer of the United States Life-Saving Service and the General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service from 1878-1915...
, organized the United States Life-Saving ServiceUnited States Life-Saving ServiceThe United States Life-Saving Service was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers... - Charles E. LittlefieldCharles E. LittlefieldCharles Edgar Littlefield was a United States Representative from Maine. He was born in Lebanon, Maine on June 21, 1851. He attended the common schools and Foxcroft Academy. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and practiced in Rockland...
, congressman