A Walking Tour of Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Originally occupied by Algonquin Indian Tribes, the Lebanon Valley was part of a 1681 land-grant by
King Charles II of England to William Penn. Pennsylvania was described as a place to go for religious
sovereignty and inexpensive land. First settled in 1723, Lebanon County’s initial colonists, prior to
1720, were Scotch-Irish. By 1729, the predominant settlers were German. Some worked as missionaries
and others seeking religious freedom came for the land.
The Lebanon Valley went through a terrible period during the French-Indian War. Forts were
constructed in an attempt to stop attacks, but Indian attacks continued until 1763. The Revolutionary
War was significant in Lebanon history as well. British and Hessian prisoners were held captive in the
region and worked for the Cornwall Furnace, making cannons and munitions.
By 1790, most of the German settlers, who had immigrated to Lebanon County for religious freedom,
were of the middle class. These Germans became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and they included
such groups as the Mennonites, the Dunkers, the German Reformed, the Lutherans and Moravians.
The Pennsylvania Dutch built farming communities and churches, bringing ministers and educators
to the community. These people and their way of life had a great influence on the industry, farming,
religion and other qualities of life that Lebanon knows today.
George Steitz is given credit for laying out the present city of Lebanon in the 1740s. The town was
located in what was then Lebanon Township in Lancaster County and was commonly called Steitz
Town or Steiza, after its proprietor. The village was renamed Lebanon in 1758 and became the county
seat when Lebanon County was created by an Act of Assembly in 1813 from portions of Dauphin and
Lancaster Counties. Lebanon, the county seat, received its charter as a borough in 1821 and as a city in
1885.
This walking tour will begin at the former Market Square at Cumberland Street and Ninth Street
where you find free parking in the municipal lot...
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