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Later in 1805, after Lebanon was
selected as the permanent county seat, Samuel McCray was commissioned
to build a real courthouse. It was on the NE corner of the
town square where the City Building is located today. In 1835
a new courthouse was built on Silver St. The old Broadway
courthouse then became Lebanon's town hall. A fire unfortunately
destroyed it in 1874. It was replaced by a magnificent Gothic-style
structure known as the Opera House in 1878. The Opera House
was not only the town hall, but also served as the town library
and theatre. It had a 1200 seat auditorium on its second floor
and held plays, concerts, lectures, readings, minstrel performances,
magic shows, films and even operas. Early Christmas morning
in 1932 a mysterious fire destroyed this beautiful building.
In 1807 John McLean began The Western Star newspaper
in Lebanon. Still being published today, it is recognized
as Ohio's oldest weekly. The same year McLean started The
Western Star, he became a lawyer. He would soon enter
politics and would eventually serve both his state and country.
He was elected to the U.S. Congress and later chosen to sit
on the Ohio Supreme Court bench. President John Quincy Adams
would appoint him the U.S. Postmaster General. McLean would
end his long governmental career serving 31 years as an Associate
Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
By far Lebanon's favorite son during the 1800's was Thomas
Corwin. He was a nephew of one of Lebanon's founders, Ichabod
Corwin. Thomas came to the area with his family in 1798 at
the age of four. He was to become one of our nation's greatest
"stump speakers." His eloquence and wit were known
throughout the country. He was the Prosecuting Attorney of
Warren County, a member of the Ohio General Assembly, a U.S.
Congressman, Governor of Ohio, U.S. Senator, Secretary of
the Treasury of the United States and President Lincoln's
Minister to Mexico. While serving in most of these positions
his home was on Main St. in Lebanon in what we call today
the Corwin House.
In 1855, Alfred Holbrook started the Southwestern Normal
School in Lebanon. The normal school, a teachers college,
began its first session on November 24 in the Lebanon Academy
building. The academy still stands today on New St. beside
the Lebanon Post Office. The school flourished for over 60
years, attracting as many as 4,000 students in a single year.
It occupied approximately a dozen buildings in Lebanon. The
largest was the Lyceum which was built in 1881. Torn down
in 1977, it was located on the site of the Presbyterian Church's
East St. addition.
In 1870 the school's name was changed to the National Normal
School and 11 years later to the National Normal University,
the name by which it was best known. By this time, it was
the largest normal school in Ohio. It attracted several studentsCordell
Hull from Tennessee, who would become Franklin D. Roosevelt's
Secretary of State and known as the "Father of the United
Nations;" Albert B. Graham, founder of the 4-H Club;
Myers Y. Cooper, Governor of Ohio from 1929-1931; and the
beloved Lebanon teacher Lucile Blackburn Berry. In 1907, its
designation as a "normal school" was dropped and
it was called Lebanon University.
The university finally closed in 1918 when it could no longer
compete with church and tax supported colleges. By that time,
some 80,000 graduates had passed through its doors.
The N.N.U. was not Lebanon's first involvement with a university.
In 1809, the Ohio Legislature authorized a three person commission
to find a site for an institution of higher learning within
the Miami Purchase. It would be known as Miami University.
Several places were considered. Two of the commissioners met
with Ichabod Corwin of Lebanon. Corwin offered 40 acres of
land for the site of the university. The commissioners accepted
his offer. One was so delighted with the selection that he
carved on a white oak on the proposed property the initials
"M.U.V." They stood for "Miami Uni-Versity."
Many cities, and villages were upset that they were not chosen.
The Ohio Legislature decided to make peace by giving the university
to none of them. In 1810 they picked an empty area in the
College Township in Butler County for the site. They then
ordered that the town of Oxford be laid out. Beer's History
of Warren County, Ohio, written in 1882, states that
"it has been the opinion of eminent lawyers that Miami
University was legally located at Lebanon, ...no attempt,
however has been made to remove the institution from Oxford."
 Today
much of Lebanon's architectural heritage is preserved in four
historic districts recognized by the National Register of
Historic Places in Washington D.C. Lebanon is also the home
of two excellent museums. The Warren County Historical Society
Museum is famous for its Village Green shops and the Robert
and Virginia Jones Shaker Gallery. The Glendower State Memorial
is a beautiful Greek Revival mansion that was built around
1840.
The city's charm and beauty have been showcased twice in
major Hollywood motion pictures. In 1977 part of Harper
Valley PTA starring Barbara Eden was filmed here. For
the movie Lebanon, Ohio changed its name, but only for one
week. It became Harper Valley Ohio. Two of the greatest features
of the film, as far as our city is concerned, were the opening
and closing credits. They were shown over beautiful helicopter
shots of Lebanon and the surrounding area.
Milk Money was filmed here in the fall of 1993.
Its star was Melanie Griffith. For this movie Lebanon not
only changed its name, it changed states! For over a month
all the signs in town read "Middleton, Pennsylvania."
This included the large "Welcome to Lebanon, Ohio"
sign in our town square. Both films used scenes that were
filmed in The Village Ice Cream Parlor on Broadway across
from the Golden Lamb.
It has been said that Lebanon has "a Colonial atmosphere
unusual in the Midwest." Its reputation as a quaint and
picturesque community, with scores of delightful antique and
specialty shops, is known throughout the region. The history
of this beautiful city is not only quite vivid but also very
evident to all that visit it. The pride the people of Lebanon
have in their city's past is equaled only be their faith in
its future.
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