A Brief History of Mt. Lebanon
Mt. Lebanon is a township in Allegheny County and located in the Pittsburgh metro area. In 1912, it was created as “Mount” Lebanon, but its name was officially changed to “Mt.” Lebanon in 1975.
First settlers in the area bought the land from descendants of William Penn in 1773 or 1774. Mt. Lebanon was a farming town until streetcars came. Once they did, many commuted into downtown Pittsburgh and the neighborhood, like many Pittsburgh suburbs at the time, was dubbed a “streetcar suburb.”
Once the Liberty Tubes were built, the neighborhood’s population went from around 2,000 to over 13,000 people.
Fun Facts
Many think the name Mt. Lebanon was from two Cedar of Lebanon trees that were planted in 1850. It was actually named after the area in which the settlers came (Mount Lebanon) because landscape-wise, it was pretty similar.
In 1928, this suburb of Pittsburgh was the First Class Township in PA to adopt a form of government called the council-manager. It has a manager who is appointed and serving as chief administration officer. Mt. Lebanon has a large amount of famous people associated with the neighborhood (actor Joe Manganiello and actress Ming-Na Wen just to name a few). Many Pittsburghers frequent this neighborhood in the evenings for the multitude of shopping and dining choices.
My wife, Nancy, and I both graduated from Mount Lebanon High School in 1957. We married two years later. After serving in the military, we relocated to Cleveland, OH, in 1963.