About Lebanon
Lebanon is a village in Red Willow County, in the Beaver Creek valley in the south of the county. Danbury and Marion sit in the same valley. The 2020 census counted 46 residents, down from 80 in 2010. The village covers about 0.16 square miles at an elevation of 2,408 feet.
History
Accounts of the founding differ. A Red Willow County history says settlers including B. F. Bradbury and William Halsey established the town in April 1872, that a woman known as Grandma Bowers gave it its name, and that it incorporated on 9 February 1906. Another account says the town was platted in 1887 when the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad was extended to that point, and that the name commemorates the cedars of Lebanon. The sources agree on the location in the southern part of the county.
The 1955 incident
In April 1955 a delegation of forty American mayors was invited to the Middle East. Charles Harris travelled as the representative of Lebanon's mayor. While the group was visiting Jerusalem, Harris accidentally crossed the border and was shot and killed by a Jordanian soldier. The death set off an international incident and a United Nations investigation.
Visitor & Travel Categories
Business & Economic Categories
Lebanon is a village in Red Willow County, Nebraska, platted in 1887 when the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad extended to the site. The village takes its name from the biblical "Cedars of Lebanon."
With only 46 residents at the 2020 Census, Lebanon is the smallest incorporated village in Red Willow County. In 1955, the village drew brief international attention when its delegate to a "sister Lebanons" conference was killed in a border incident near Jerusalem.
Navigate & Explore Lebanon
Get directions: search "Lebanon Nebraska" in Waze or Google Maps
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
Red Willow County Cameras: View Red Willow County cameras