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Lebanon, Tennessee
City
Lebanon's Town Square
Nickname(s): "Cedar-City"
Location of Lebanon in Wilson County, Tennessee.
Coordinates: 36°12′29″N 86°19′35″W / 36.20806°N 86.32639°W / 36.20806; -86.32639Coordinates: 36°12′29″N 86°19′35″W / 36.20806°N 86.32639°W / 36.20806; -86.32639
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Wilson
Incorporated	1801[1]
Named for	Cedars of Lebanon
Government
• Mayor	Bernie Ash
Area
• Total	38.63 sq mi (99.93 km2)
• Land	38.5 sq mi (99.59 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	528 ft (161 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	26,190
• Estimate (2016)[2]	31,317
• Density	677.9/sq mi (262/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	37087, 37088, 37090
Area code(s)	615
FIPS code	47-41520[3]
GNIS feature ID	1290901[4]
Website	City of Lebanon, Tennessee

Lebanon /ˈlɛbnən/ is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States.^[5]

The population was 26,190 at the 2010 census, 28,608 in 2013 and 32,372 following a special census conducted in 2016.^[6]

Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles (40 km) east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The city was incorporated in 1801,^[7] and was named after the biblical cedars of Lebanon.^[8] Local residents have called Lebanon "Cedar City", mostly a reference to the abundance of cedar trees in the area. The city is home to Cumberland University, a small, private four-year liberal arts institution.

Geography

Lebanon is located at 36°12′29″N 86°19′35″W / 36.20806°N 86.32639°W / 36.20806; -86.32639 (36.207991, −86.326300).^[9]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.63 square miles (100.1 km²), of which 38.5 square miles (100 km²) is land and 0.03% is water.

Demographics

Lebanon City Hall in Lebanon, TN

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 20,235 people, 7,987 households, and 5,319 families residing in the city. The population density was 692.0 people per square mile (267.2/km²). There were 8,693 housing units at an average density of 297.3 per square mile (114.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.89% White, 13.78% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.00% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.26% of the population.

There were 7,987 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city, the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,118, and the median income for a family was $45,094. Males had a median income of $31,207 versus $24,420 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,366. About 9.3% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.0% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Corporations

• 
  Cracker Barrel was founded in Lebanon by Dan Evins in 1969 and has its corporate headquarters there.^[12]


• 
  PFG Customized / Kenneth O. Lester company is based in Lebanon, and has both a corporate office and a distribution center there, where they service Cracker Barrel and many other restaurant companies.


• Lochinvar Corporation, a water products manufacturer, is based in Lebanon.^[13]


• The city threatened to sue Dell Inc. for eliminating 700 of the 1,000 jobs the company proferred as part of a tax deal on which the company later reneged.^[14]


• In 2015, Chinese tile company Wonderful Group invested $150 million to build their company's first manufacturing location in North America.^[15]


• The fraternity Sigma Pi is headquartered in Lebanon.

Arts and culture

Lebanon is host to the annual Wilson County Fair, which is considered by Busy Bee Trader Magazine (based in Greenbrier, TN) to be the best County Fair in Tennessee. The Wilson County Fair has been listed as one of the top 50 fairs in North America by attendance in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

The fair has also been named as one of the top events to attend by Southeastern Tourism and voted the "Best Fair" by the Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation.^[16] It has paid attendance more than double that of the Tennessee State Fair.^[17]

Sports

Nashville Superspeedway is located outside of Lebanon.

2017 Eclipse

Lebanon was very close to the middle of the path of totality of the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 and experienced 2 minutes & 38 seconds of total eclipse, which is only 3 seconds less than being at the center of the path.

Media

Newspapers

• 
  Lebanon Democrat, published Tuesday through Saturday


• 
  Wilson Post, published twice a week

Radio

• 
  WANT 98.9 FM, country music/local sports and affairs^[18]


• 
  WCOR 1490 AM (simulcast of WANT)


• 
  WRVW 107.5 FM, licensed to Lebanon but primarily serves Nashville^[19]


• 
  WTWW, shortwave on several different frequencies

Television

• 
  WJFB 66, religious programming/TCT Network
  


• 
  WRTN 6, general/local programming

Infrastructure

Transportation

Interstate 40, which is the major corridor between Nashville and Knoxville, runs south of the city. I-840 connects I-40 to I-24 and I-65.

Railroad freight service is provided by the Nashville and Eastern Railroad short line.

Commuter rail service to Nashville began service in 2006 via the Music City Star.^[20] Lebanon is the eastern terminus of the Music City Star commuter rail service which runs via scheduled service Mon-Fri. There are two times when trains operate outside the normal service. July 4 fireworks at Riverfront Park calls for a special event train.^[21] In addition, when the Tennessee Titans play at home, a special service called Game-Day Express operates.^[22][23]

Rail service began in 1871 with the now defunct Tennessee & Pacific Railroad, which ran to Nashville. The last original passenger train departed Lebanon in 1935.

Lebanon has a municipal airport referenced by FAA Identifier M54. Operating two runways, M54's main runway is asphalt. Runway 1/19 is 5,000 by 100 feet (1,524 by 30 m). Runway 4/22 is turf 1,801 by 150 feet (549 by 46 m).^[24]

Education

The Lebanon Special School District encompasses four elementary schools and two middle schools. Wilson County Schools operates several additional primary and secondary schools in and around Lebanon, including Wilson Central High School and the newly reconstructed Lebanon High School.^[25] Lebanon also has two private schools, Friendship Christian School and McClain Christian Academy.

Lebanon is also home to Cumberland University, which was founded in 1842. The university has a rich heritage and has produced over eighty Congressmen and Senators such as Albert Gore, Sr. and Thomas Gore. The institution has also produced a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Cordell Hull, who served as Secretary of State from March 1933 to November 1944.^[26]

Notable people

• 
  Haystak (born 1973), rapper


• 
  George Huddleston (1869–1960), U.S. Representative from Alabama, 1915–1937


• 
  Thomas Kilby (1865–1943), 36th Governor of Alabama^[27]


• 
  Marcellus Neal (1868–1939), first African-American graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington


• 
  A C Wharton, Mayor of Memphis, 2009–2015

See also

• Lebanon (Music City Star station)


• Cedars of Lebanon State Park

References

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lebanon (Tennessee).

• City Government of Lebanon


• 
   "Lebanon. II. A town and the capital of Wilson co., Tennessee". The American Cyclopædia. 1879.