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Municipal History of Lebanon County

In colonial times, the Lebanon Valley was part of Chester County, one of the three original counties of the Province of Pennsylvania. In 1729, the western section was divided off to make Lancaster County. After the Revolution, the area was divided again in 1785 with the formation of Dauphin County. In the early 1800s, local residents petitioned the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for a new county, citing the inconvenient travel time to Harrisburg and Lancaster to conduct routine county business. Finally, in 1813, Lebanon County was formed from portions of Lancaster and Dauphin counties, with minor boundary revisions in 1814 and 1821. [More History »]

The town of Lebanon became a borough in 1821, and in 1885, it was organized into a third-class city. Other townships of the county were divided and boroughs formed at various times as listed below.

Lebanon County Today

Municipality Year Formed Current Population
Lebanon County 1813 133,568
Lebanon City 1885 25,477
Annville Township 1912 4,767
North Annville Township 1845 2,381
South Annville Township 1845 2,850
North Lebanon Township 1840 11,429
South Lebanon Township 1840 9,463
West Lebanon Township 1901 781
North Cornwall Township 1926 7,553
West Cornwall Township 1892 1,976
Heidelberg Township 1813 4,069
Millcreek Township 1844 3,892
Jackson Township 1820 8,163
Bethel Township 1739 5,007
Swatara Township 1822 4,555
Union Township 1842 3,099
Cold Spring Township 1853 52
East Hanover Township 1813 2,801
North Londonderry Township 1894 8,068
South Londonderry Township 1894 6,991
Cleona Borough 1929 2,080
Cornwall Borough 1926 4,112
Jonestown Borough 1870 1,905
Mount Gretna Borough 1926 196
Myerstown Borough 1912 3,062
Palmyra Borough 1913 7,320
Richland Borough 1906 1,519

Annville Township was divided into North and South in 1845. In 1912, the new Annville Township was formed between the two to encompass the town of Annville. Hanover Township of Dauphin County was divided into East, West, and South. When Lebanon County was formed, East Hanover was split between the two counties. Londonderry Township was divided into North and South in 1894. Cold Spring Township was split off of East Hanover and Union Townships. Today it remains largely an unpopulated forest designated as state game lands.

Population statistics are 2010 results from the US Census Bureau.

More Information

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