New Lebanon, Ohio - History

The first property deeds in this part of Montgomery County were dated in 1805 when settlers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia began taking up homesteads.  In 1806, Jacob Diehl patented land on the north side of the road in what was to become Perry Township.  Two deeds to Diehl were signed by James Madison as President of the United States, and James Monroe, as his Secretary of State.  Jacob Diehl was a farmer and a cabinet maker.  With no regular undertakers around, he often made coffins which he then delivered by horseback to surrounding farms and settlements.  He died in February of 1841 and is buried in a small cemetery in Perry Township.

In 1806 a primitive road was built from Dayton to Eaton along an old Indian trail.  This was later replaced by the Dayton and Western Turnpike, complete in 1840.  In October of 1810, Henry Miller entered government land on the south side of the road in Jackson Township, and in 1827 sold it to John Brouse, a potter who had emigrated to Ohio from Virginia. 

On June 13, 1843, Jacob Grice laid off land into ten lots, and on the same day, John Brouse placed nine lots on the opposite side of the road, thus a village was formed here 154 years ago.  A Post Office was established here in October 1847, with the name of this Village as Medill.  In September 1847 the name of this small village was changed to New Lebanon although area residents called the village Sharpsburg.  It was not until the early 1900's that residents started to call the Village by its true name. 

New Lebanon incorporated in December 1878, with N.S. Price qualifying as Mayor and Abe Gauvey as Clerk-Treasurer.  The first regular election was held in April 1879.  Doctor Oscar F. Edwards was elected as Mayor.  Edwards served as Mayor until April of 1883 being re-elected to the position by area voters.

On March 13, 1844, in an area that was called Johnsville, a Post Office was established, although the area was not platted until 1850 when John Becker laid out his land along the south side of the road in Jackson Township.  This land was originally entered from the Governor by Samual Kinnamen in February 1817. The Johnsville Post Office ceased operations in August of 1906, and Johnsville ceased to exist as a separate community on October 11, 1965, when it was annexed to New Lebanon.  However, the western part of New Lebanon will probably always be referred to as Johnsville.

Public buildings were once cheap, and the first publicly owned building in the Village of New Lebanon was the prison, which was erected in 1882.  Village Council had no regular place to meet until 1894 when it purchased from Alvin Wilson a small 17 x 30 foot piece of ground on the southeast corner of lot number 2 along East Main Street.  Council appropriated the sum of $55 from the General Fund to pay for the land.  An Ordinance directed that Mayors Office and Council Chamber, together with a room "To be used for fire buckets" be erected on this land.  An additional $25 was appropriated for this purpose.  The Fire Buckets were left empty since this structure later burned to the ground.

In July of 1929, an Ordinance authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,000 to acquire and install fire apparatus, and $3,500 to acquire a suitable building for fire apparatus to operate.  The engine house was built in September of 1929 by contractor C.M. Phillips for a total cost of $2,845.  Until recently, this building was still standing as the front portion of the New Lebanon Fire Department.

Education

The first buildings in New Lebanon were crude, three sided structures, or log cabins, and one of the first concerns of the pioneers in the area was the means to provide an education for their children.  The first school was a log hut, a quarter mile east of the present intersection of Church and Main Streets.  Jacob Diehl went to school here in 1823.  Known as a subscription school, Robert Scatton and John H. Holsmiller were the teachers.  Two dollars were paid by parents for each student that attended.  This amount was paid in produce, livestock, or money. 

Soon the neighboring townships assumed responsibility for local education, and New Lebanon pupils had a difficult time getting to school due to the lack of bridges across two local creeks, or roads leading to the school buildings.  The District 7 Schoolhouse was located on what we now know as Old Dayton Road.  Four more school buildings were built between the First Number 7 school during the 1860's.  The first of these was built near the present site of Eversole Church.  Foot travel to school was difficult.  A small frame building was erected in the corner of the woods just north of the Village in the vicinity of The American Legion Park, on North Church Street.  The building was jokingly referred to as "Ground Squirrel Academy."

Finally a small foot bridge was built across the largest of the two creeks, but was destroyed in a tornado on May 12, 1886.  A larger footbridge was built, only to be pulled down by men who were trying to straighten it.

Today, the New Lebanon Local School District has three buildings which house the student populations.  New Lebanon Schools have achieved many awards including their music programs.  The school is called Dixie because at one time, State Route 25, which is known as Dixie Highway, was slated to come through the Village of New Lebanon.  The district decided to call itself Dixie, unfortunately State Route 25 was re-routed but the name remained.  For additional information on the history of the school system, contact the New Lebanon Board of Education, 937-687-1301.

New Lebanon Bulletin

The first newspaper to focus on the Village was started in July of 1877 and was called the New Lebanon Bulletin.  Christian B. Bright was the editor of this paper from 1878 to 1880.  The paper ceased publication in 1881.

New Lebanon - its People

There have been a number of noted New Lebanon residents.  One of the Village's most notable was Harlen Fengler.  For racing enthusiasts this name is familiar. "Harlen Fengler was the Chief Steward of the Indianapolis 500 from1958 thru 1973. It is a little known fact that Harlen was also a driver at Indianapolis during the 1923 race. His starting position was 19th and he finished 16th after experiencing a problem with his gas tank on lap 69 of that years race. There is also a misconception that Harlen was the person who started the race with those famous words "Gentleman Start Your Engines" but in fact that was the speedways owner Mr. Tony Hulman," stated Charles Leonard, Jr. Fengler was inducted into the Indy 500 Hall of Fame, and had a small dirt track on the edge of Johnsville in the 1960's.

Another noted figure in the history of New Lebanon is Coach Columbus Hines.  The late Coach Hines was a living legend in the annals of Ohio High School Basketball.  Hines coached at Dixie and the gymnasium bears his name.

According to the records, the population of New Lebanon in 1990 was 4,323, a figure that doubles the 1960 recorded number of 1,459.

The average age for residents of New Lebanon is 35, two years older than the 1990 census median age which was 33.  Seventy percent of New Lebanon residents hold a high school diploma or advanced degree.

Municipal Building

In 1997 the Village of New Lebanon built a new Municipal Building to house the Council Room, Mayors Office, Municipal Managers Office, and the Police Station.  The old Municipal Building, a converted farmhouse, was unable to house all the Village's governmental offices and the Police Station adequately.  The original Police Station had only one holding cell, where prisoners stayed until Mayor Moore was summoned to the station.  This Station had only outside toilet facilities and featured a large dinner bell that was used to sound fire alarms.  When Mayor Moore's term ended in the 1970s, modernization occurred.  Chief Winkler formed a dispatch service that used CBs, the frequency for which was routed through the State Highway Patrol in Lima.  Calls received by the police were also rung into the Winkler's home.  Mr. or Mrs. Winkler would then get in their car and drive until they located the officer on duty.  This practice continued through the 1960's.  The Sheriff's Department took over dispatch for New Lebanon with call number #33.  However, the line to the Winkler home remained for many years.  During the 50's and 60's, if an officer needed to check or verify an individual's license they had to call Piqua for that information.

Presently, the Department is dispatched through the Brookville, New Lebanon, Perry Township Communications Center located in Brookville.

There are many interesting community activities that take place in the Village of New Lebanon.  Stagecoach days features a 5K run, food, a parade, craft booths, activities and fund-raisers for many organizations.  This annual event takes place in June.

Christmas in the Village is one of the newest community activities.  Bringing together many social, civic, and religious groups, the Celebration has wide-spread media coverage.  The Annual Fruit sale, religious presentations, participation of school music groups, scouts, local entertainment, and much more -- Christmas in the Village will continue to grow.  Last year many local businesses participated in open houses, churches presented plays and musical entertainment, a benefit auction was held for local residents, wagon rides for visitors, special observations, caroling and crafters were only part of this project sponsored by the New Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce.

Other New Lebanon History & Genealogical Sources

Miami Valley Genealogical Index
This is an index of more than 535,000 records of some of the persons that were early residents in Ohio's Miami Valley. Owned by the Computerized Heritage Association, 90% of the data is pre-1900. A wonderful source for beginning New Lebanon and area genealogical research.

Ohio Historical Society
The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885 "...to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio." The society exists to interpret, preserve, collect, and make available evidence of the past, and to provide leadership on furthering knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the prehistory and history of Ohio and of the broader cultural and natural environments of which Ohio is a part.

Ohio GenWeb
A great starting place for Ohio genealogy. Links to individual county sites.

Montgomery County Rootsweb Site
Montgomery County genealogy. Neighboring counties linked.

Genealogical Society of Montgomery County, Ohio
Local chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

Daniel R. Dunihue Diary
This diary was maintained by Daniel R. Dunihue during the period he was engaged to help conduct the removal a group of Seneca and Shawnee from near New Lebanon, Ohio to Missouri in 1832.