The Streets Where Dickens Walked
The historic town of Lebanon, located 23 miles east of St. Louis, was founded in the spring of 1814 by William H. Bradsby and his family. The family came from near Lebanon, Kentucky and chose Lebanon as the name for the new town in Illinois.
During the 1800s, Lebanon became a significant milling, distilling, brewing, and manufacturing town. At one time, the town boasted nine saloons, five hotels, and a wide array of flour mills, distilleries, a brewery and saw mills.
McKendree University, founded in 1828, is the oldest existing college in Illinois. The college is located in the northwest section of Lebanon. Nearly 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students attend McKendree with nearly 75% living in campus housing.
Nearby, Horner Park, a 58-acre tract of land with old growth trees, features a five acre fishing lake, tennis courts, soccer field, two baseball diamonds and a short nature walk. It is also home to Lebanon's Winter Wonderland of Lights. Two other parks operate in the city's boundaries.
In the late 1890's, Lebanon was known as a resort town with wealthy families from St. Louis building summer homes or staying in the hotels. Today, the historic town still remains as an eclectic community with cultural events and the Looking Glass Playhouse, the Hettenhausen Center for Performing Arts, and Locust Hills Golf Club which dates back to the 1930s.
In 1842 Charles Dickens traveled to America, as far as St. Louis at the time, to pen his American Notes which was published later that year. On April 12, Dickens and his entourage of thirteen men stayed that afternoon and evening, departing the next morning. He wrote of his "Jaunt to the Looking Glass Prairie and Back" referring to his stay at the Mermaid House Inn and his walk about Lebanon. His next writing in 1843 was his most remembered A Christmas Carol. It is believed he received some of his inspiration for the story from his stay in Lebanon the previous year. A Christmas Carol is performed every Holiday season at Lebanon's famed Looking Glass Playhouse. In April, Charles Dickens Days are celebrated over the weekend closest to the time he stayed here in 1842. Lebanon is the only Illinois city where Dickens stayed overnight.
From 1903 until 1928, the East St. Louis and Suburban Railway interurban line operated to Lebanon. At that time, many affluent St. Louisians had summer country cottages in Lebanon. They would travel to Lebanon by horse and buggy or by interurban to get away from the hectic life of the city
In 1917, Scott Air Force Base was opened just south of Lebanon. It was one of the very first of the new air bases in the country brought on by the onset of World War I. 90 years later, Scott Air Force Base continues strong as one of the largest employers in metropolitan St. Louis. Today, Scott houses three global command headquarters for the military. Many active and retired Air Force personnel make their homes in Lebanon.
Opened in 1998, Mid-America St. Louis Airport is located adjacent and parallel to Scott Air Force Base and just three miles south of Lebanon. Built to take some of the burden off of St. Louis Lambert Airport and to better serve the needs of the over 500,000 residents of the metro east area. At the present time, no commercial passenger airlines utilize the airport.
Visitors can enjoy stepping back in time while walking along St. Louis, Belleville, Center, and Main Streets to see a variety of architectural styles from Greek Revival, Gothic, Italinate, English Country, Queen Anne, Georgian and Southern Colonial. In the early summer of 2010, the famed brick street (St.Louis Street) will be completely rebuilt from Monroe to Horner Street. Completion is expected by early July. Guided tours of the historic Mermaid House are available year round with advance reservations.
Shoppers from southern Illinois and metro St. Louis are often found spending their weekends browsing through the quaint specialty, antique, gift and craft shops along St. Louis Street or dining at one of the nine food and drink establishments on St. Louis Street.