Come to Lebanon, Illinois: Where Dickens Walked

A visit to Lebanon, Illinois (pop 1814), will expose you to a charming small-town downtown business district along St Louis Street with a solid row of shops ranging from Fezziwig's to The Sweeter House of Coffee to The Tapestry Room Restaurant, with several antique shops and the Looking Glass Playhouse. Dr. Jazz Soda Fountain and Grille has one of only two operational old-fashioned soda fountains in the entire country. It has a telephone booth that was installed December 7, 1941, the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. There are several small dining establishments downtown.

Even back in the late 1800's, trolleys brought St Louis families to visit their summer homes in Lebanon and to shop along St Louis Street.

One claim to fame is that the Looking Glass Theater presents "A Christmas Carol" every holiday season  in a town once walked by Charles Dickens. In fact, one of the last of the direct descendants of the world-famous author, Cedric Charles Dickens, who passed away in 2006, used to send letters to Lebanon around the holidays. He twice visited Lebanon in 1986.

Dickens' 1842 Visit

In 1842, author Charles Dickens came from St Louis to visit Lebanon and to witness the flowering prairie two miles east of town. He didn't care much for the area, probably as much as anything because he arrived too early for the season amidst mud and discomfort. He did like his stay, however, at the Mermaid Inn. The Mermaid Inn, which still stands, at least in part, was built in 1830 and was operated by Captain Lyman Adams, a former sea captain who believed he had seen mermaids. Dickens wrote of his time at Lebanon in one of his books.

Historic Sites

The Mermaid Inn is a block east of the downtown shopping area. Behind the authentically-furnished inn is a vertical headstone for Captain Adams, brought to the site after it was replaced by a more ornate headstone at Adams' grave at a local cemetery.  Cedric Charles Dickens' second 1986 visit to speak at nearby McKendree College, now McKendree University, located on a 100-acre campus, the oldest college in Illinois, established in 1828. On campus is the Bothwell Chapel, built in 1858 and housing in its steeple the oldest bell in the United States, dating to 8th Century Spain.

Another historic landmark is the Swiss castle-inspired Gothic Georgian home built in 1854 for former Illoinois Governor Augustus French.

Playhouse

The Looking Glass Playhouse was established in 1973. The annual performance of "A Christmas Carol" is one of six presentations during the year. The former movie theater is reportedly the source of a half-dozen separate hauntings, and is on the ghost tour conducted by writer Len Adams. The ghost tour includes, for such a small town (about 3,500), a startling number of haunted sites in the downtown area.

Emerald Mound

A mile-and-a-half northeast of Lebanon, is Emerald Mound, created by the Mississippian Culture between 900-1000 AD. Emerald Mound is thought to be a part of the Cahokia Mound system in Collinsville, 12 miles distant as the crow flies.

Emerald Mound, as large as a city block, was a ceremonial mound, not a burial mound. The mound is shaped somewhat like a flat-topped pyramid. Approximately 56,000 cubic yards were carried by basket to create the mound, which has its corners aligned with the four points of the compass. Some artifacts from the mound site are on view at the visitor's center in downtown Lebanon. There's been no funding for archaeological development of the site.

There is no direct access by private drive, although there is an undeveloped easement. The mound itself is owned and protected by the state. Surrounding paved roads do allow views of the mound at distances of no more than half a mile.

Other Features

Annual events include the May Market, Fireman's Picnic, Classic Car Show/Concert, Fall Festival, Witch's Night Out (with spooky Halloween ghost stories), Victorian Holiday Celebration, Home Town Christmas, and the Holiday House Tour. Bus tours of the community can be arranged by the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce. The irregular Haunted Lebanon Tours featuring real ghost stories and led by Len Adams are booked through the Ghosts of the Prairie website.

Lebanon can be reached from St Louis in about half an hour along I-64, four miles North of the Highway 4 exit or on I-70, 11 miles south of the Highway 4 exit.

For information on related topics check out my Gather group, http://illinoisroadtrip.gather.com/.