Indigenous nations in the area of what is now Lebanon included the Shawnee, Susquehannock, Gawanese, Lenape (or Delaware), and Nanticoke peoples.

San Giorgio pasta has been manufactured in Lebanon since 1914,[9] and was acquired by nearby Hershey Foods Corporation in 1966.

Average monthly temperatures in center city Lebanon range from 29.4 °F in January to 74.3 °F in July.

[11] The city and vicinity have a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) and the local hardiness zone is 6b.

Locals consistently pronounce the Pennsylvania city's name /ˈlɛbənən/ ("Leb-a-nin") and many shorten it to two syllables—"Leb-nin" or even "Lep-nin."

[18] An infamous 1878 murder near Fort Indiantown Gap resulted in a trial of six defendants who all had blue eyes.

They were given the moniker the Blue-eyed Six by a newspaper reporter who attended the trial, held in the Lebanon county courthouse.

The trial received worldwide publicity and provided inspiration to Arthur Conan Doyle in writing the Sherlock Holmes short story "The Red-Headed League" (1891).

Lebanon is one of several Pennsylvania towns to drop or raise a unique item at midnight on New Year's Eve.

It is encased in a metal frame and suspended from a fire department ladder truck, and donated to a local rescue mission after the celebration.

[20] In December 2008, the TV show Dirty Jobs, hosted by Mike Rowe, visited the Seltzer's Smokehouse Meats to film production of Lebanon bologna.

Local points of interest listed on the National Register of Historic Places[25] include: