7 Wonders of Lebanon County

1. A navigable river on maps since the 1700's, the Swatara Creek: Water source, recreation, geology, history, scenic beauty. The Swatara is now a Water Trail recognized both statewide and nationally.  Appalachian Trail Bridge, a lenticular structure span.
2. Alden Place, Cornwall
3. Annville just gets prettier and prettier, while in downtown ____ it ain't not.  Allen Theatre, Victorian mansions, churches, Kettering's Corner, florist, Batdorf, Brandt's Flour Mill in Annville has been in operation since the 1800's....  The Annville train station.
4. Area behind "Pa's Place" in Jonestown, had something to do with the Under Ground Railroad
5. Bed and Breakfast Inns: Strawberry Patch, Swatara Creek Inn, Tulpehocken Manor…
6. Bethlehem Steel--Babe Ruth lived and played here
7. Blue Mountain: a bird flyway, fossils, hunting
8. Bordner cabin & Aycrigg's Falls in Swatara State Park
9. Brazenhill, the former Worrilow Mansion
10. Camp Bashore Boy Scout Camp; “Old Black Joe’s” hut (now a replica) is the site where this runaway slave lived alone on Camp Bashore property (then the Fahler farm) until the ripe old age of 112.
11. Chow chow
12. Coleman's Park: Glider swings, Music in the Park, tennis courts, mini golf, baseball, fireworks, envirothons, picnics, swimming pool….
13. Cornwall Iron Furnace, Open Pit, Miner's Village....
14. Downtown Lebanon architecture such as the Samler Building; Stoy Museum, Cumberland St.--home of the Historical Society;  Washington Tavern....  People travel to Europe to see the kind of architecture that we have downtown. 
15. Farmer's Market:  Buy Fresh, Buy Local, restaurants....
16. Farms--Century farms, preserved farms, Rich soil
17. Fort Indiantown Gap: Since 1930. One of 15 air to ground bombing & gunnery ranges in US & the Army's only artillery range in PA.  PA National Guard Military Museum.  National Cemetery and amphitheater.  Regal Frittalary butterfly habitat, largest habitat east of the Mississippi.  Civil War re-enactment
18. Fort Zeller in Newmanstown
19. From the Tunnel to locks, remnants of the Union Canal; Stover's Dam, Ebenezer Lake
20. 4H Fair at the EXPO each July: Animals, rodeo, tractors, demolition derby, hot air balloons, acrobats, food, music, rides….
21. Harper's Tavern, a former stagecoach stop
22. Heisey's Diner:  The smell of bacon wafting over the fields
23. Historic churches: St. Luke's Church, 22 South 6th; Tabor UCC, 124 S 10th; Salem Lutheran Church, 119 N 8th; St. Mark's UCC, 426 N. 8th; Assumption  Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Mary's) at 8th & Cumberland…and their stained glass windows.  Bindnagle's in Palmyra, built in 1803/04 with a congregation dating to 1745.
24. Historic Schaefferstown / Fountain Park: firepans unearthed by archaeology for stills in the basement of the Schaeffer farm that predate the stills found in Mt. Vernon; Wooden (oak) water pipes, Thomas R. Brendle Museum, Gemberling-Rex House from the 1750's, the Alexander Schaeffer Farm, Michters Distillery, Krall Log Barn (being dismantled and preserved)....
25. Hole # 1 on Monroe Valley golf course, the view through the mountain gap  is simply beautiful.
26. Hole #10 at Iron Valley Golf Course, looking out over the Lebanon Valley is awesome.
27. Home of Opera Fudge; Caramel Corn from Wertz Candies. Wertz's appeared on "Dirtiest Jobs." Jean's chocolate art. (Van Winkle's makes opera fudge too.)  Lebanon used to have an opera house, really, and on the way, people would stop by the local candy store to buy fudge to eat at the opera.  So, they started to call it opera fudge.
28. Corn pie, Dippy eggs, Hot Dogs from the William Penn, Potato filling
29. John Worrilow, a walking talking history book.  Former Mayor of the City of Lebanon.
30. Kleinfeltersville, which is the longest spelling of a Post Office in the Country
31. Lebanon Bologna made by Weaver's, Seltzer's, Baum's and Kutztown Bologna!  Lee Laudermilch also makes his own brand of Lebanon Bologna.
32. Lebanon Valley College founded in 1866, Suzanne Arnold Art Gallery.
33. Limestone Springs Trout Hatchery
34. LV Rail Trail ---- 20 + miles connect to the Conewago trail in Lancaster. Bridges, spurs to the “Jigger shop,” Governor Dick, Horse Shoe Trail.
35. Legend of the Blue-Eyed Six--the first case where someone was murdered for life insurance.
36. Light's Fort at 11th and Maple streets--the oldest standing house (1742) in Lebanon County
37. Log House on Chestnut St, in Lebanon
38. Meier House, original in EVERY way, from the 1600's!!
39. MiddleCreek Wildlife Refuge--part of Project 70.  Try to visit when the snow geese rest on their migration.
40. Miller's Restaurant, Jonestown--Home of the 5-cent cup of coffee
41. Mt. Gretna: The bucolic century old hillside resort, a hot spot in the county since 1892! The history & how it adds spice & uniqueness to our community. The Lake, Jigger Shop, Chautauqua Play House, Timbers, hard-wood forest, Dinosaur rock, Governor Dick & tower...
42. One time largest outdoor swimming pool in the state at the Gibble property
43. Pig stomach
44. Pork and Sauerkraut
45. Potpie
46. Quarries:  Calcite, Avon Heights; Richland's Millardsville Quarry; Annville's Millard Quarry; Smith's Quarry
47. Railroad Stations--Cornwall and Lebanon, Reading--on North 8th Street and Chestnut Street.   There's a nice one on North Railroad Street in Palmyra too.
48. Richland: the only town in the country that has a Railroad crossing that cuts it's town in half and intersects the town square. Listed in Ripley's Believe It or Not books and it was also a Jeopardy question.
49. St. Anthony's Wilderness (one of the largest gameland areas in the state), once a railroad, and runs eastward 20 miles from the Susquehanna River, Dauphin County, to the Lebanon Reservoir, Schuylkill County. Also called Stony Creek Trail.  On the western Lebanon County boundary shared with Dauphin County is Yellow Spring tower, and the eastern boundary shared with Schuylkill County contains Box Car Rocks, or Chinese Wall, also known as Point of Rocks.  Drive through once each year--when the leaves turn color.
50. Schwalm's in Cleona
51. Shoofly pie
52. Shuey's pretzels with their brick oven, a great little place at 7th Avenue and East Lehman Street
53. The caring people of Lebanon County.
54. The language is also a wonder for people who are not native to the county.
55. YMCA, 105 years strong

    

What do we share with our neighbors in south-central PA?  National Rankings for Living in the Midstate (Patriot News):