East End Historic District
Why it's listed
East End is a neighborhood of roughly 230 structures on about 50 acres immediately east of Lebanon's commercial center. Most buildings are modest middle-class homes, many with frame outbuildings, though several large houses were built by prosperous merchants and businessmen. The district also holds the Warren County Courthouse, with an 1835 core and an 1894 front addition, the Sheriff's Residence and Jail, most of the city's nineteenth-century churches, an I.O.O.F. Hall from 1887 and the 1909 Ghent shoe factory. Architectural styles run from Federal houses of about 1820 through Greek Revival, Italianate, Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and bungalow forms. Local builders such as Ezra Craver and Amos Bennett built many of the brick houses, and George Bundy made several iron porches. Earlier houses sit in the west, while Carpenter Gothic and Queen Anne homes cluster in the east, built during the 1880s building boom. The boundaries follow the area with the least alteration.
Significance in brief: The district is nominated for its concentration of the least-altered historic building styles in Lebanon, ranging from Federal to American foursquare. It holds important institutional buildings and most of the city's nineteenth-century churches. It also reflects continuous neighborhood development, including a building boom in the last decades of the 1800s.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 84000419, listed October 10, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by South, Mound, Pleasant, and Cherry Sts., Lebanon |
|---|---|
| County | Warren County |
| Listed | October 10, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84000419 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Local builders Ezra Craver, Amos Bennett, and Monroe and Johnston; ironworker George Bundy (porches) |
| Architectural style | Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, bungalow |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The district's main National Normal University building was torn down in 1977; its site is now a park and courthouse parking lot. |
| Acreage | 50 |
| Coordinates | 39.43471, -84.19985 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 84000419.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.