Lebanon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,142 at the 2020 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, directly south of Willimantic, north of New London, and east of Hartford. The farming town is best known for its role in the American Revolution, where it was a major base of American operations, and for its historic town green, which is one of the largest in the nation and the only one still used partially for agriculture. History From Poquechaneed to Lebanon Lebanon was originally settled by the Mohegan people, an Algonquian-speaking tribe that inhabited the upper Thames River Valley in eastern Connecticut. The area was known as Poquechaneed and was used primarily for hunting. The town of Lebanon has its origins with the settlers of Norwich, who wanted to expand beyond the "nine miles square" they had bought from the Mohegan sachem Uncas. In 1663, the first grant in the area was given to Major John Mason, deputy governor of the Connecticut Colony; the next year, Mason accepted northwest of Norwich. This area, known as "Pomakuck" or "Pomocook" by the Mohegans, is now the Goshen Hill area of Lebanon. In 1666, Connecticut granted an additional to the Rev. James Fitch, minister of Norwich, adjacent to Maj. Mason's land which was now known as Cedar Swamp. The Mohegans conferred their blessing on the grants by giving an additional strip to Maj. Mason's son in 1675, who split the land with the Rev. Fitch, his father-in-law. This area is now known as "Fitch and Mason's Mile", or just "The Mile". In 1692, Uncas' son, Sachem Owaneco, sold to four men from Norwich and Stonington (including Sam Mason, another son of Maj. Mason), known as the "Five Mile Purchase" or "Five Mile Square" (being on each side). With the Purchase, most of the modern-day town of Lebanon was established. The town of Lebanon was incorporated by the General Assembly of the Connecticut Colony on October 10, 1700. The town's name was the idea of one of the Rev. Fitch's sons, because of "the height of the land, and a large cedar forest." Lebanon was the first town in the Connecticut Colony to be given a Biblical name. Originally (and now) in New London County, it was part of Windham County from 1726 to 1824. "Heartbeat of the Revolution" Connecticut's war effort during the