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Throwback Thursday: The Lingsweiler Building
By: Eric D. Tudor – 03/03/25
Step back in time with us as we explore the history of one of Downtown Lebanon’s landmark buildings – what many still remember as the newspaper building on the corner of Commercial and Jefferson.
In 1935, The Lebanon Publishing Company was born when two local papers—The Rustic Republican and The Lebanon Daily Times—merged under the ownership of Fred Mays. Mays ran the operation until 1953, when O.R. Wright took the reins. But it would still be years before the company called this corner home.
Go even further back, and this lot tells a different story. In 1868, when the railroad arrived in Lebanon, this space was nothing more than a vacant lot, often used by rural folks to sell livestock. By the 1880s, it had transformed into part of Lebanon Band Park, stretching further down East Commercial Street. Then, in 1912, the Lingsweiler family – owners of a local lumber company (where MFA stands today) – built the sturdy, two-story brick structure with a basement that still stands today.
Over the decades, the building housed a variety of businesses, each leaving its own mark on downtown history. It was Homer Thomas Drugs & Cigars in the 1910s, a jewelry store in the 1930s and ’40s, Perry’s Firestone in the 1960s, Rechter’s Discount Store in the 1970s, and even our very first Dollar General in the 1990s.
Then came April 2004, when an unexpected event shook downtown – literally. A Dollar General tractor-trailer crashed into the building’s corner at Jefferson. Miraculously, despite the extensive damage, no one was seriously injured—it happened on a Saturday, and luck was on our side.
Downtown Lebanon is full of stories, and this corner has seen it all. Stay tuned for more history in our Throwback Thursday series!
#DowntownLebanonMO #ThrowbackThursday #HistoricLebanon
