Glendower Historic Mansion on Cincinnati Avenue is permanently closed. The Warren County Historical Society says plainly that it "can no longer afford to maintain the property." A capital campaign meant to save it fell short. A few blocks away, the same organization's Harmon Museum has scheduled something on almost every weekend this October, along with several weeknights.
These two facts go together. The society calls itself a private nonprofit that gets most of its operating budget from admissions, event tickets and private donations. When the Harmon fills October with ghost walks, a cabin dinner and an afternoon tea, it is raising money for next year. Lebanon's biggest street party this month is also a fundraiser, and so is a good share of everything else on the calendar. Planning your fall around them puts money into the groups that keep downtown Lebanon interesting.
The Harmon Museum's busiest month
The museum is at 105 South Broadway. It's open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students and kids through 17, and free under 5. A family of four pays $20. In October, though, most of the museum's work happens outside regular hours:
| Date | Event | Time | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31 | Haunted Lebanon Ghost Walk | 7 p.m. | $20, ages 16+ |
| Thu., Oct. 15 | Honor Our History Cemetery Preservation Event | 9 a.m.–1 p.m. | Volunteer event |
| Oct. 16 | Classic Movies: A Night at the Opera | See ticket page | Refreshments included |
| Oct. 17 | Charley Harper: "EARTH–ART–ANIMALS" | 7 p.m. | $15 adult, $10 senior, $5 student |
| Oct. 22 | 1795 Beedle Log Cabin Dinner | 6 p.m. | $70 members, $75 nonmembers |
| Oct. 28 | Autumn Social Tea | Seatings at 1 and 2 p.m. | $40 members, $50 nonmembers |
Look at the seat limits. The log cabin dinner has room for 20 people. Each ghost walk takes 24. Across all eight nights, that comes to 192 spots for the whole season. The events are kept small on purpose, so if one of them is on your list, buy tickets early.
The ghost walk has a new route
This isn't the same tour you may have taken before. The museum says the Haunted Lebanon Ghost Walk "returns with a NEW route and NEW stops." A historian leads you through the historic downtown and tells the stories of some of Lebanon's unluckier past residents. Tours last up to an hour and fifteen minutes. Because the route runs close to the road, it's limited to ages 16 and up.
Groups meet at the Beedle Log Cabin, 141 South Broadway, near the museum's back entrance. Park in the library lot, which you reach from South Street. Tickets are $20 through the museum's ghost walk page.
The tour also ends near a drink deal. New this year, your ghost walk ticket gets you half off a glass of house wine or draft beer at the Golden Lamb. The Golden Lamb is at 27 South Broadway, a short walk up the street from the meeting spot. With a 7 p.m. start and a tour of about 75 minutes, you'll get there a little after 8:15.
If a tour listing elsewhere says $35, ages 13 and up, or October 10, 2025, it's showing last year's event. The museum's own page has this year's details.
A morning at Pioneer Cemetery
On Thursday, October 15, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Lebanon Pioneer Cemetery at West Mulberry Avenue and South West Street hosts the Honor Our History Cemetery Preservation Event. It's part of Lebanon's America 250 celebration. The Harmon Museum and the Turtlecreek Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will give a history overview. The Warren County Genealogical Society will lead tours of patriot gravesites, and anyone who comes can help clean the monuments. It takes place on a weekday morning.
Oktoberfest on Mulberry Street pays it forward, too
The Lebanon Oktoberfest, presented by Molson Coors, takes over Bicentennial Park and Mulberry Street on Friday, October 9, from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, October 10, from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Admission is free. According to the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, this year's proceeds go to the Warren County Environmental Fund.
The conservation district's event page lists these bands:
- Friday, 6–9 p.m.: Gerhard Albinus & The Uberland Band
- Saturday, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.: The Polka Pirates
- Saturday, 2:30–5 p.m.: Route 161 Happy Wanderers
- Saturday, 6:30–9:30 p.m.: Chardon Polka Band
Food vendors include Schmidt's Sausage Truck, Bavarian Nuts, A Cut Above – Schnitzel & More, and the Miamisburg Hamburger Wagon. The beer and wine lineup still says "TBD." Other listings show slightly different band times for Saturday afternoon and evening, so check the conservation district's page before you plan around a particular set.
Oktoberfest weekend is also the opening weekend of the ghost walk. A Saturday could look like brats on Mulberry Street at dinnertime, a 7 p.m. walk starting a few blocks away on South Broadway, and the Golden Lamb discount afterward.
The farms set the daytime schedule
The evenings belong downtown. The days belong to the family farms just outside it, and each one runs its season differently.
Irons Fruit Farm, 1640 Stubbs Mills Road, is open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The farm posts a weekend status update, and it's worth checking. For October 3 and 4, the corn maze and pumpkin patch were open. The store had cider, baked goods, caramel apples and several kinds of apples, but apple U-pick was not available that weekend. The farm's own pages list different Sunday opening times, so call or check the site before a Sunday visit.
Hidden Valley Orchards, 5474 North State Route 48, doesn't charge to come onto the farm. You pay for the activity packages, which run Friday through Sunday. The 2026 prices:
- Apple Play Pass: $7.50 adult, $15 child
- Farm Fun Pass: $14.50 adult, $22 child
- Ultimate Farm Pass: $26.50 adult, $34 child, including a medium pumpkin and a slush
Hidden Valley's Friday Night Pig Roast was moved from October 2 to Friday, October 9, from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission is free and plates are $25. Its Pumpkin Celebration follows on October 10 and 11. That means a single weekend holds the pig roast, the Pumpkin Celebration, Oktoberfest and the first two ghost walks.
If you're willing to drive a bit farther, Blooms & Berries Farm Market at 9669 South State Route 48 in Loveland runs Fall on the Farm every day through November 1, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. It has a five-acre corn maze, hayrides and a petting farm. Buy tickets online, because buying at the gate on Saturday or Sunday costs $5 more. Windmill Farm Market, 1454 East State Route 73 in Springboro, holds its fall festival Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., through October 31, with an adventure hayride.
How the rest of the month stacks up
After the first weekend, the LM&M Railroad becomes the anchor. Its Pumpkin Express runs October 17, 18, 24, 25 and 31. The ride ends at a fall stop at the Lebanon Sports Complex with a pumpkin, treats, inflatables, face painting and costumed characters.
- Oct. 16–17: The Marx Brothers at the Harmon on Friday, the Charley Harper program Saturday at 7 p.m., Pumpkin Express Saturday and Sunday, and ghost walks both nights.
- Oct. 24: Merchant Trick-or-Treat downtown at 1 p.m., a Pumpkin Express run and a 7 p.m. ghost walk. Kids can fill a bag in the afternoon while the adults book the evening tour.
- Oct. 31: A Saturday Halloween with the last Pumpkin Express, the last ghost walk at 7 p.m., and citywide Trick-or-Treat at 5:30 p.m. Those two evening times overlap, so families with trick-or-treaters will probably want an earlier ghost walk date.
The season doesn't stop at Halloween. The Lebanon Area Chamber has set the 37th Annual Horse-Drawn Carriage Parade & Festival for Saturday, December 5, with parades at 1 and 7 p.m. and a Christmas Festival and Market from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Harmon's movie series also keeps going, with Laurel & Hardy on November 20 and Charade on December 18.
I've lived in Lebanon all my life, and I've watched a lot of what makes it special survive because people bought the ticket, carried a pumpkin to the car or showed up with a scrub brush at an old cemetery. If an orchard weekend has you thinking about a few acres of your own, or about what a historic home or farm near town would mean for your family, I'm always happy to talk it through. Jenny England knows these back roads and old streets well. Let's Connect.
