Town of New Lebanon

New Lebanon was formed from the town of Canaan in 1818.

New Lebanon was the main spiritual home of the Shakers. The Mount Lebanon Shaker Society had 609 members in 1864. The most historic structures now belong to the Shaker Museum and Library. Some of the other surviving buildings are home to the Darrow School. Still others have been converted into a Sufi retreat center called the Abode of the Message. The latter is the former residence of Vilayat Inayat Khan, and is now the home of the current Pir of the Sufi Order International, Zia Inayat Khan.