The Town of Lisbon, located on the historic "National Road," was designed and built by Caleb Pancoast. His design of the town was such that it can make claim to being the first planned community in Howard County.

Barbara Feaga, in her book Howard's Roads to the Past, indicates that there were other Howard County firsts for the town that all those traveling west must pass through: the first Presbyterian Church, the first high school, and the first non-teaching principal.

PHC feels that selecting this historic area and the available initiatives in preserving National Road communities under heritage tourism programs could serve as a catalyst for the continued revitalization of the town and influence the appropriate commercialization favored by the community.