When the post office came to Half Moon Prarie, it was asked to supply a shorter name for the cancel. The newly appointed Postmaster Jotham Goodell reversed the lettering of his daughter's name and Mabel became Lebam.

For many years it had a prosperous sawmill operation serviced by the NPRR which ran between the mill and the town. Despite two major fires in 1910, the town was rebuilt. The sawmill lasted until the 1920's. Today, it's a quiet residential and farming community.