Ask any longtime Lehigh Valley resident to name their most beloved building in downtown Easton and you’ll likely hear this as the answer – the old Pomeroy’s store on Northampton Street. An iconic example of the “golden age of downtown shopping,” Pomeroy’s Department Store occupied the structure from 1947 until the end of 1976. The building itself, however, dates back to t... »
Formed in 1759 as a closed Moravian community on land owned by the Moravian Church, Emmaus is tucked into the north slope of South Mountain in Lehigh County. The town’s name was changed to Emaus (one “M”) in 1830 and the village of 200 acres was incorporated as a borough in 1859. In 1938 the Emaus Rotary Club circulated petitions to change the name back and Emaus again bec... »
The 18th Century village that was called Dorneyville, unlike other ancient crossroad hamlets in the Lehigh Valley, is not just a cluster of old buildings frozen in time. Instead, it continues to evolve, alive and bustling with activity and pulsing with traffic. “It’s flourishing,” says Jon A. Hammer, who has served as township manager for the past two years. Dorneyville’s ... »
Just a short 20-minute drive along Route 222 through Maxatawny Township rests the charming Borough of Kutztown, representing the midway point between the Lehigh Valley and Reading. Originally named Cootstown, after George Coots who purchased 130 acres from prosperous land owner Peter Wentz in 1755, Kutztown was incorporated as a borough in 1815 and is the second oldest bor... »
Well we’re living here in Allentown And they’re closing all the factories down… The City of Allentown has blown those 1982 Billy Joel lyrics sky high with its 250th anniversary celebration, a multi-part extravaganza stretching from New Year’s Eve 2012 to New Year’s Eve 2013. TV host and magician Barte Shadlow, with input from residents in many city neighborhoods, has repla... »
If a sense of history involves both a perception of the pastness of the past, and of its presence, then T.S. Eliot might well have had Fountain Hill in mind. A small borough only three-quarters of a square mile in size, Fountain Hill is huge in terms of its historical past, and its contributions to the present character of the Lehigh Valley. Birthplace of Pulitzer-Prize-wi... »
Whitehall Township, just north of Allentown, is a study in contrasts: of old and new, historical sites and high-tech commerce, agriculture and industry. The township boasts of producing several professional athletes, including NFL linebacker Matt Millen and Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Simmons; played a crucial role in the state’s settlement by Europeans; is home to ... »
It’s all about old and new in Forks Township. A case in point is the restored merchant’s wagon which grabs the spotlight within the clean architectural lines of the Forks Township Municipal Building on Sullivan Trail. And Sullivan Trail itself, still one of the municipality’s main thoroughfares, marks the route taken by Major General John Sullivan in June 1779 as he marche... »
Positioned along the banks of the Delaware River, Phillipsburg is the largest town in Warren County, New Jersey. Like many towns in the Lehigh Valley, Phillipsburg was settled by Native Americans in the mid-1600s, but growth came slowly – there were 30 homes in 1820 and only 50 in 1847 – and the town wasn’t officially incorporated until March of 1861. By 1870 the populat... »
Long before the cluster of hotels, business parks and distribution centers dotted the perimeter of Fogelsville, the Native Americans of the Lenni Lenape tribe inhabited the territory west of Kuhnsville and North of Trexlertown in what is now part of Upper Macungie Township. By the mid 1700s German immigrants, attracted to the rich soil and copious water sources, establishe... »
