Allentown, Lehigh County

I am once again trying to unsubscribe from weather. This time it's Tropical Depression Fred, which is crawling over Pennsylvania and threatening to dump rain on us. Hopefully it passes without much incident.

While I'm attempting to move as little as possible, let's take a virtual visit to my husband's hometown. The third-largest city in the commonwealth has, unsurprisingly, multiple markers to its name, all of them with the same information, and we'll take a look at what was originally just a little rural village. However, I must apologize - I only have a picture of the marker in this post at the moment, because I'm having difficulty uploading images to Blogger. I'll come back and edit in the future to add some more pictures.

This particular marker is on PA 145, at the intersection
with West Mountain Road. Identical markers are also
found on PA 145 north of the Sumner Avenue overpass,
on Tilghman Street near 30th Street, on Walbert Avenue
near PA 22, and on PA 309. Allentown is big.

Fun fact: The Billy Joel song "Allentown" is really more about Bethlehem. It's just that Bethlehem is kind of tricky to put into song lyrics, unless you're writing a Christmas carol. 

The land which today is Allentown was originally part of a tract of land deeded to the sons of William Penn by chiefs of the five great Native American nations. William Allen purchased the land in 1735 and had it surveyed the following year. It's believed that in or about 1740, he constructed and used a log cabin along the banks of the Jordan Creek, which he used for hunting and fishing and entertaining guests. Allen was a successful businessman; at one time was the mayor of Philadelphia, and at the time he acquired the land that would become Allentown, he was the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania. 

It was, when first developed, called Northamptontown, as it was then part of Northampton County. That was the official name for some time. However, right from the start, most people liked to refer to the place as "Allen's town," owing to the plans having been drawn up by Judge Allen. He was attracted to the idea of this parcel of land becoming a center of trade and commerce via the nearby Lehigh River. The river, however, tends to run shallow for much of the year, and isn't really suitable for what Allen had in mind. Anyone who has lived in the vicinity of the Lehigh can tell you that it's got a personality all its own, and it doesn't cooperate much. This would later result in the installation of a certain canal system.

The official plans for Allentown were drawn up in 1762. The bulk of the residents were Pennsylvania Dutch immigrant farmers, with German being the predominant language. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania still has the original plan drawn by Judge Allen, showing a town consisting of 756 lots laid out in 42 city blocks. Several streets were named after the judge's children, although all of these have since been renamed; this includes Allen Street, which today is known as Seventh Street, part of PA 145. Hamilton Street, which still retains its name, was named after James Hamilton, the judge's brother-in-law, and for many years in the 20th century it was considered the high-end shopping district of the Lehigh Valley.

The community is technically named for William Allen, but it's his son James who is arguably the more famous resident. In the late 1760s, his father gave him the land, and he built a beautiful stone summer home which he named Trout Hall. Trout Hall remains standing today, the oldest enduring home in the city. I won't go into too much detail about it, because it has its own marker and also because you have to have permission from the historical society to publish photographs of it and I haven't gotten that yet.

The American Revolution, of course, had a strong impact on the community. A few buildings served as hospitals for the Continental Army following the Battle of Trenton, and armorers set up shop along the banks of the Little Lehigh Creek. It's alleged that George Washington himself rode through the streets of the city and watered his horse at a spring, but it's unknown whether this is true. One story we do know for certain is true, though, took place on Hamilton Street. A lovely little church was catapulted into history when it became the hiding place for the Liberty Bell, to conceal it from the British troops who intended to melt it down. Known today as Zion's UCC, it's more commonly identified as "the Liberty Bell Church," and has a museum in the basement to talk about its significance. As of July 2022, it now has its very own historical marker, so you can learn about that in this post.

In 1811 the land was formally incorporated as the borough of Northampton Town. It had been a hope cherished by William Allen, and likewise by many others after him, that it would displace Easton as the county seat of Northampton County. Instead, in 1812, Lehigh County was formed from the portion of Northampton County west of the Lehigh River, and Northampton Town was named the county seat of the newborn county. In 1838, the longstanding colloquial name was adopted officially, and it has been called Allentown ever since. It achieved city status in 1867, and is today the third largest city in Pennsylvania.

As mentioned in other posts, the American industrial revolution got its start in Lehigh County, in my own native Catasauqua, and the impact it had on the growing Allentown was tremendous. The city's importance was aided by the rise of the canals followed by the rise of the railroads, and the powerful industries of coal, iron, and timber, as well as growing manufacturing opportunities for materials like silk and beer. Waves of incoming immigrants, chiefly German and Irish, provided the workforce. 

In 1852, the first Allentown Fair was held to celebrate the area's achievements in agriculture; this has since been an annual event, turning over the years into an extravaganza which includes amusement rides and games and food and live music, and also a demolition derby for some reason. It remains one of the oldest continuing county fairs in the United States, known today as the Great Allentown Fair, and has happened every year with only a handful of exceptions; 1862 canceled the fair because of the Civil War. In 1917 and 1918, World War I saw the fairgrounds turned into Camp Crane, a training ground for military medics. From 1942 to 1945, the fair was canceled due to World War II. And the fair was also canceled in 2020 because... well, so was everything else. But it's back this year, and will kick off on Thursday, September 2nd. 

Today, Allentown is extremely diverse. Businesses are interspersed with a parks system to keep the city green. Education thrives here; in addition to the Allentown School District and the schools operated by the Diocese of Allentown, the city has two charter schools. It's also home to Muhlenberg College, a four-year liberal arts college, and Cedar Crest College, founded in 1867, which is dedicated to the education of women.

The Allentown Art Museum, founded in 1934, sits at the approximate center of a growing arts community. This includes Miller Symphony Hall, formerly the Lyric Theatre; in 1899 it became the home of vaudeville acts and Broadway musicals, but since 1959 it has been the headquarters of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. There's also the Allentown Band, the oldest civilian concert band in the United States, which has been providing music for various events and locations since 1828. The Lehigh Valley Arts Council is headquartered in Allentown. The Civic Theatre has been showing indie films and stage productions since 1927, while the MunOpCo Music Theatre has been providing musical productions since 1929. In addition to the Liberty Bell museum mentioned above, Allentown museums include the Da Vinci Science Center (a science museum on the grounds of Cedar Crest College), the Museum of Indian Culture (about the history of Native Americans in the area), America On Wheels (about the history of transportation), and the Lehigh Valley Heritage Center (the museum of the Lehigh County Historical Society). Basically, you really have to try very hard in order to be bored in Allentown.

But if you still need something to do, there's always Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, which is where I'll wrap this up. My longtime readers know that I wrote a book about one of Dorney's competitors, which no longer exists; in fact, none of Dorney's regional competitors exist anymore. The park was established in 1860 as a fish hatchery and summer resort, and its founder, Solomon Dorney, eventually expanded it into a public attraction. Today it's owned by Cedar Fair, LLC. Among its offerings are what was always known as "the yellow roller coaster," finally given the name of Thunderhawk in 1989, which in 2021 was acknowledged by the American Coaster Enthusiasts as a Landmark Coaster; it's one of the ten oldest roller coasters still running in the world. 

It's another piece of history on the Allentown books.

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Sources and Further Reading:

Official website of the City of Allentown

Haurer, James J. "The History of Allentown City." Published 1902, reprinted on LehighValleyHistory.com.

Roberts, Charles R. "William Allen, the Founder of Allentown, and His Descendants." Proceedings of the Lehigh County Historical Society. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Lehigh County Historical Society, 1908.

Allentown at the Historical Marker Database (the one pictured in this post - other Allentown markers can be found here and here)

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.