Community Profile: Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

Historical Information*

The Lehigh Valley is generally considered to comprise Lehigh and Northampton counties. Carbon County is also included in the broader MSA. This region has historically relied on manufacturing industries such as coal mining, iron and steel making, zinc mining, and silk manufacturing to fuel the economy, but it has had to redefine itself over the last few decades.

The Lehigh Valley was originally inhabited by the Lenni Lenape tribe. The first European settlement of the area was in 1728 in what is today Allen Township, Northampton County, and it was called the “Irish settlement.” Over the next two decades, the area was steadily settled by other European immigrants. In 1741, the Moravians moved into the area that today is the city of Bethlehem and founded Moravian College in 1742.

Northampton County was created on March 11, 1752, from a portion of Bucks County. Bethlehem was incorporated as a city in 1845 and became a hub of industry and trade during the Industrial Revolution, including being the world headquarters for Bethlehem Steel, once the second largest steel manufacturer in the U.S. Anthracite coal was discovered in the region in 1790 and helped to make Easton one of the most prominent settlements in Northampton County. The city of Easton, incorporated in 1789, was important because of its location at the junction of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, which provided settlers with a waterway for transporting goods. In 1829, the Lehigh Canal opened to connect Mauch Chunk, known today as Jim Thorpe, and Easton along the Lehigh River.

Lehigh County was officially formed from part of Northampton County in 1812, but a large number of Germans had settled the area in the early to mid 18th century. Many of the Germans who settled in the Lehigh Valley, in both Lehigh and Northampton counties, are commonly referred to today as the Pennsylvania Dutch. The city of Allentown was founded in the county in 1762 by William Allen, a former mayor of Philadelphia and prominent businessman. The city was located along the Lehigh River, but the water was too shallow in the area to be adequate for transportation. Because of this, the area was still a rural village until the Industrial Revolution in the 1830s and 1840s. The Lehigh Canal and, later, railroads were developed in the area and the local iron industry was founded. However, the Panic of 1873 hurt Lehigh County, including Allentown, and led to the decline of the iron industry. By the beginning of the 20th century, the area had begun to recover with the opening of silk mills in place of the old iron furnaces. Machinery manufacturing flourished until the 1970s when deindustrialization occurred. In the last few decades, with the decline of manufacturing and the growth of the service industry, the city has been trying to rebuild and attract new business downtown.

Carbon County was created in 1843 from parts of Northampton and Monroe counties. Jim Thorpe, originally named Mauch Chunk, was incorporated in 1850. It was renamed Jim Thorpe in 1954 in honor of a famous Native American athlete. The county was home to the first large-scale railroad in America called the switchback. The railroad was originally designed to carry coal but, later, became a tourist attraction. The county’s population growth followed trends in the anthracite coal industry. It grew from the early 19th century through the 1920s but then began to decline with the decrease in the demand for coal. In recent decades, the population has increased, in part because of the tourist attractions in the Pocono Mountains region and the county’s proximity to New York and New Jersey.

The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA MSA and its principal cities of Allentown and Bethlehem retain much of their cultural heritage today. In Allentown, the Liberty Bell Museum highlights the period of time between 1777 and 1778 when the Liberty Bell and other church bells were relocated from Philadelphia to Allentown during the Revolutionary War. The city is also home to other museums, including the America on Wheels Museum, the Allentown Art Museum, and the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum. Allentown is also known for the Great Allentown Fair, which has been held annually since 1852; Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, a 200-acre amusement park dating back to 1884 that now includes 100 rides; and more recently, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball team, a minor league team associated with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Visitors can take tours in the historic section of Bethlehem settled by the Moravians, including a tour of the Burnside Plantation, an 18th and 19th century farmhouse that has been restored. The former Bethlehem Steel site, which grew from the mid 19th century until its decline in the late 20th century and then became one of the largest brownfields in the nation, is now being revitalized. While the historic blast furnaces still mark the south Bethlehem skyline, the 1,600-acre site of the former steel plant now includes a casino, an industrial park, and an arts center and additional redevelopment efforts are underway. Bethlehem is also known for such events as Musikfest, Celtic Classic, and the Christkindlmarkt.

Historical data for the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA MSA can be found at the following websites:

* Much of the material used here was drawn from the websites listed above.
Last updated: August 26, 2010

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