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    Lehigh Township
    Lehigh Township
    Lehigh Township
    Ebook174 pages46 minutes

    Lehigh Township

    By Lehigh Township Historical Society

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    About this ebook

    Lehigh Township was settled in the late 1700s by immigrants who had come to work in the numerous slate quarries. Situated in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, the township represented the last signs of civilization for those traveling north from Philadelphia to the wilderness beyond the Lehigh Gap. The township has remained largely rural, with farms and open fields abundant along its two-lane highways.

    Compiled by members and friends of the Lehigh Township Historical Society, Lehigh Township is a collection of rare vintage photographs of the community. The Cherryville Hotel (which in its heyday was known throughout the area as one of the best places to get Pennsylvania Dutch food), local quarries, one-room schoolhouses, Dieter's Foundry, and the Indian Trail and Edgemont amusement parks make up a sampling of the countless familiar images of Lehigh Township's past. Lehigh Township is an indispensable reference for both residents and visitors.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateMay 22, 2002
    ISBN9781439611500
    Lehigh Township
    Author

    Lehigh Township Historical Society

    Lehigh Township Historical Society president Sean Billings has coauthored two books with his wife, award-winning writer and photographer Johanna S. Billings, a contributor to this book. Society vice president Robert Mentzell teaches history at Northampton Area High School, and Secretary Beverly Putt is active as a community volunteer. Mary Ann Endy is a member of the historical society and a writer for a local newspaper. These dedicated historical society members have compiled this stunning display of more than three hundred years of life, work, and family.

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      Book preview

      Lehigh Township - Lehigh Township Historical Society

      Ziegenfuss.

      INTRODUCTION

      Lehigh Township was surveyed in 1735 by orders of Thomas Penn. It was proposed that 6,500 acres be set aside for Native Americans, but the land became a settlement of immigrants instead. Before October 1752, when the township was officially created, the area had been called Adjacents to Allen, which probably refers to adjacent Allen Township. Although some residents wanted the name Seimsy after an early Moravian Indian convert named Seim, the county court opted for the name Lehigh Township instead.

      Originally, Lehigh Township reached from the Lehigh River eastward to the Bushkill Creek. By 1763, however, Moore Township was created out of portions of Allen, Lehigh, and Plainfield Townships. Later, in 1909, Walnutport also broke off as an independent borough.

      After the beginning of the colonization of Pennsylvania, settlers began to establish homes in the areas north and west of Philadelphia, even to the foothills of the Blue Mountain. Lehigh Township, located less than 70 miles north of Philadelphia, was directly on the path from Easton and Bethlehem to the wilderness beyond the Lehigh Gap. This area was a place of rolling hills and wooded areas that provided fertile farmland. Creeks and rivers provided ideal places for construction of dams for mills, giving rise to villages in the area.

      One of the earliest settlers in the area was Simon Dreisbach, whose family acquired acreage a few miles from Blue Mountain along Indian Creek. Dreisbach’s son Jost built a gristmill along Indian Creek, and a German-language Reformed Church congregation began meeting at his home. In 1755, the Dreisbach men filed land patents for the land on which their settlement was located. Although they had already purchased the land from Native Americans, not all the transactions were recognized by the descendants of William Penn, so the Dreisbachs had to repurchase their land. During the Native American attacks of 1755 and 1756, some of the Dreisbachs are said to have fled to Easton. In 1757, Simon Dreisbach was among the Northampton County residents who sent a petition to the governor of Pennsylvania, requesting protection from the Native American raids.

      Some other family names appearing on 1761 Lehigh Township tax records are Allemang, Altman, Anderye, Antony, Armstrong, Barron, Barthol, Beck, Becker, Beer, Beninger, Best, Bety, Bossert, Boyd, Brand, Bricker, Brudy, Buchman, Collwell, Creasy, Deater, Diel, Doll, Dorn, Drum, Eberhard, Eckert, Eisonman, Erb, Etmistin, Fassy, Flick, Geissel, Haag, Haring, Hollstein, Hutsheson, Hyl, Kallenbach, Kenedy, Kepple, Kerr, Kester, Klindop, Klingensmith, Koch, Kuntz, Laufert, Leaverman, Lederach, Leyenberger, Luther, Macher, Marsh, Meyer, Miller, Musselman, Naguel, Nyhard, Read, Rearich, Reeb, Remberger, Reph, Rinking, Ris, Road, Roofner, Roushenberger, Ruch, Shantz, Sheeterle, Sherrer, Shlegler, Shnyder, Shup, Shwab, Shyll, Silvius, Singling, Snyder, Sold, Spengler, Steed, Stewert, Stoltz, Straw, Ulrich, Van Deck, Vogel, Walker, Waltman, Wannen, Wertz, William, Young, and Zedel.

      The township population was only about 100 people in 1750, but it increased to 350 people by 1770. After the American Revolution, the population increased more rapidly. The 1900 census listed some 1,000 residents, and the 2000 census showed a population of 9,728.

      Today, the township is governed by a board of supervisors. Originally a board of three, it was expanded to five supervisors in 1994. The township also has a planning commission, zoning board, recreation commission, and municipal authority. Unfortunately, most of the names of the past supervisors and other officials have been lost to history.

      The township’s first police force was organized in 1947 by Roland Wieand, who served as the police chief. His son Harold succeeded him, followed by Roland’s grandson John. Today, the police force employs 11 officers.

      The Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 was organized on February 3, 1944, at a meeting held at the Indianland Hotel. The 60 people in attendance chose Robert Spangler to be president. The first fire chief was Roland Dieter, who hosted a number of the early meetings at Dieter’s Foundry. The foundry machine shop also served as home to the first fire truck, a 1945 Mack. In 1946, the fire company acquired property in Cherryville and, in 1954, built a firehouse.

      In 1974, the Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Company First Aid Squad became the township’s first ambulance service. When first organized, the squad stored its vehicles in the fire hall, and first-aid calls were taken at the Reformed parsonage by Rev. George Allen and his wife, Margo. By 1988, the ambulance service changed its name to the Lehigh Township Emergency Squad and operated out of a four-room building owned by the township. In 1997, the squad became part of the Regional Emergency Medical Service, which serves Lehigh Township, North Allen Township, and Catasauqua Borough (in Northampton County), as well as Hanover Township (in Lehigh County).

      The Lions Club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on January 20, 2001, has served the township in many roles. Members help organizations for the blind and seeing-impaired, provide local students with scholarships, and do volunteer work for the fire department. The Lioness Club, founded on October 6, 1977, serves the township in a similar role.

      Among the township landmarks is Mary Immaculate Seminary, built between 1935 and 1938 at a cost of $1 million. Located on 569 acres at the highest elevation in the township, it was designed as an interpretation of Romanesque architecture and was made of concrete, cut stone, and limestone. Opened in 1939 to accept an overflow of seminary students, it closed in 1990 with fewer than 20 students. The last ordination service was held for two men in 1990. In 1996, the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia paid $4 million for the seminary and changed its name to the Mary Immaculate Center.

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