Lehigh County Historical Society
Encyclopedia
Lehigh County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1904, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Lehigh County
, Pennsylvania
and the Lehigh Valley. The Historical Society and Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum are located at 432 West Walnut Street in Allentown.
The Lehigh County Historical Society's library, the Scott Andrew Trexerl II Research Library and Archive, houses 70,000 vintage photographs and nearly three million historical documents. Included in its collections are more than 800 volumes of church and cemetery records for Lehigh and neighboring counties, early county records (tax rolls, wills and land deeds), indexed marriage records and announcements, 800 volumes of family genealogical histories, city directories (1860 onwards), maps, census records and published histories. The library also maintains microfiche versions of many of Allentown's early Pennsylvania German dialect
and English-language newspapers. Access to the library is free for Society members; a small fee applies for non-members.
The Lehigh County Historical Society administers several historical sites in the region:
Proceedings, the journal of the Lehigh County Historical Society, was published on a bi-annual basis since 1906 and featured articles focusing on local and regional history. From 1947 to 1994, the publication was bound in a distinctive blue buckram
hardcover
binding
with gilt
lettering. In 1994, the journal was published in softcover
. Publication of Proceedings was discontinued in 2004.
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
-Climate:Most of the county's climate is considered to fall in the humid continental climate zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and the Lehigh Valley. The Historical Society and Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum are located at 432 West Walnut Street in Allentown.
Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum
The Lehigh County Historical Society is headquartered in the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, a state-of-the-art 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) museum facility with four galleries and more than 10000 square feet (929 m²) of exhibition space. Recent exhibits have included exhibits on the Civil War and on Pennsylvania Germans. The Museum maintains an extensive collection of local and regional historical materials, with more than 35,000 historical artifacts in its collection.Scott Andrew Trexler II Research Library & Archive
Pennsylvania German language
The Pennsylvania German language is a variety of West Central German possibly spoken by more than 250,000 people in North America...
and English-language newspapers. Access to the library is free for Society members; a small fee applies for non-members.
Historic Sites
- Claussville One-Room Schoolhouse (1893) – This brick One-room schoolOne-room schoolOne-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room...
house was the last in Lehigh County. 2917 Route 100Pennsylvania Route 100Pennsylvania Route 100 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that runs from U.S. Route 202 in West Chester, Pennsylvania to Pennsylvania Route 309 in Pleasant Corners, Pennsylvania....
, north of FogelsvilleFogelsville, PennsylvaniaFogelsville is a village in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a suburb of Allentown, in Upper Macungie Township, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state....
.
- Haines Mill Museum (ca. 1850, rebuilt 1909) – Working grist millGristmillThe terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
. 3600 Dorney Park Road, Cetronia, South Whitehall TownshipSouth Whitehall Township, PennsylvaniaSouth Whitehall Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley area of the state. The population of South Whitehall Township was 18,028 at the 2000 census...
.
- Lockridge Furnace Museum (1868) – 19th century ironworksIronworksAn ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
, now a museum dedicated to the anthracite ironAnthracite ironAnthracite iron is the substance created by the smelting together of anthracite coal and iron ore.-Development of the process:Research into the smelting of iron using anthracite coal began in the 1820s...
industry. 525 Franklin Street, AlburtisAlburtis, PennsylvaniaAlburtis is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Alburtis was 2,117 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
.
- Saylor Cement Industry Museum (1893) – Cement kilnCement kilnCement kilns are used for the pyroprocessing stage of manufacture of Portland and other types of hydraulic cement, in which calcium carbonate reacts with silica-bearing minerals to form a mixture of calcium silicates...
s built by David O. Saylor, father of the American Portland cementPortland cementPortland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world because it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty grout...
industry. North Second Street, CoplayCoplay, PennsylvaniaCoplay is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, six miles northwest of Allentown. It is part of the Lehigh Valley region of the state. In 1900, 1,581 people lived in Coplay; in 1910, 2,670 people lived there...
.
- Trout Hall (1770) – Colonial stone mansion. Home of James Allen, son of AllentownAllentown, PennsylvaniaAllentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
's founder, William AllenWilliam Allen (loyalist)William Allen was a wealthy merchant, Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania, and mayor of Philadelphia. At the time of the American Revolution, Allen was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Philadelphia...
. 4th & Walnut Streets, Allentown.
- Troxell-Steckel Farm Museum (1756) – Pennsylvania GermanPennsylvania German languageThe Pennsylvania German language is a variety of West Central German possibly spoken by more than 250,000 people in North America...
stone farmhouseFarmhouseFarmhouse is a general term for the main house of a farm. It is a type of building or house which serves a residential purpose in a rural or agricultural setting. Most often, the surrounding environment will be a farm. Many farm houses are shaped like a T...
, one of Lehigh County's oldest structures. 4229 Reliance Street, off Route 329Pennsylvania Route 329Pennsylvania Route 329 is a Pennsylvania highway which runs for through Lehigh and Northampton counties. It runs from Bath, Pennsylvania to the North Whitehall Township hamlet of Neffs.-Lehigh County:...
, Village of EgyptEgypt, PennsylvaniaEgypt is an unincorporated community in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States, about north of Allentown and west of Cementon. Egypt is located on Pennsylvania Route 329, just west of its intersection with Pennsylvania Route 145 at Eagle Point.The population of Egypt is...
, Whitehall TownshipWhitehall Township, PennsylvaniaWhitehall Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Whitehall Township was 24,896 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
.
Publications
Buckram
Buckram is a stiff cloth, made of cotton, and still occasionally linen, which is used to cover and protect books. Buckram can also be used to stiffen clothes. Modern buckrams have been stiffened by soaking in a substance, usually now pyroxylin, to fill the gaps between the fibres.In the Middle...
hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
binding
Bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or other material. It usually involves attaching covers to the resulting text-block.-Origins of the book:...
with gilt
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
lettering. In 1994, the journal was published in softcover
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
. Publication of Proceedings was discontinued in 2004.
See also
- Allentown, PennsylvaniaAllentown, PennsylvaniaAllentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
- Lehigh County, PennsylvaniaLehigh County, Pennsylvania-Climate:Most of the county's climate is considered to fall in the humid continental climate zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year....
- List of historical societies