Lehigh County, Pennsylvania


Lehigh County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 374,557. Its county seat is Allentown, the state's third-largest city after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Along with Northampton County to its east, the two counties combine to form the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, the third-largest metropolitan area of Pennsylvania with a population of 861,889 as of 2020. Lehigh County is one of the fastest-growing counties in Pennsylvania and the more highly populated of the two counties. Both counties are part of the Philadelphia television market, the fifth-largest television market in the nation.
The county is named for the Lehigh River, a tributary of the Delaware River, which flows through Lehigh County. During the Industrial Revolution, the Lehigh River served a vital role in the nation's development by offering one of the first transportation and trading routes for mining products, including anthracite, iron, manganese, limestone, and ultimately manufactured steel products.
Lehigh County falls geographically between two Pennsylvania Appalachian mountain ridges, Blue Mountain to the county's north and South Mountain to its south. Lehigh County borders Montgomery County to its south, Bucks County to its southeast, Northampton County to its east, Carbon County to its north, Schuylkill County to its northwest, and Berks County to its southwest.
The county is located northwest of Philadelphia and west of New York City.
WWW lehighcounty.org

History

Settlement and founding

Lehigh County was first settled around 1730 and was formed in 1812 when Northampton County was divided into two counties. The county is named after the Lehigh River, a river that runs through the county and whose name is derived from the Lenape Indian term Lechauweki or Lechauwekink, meaning "where there are forks." Shelter House, constructed in Emmaus in 1734 by Pennsylvania German settlers, is the oldest continuously occupied structure in both Lehigh County and Lehigh Valley and among the oldest still-standing building structures in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.

American Revolution

Some of the first resistance to British colonialism, which led ultimately to the American Revolutionary War, began in present-day Lehigh County. On December 21, 1774, patriots in the area formed one of the colonies' first Committee of Observations. Following the Declaration of Independence, patriot militas pressured Tories out of Allentown and the surrounding area, and the colonial government in the area began to break down.
After Washington and the Continental Army were defeated at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia was left defenseless and Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council ordered that eleven Philadelphia bells, including the Liberty Bell, be taken down and moved to present day Allentown and hidden in the basement of Zion Reformed Church on present day West Hamilton Street to protect them from being melted down by the British Army for use as munitions.

Industrial Revolution

The opening of the Lehigh Canal beginning in 1827 transformed Allentown and Lehigh County from a rural agricultural area dominated by German-speaking people into an urbanized industrialized area and expanded the city's commercial and industrial capacity greatly. With this, Lehigh County underwent significant industrialization, ultimately becoming a major 20th century center for heavy industry and manufacturing and one of several hubs for the Industrial Revolution.

American Civil War

Following the Union army's defeat at the Battle of Fort Sumter and Lincoln's April 15, 1861, proclamation calling for state militia to provide 75,000 volunteer troops to defend the nation's capital of Washington, D.C., Allentown deployed the Allen Infantry, also known as the Allen Guards and composed of volunteers from Allentown and its surrounding suburbs. The unit mustered in for duty on April 18, 1861. As the Civil War progressed, multiple Union army units were drawn from Lehigh County, including roughly seventy percent of the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment.
On October 19, 1899, a monument in honor of the Lehigh County men killed in their volunteer service to preservation of the Union, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, was erected at Seventh and Hamilton streets in Center City Allentown, where it still stands.

Geography

Lehigh County has a total area of, of which is land and of which is water.

Topography

Lehigh County borders two Appalachian mountain ridges. To the north, the county borders Blue Mountain, which has an altitude of. To the south, it is bordered by South Mountain, which has an altitude of and cuts through the southern portions of both Lehigh and Northampton counties. The Lehigh County's highest point is near Germansville at Bake Oven Knob, a mass of Tuscarora conglomeratic rocks that rise about above the main Blue Mountain ridge in northwestern Heidelberg Township.
Lehigh County is part of the Delaware River watershed. Most of the county is drained by the Lehigh River and its tributaries, though the Schuylkill River also drains regions in the county's south through Perkiomen Creek and in the county's northwest through Maiden Creek.

Adjacent counties

Climate

Lehigh County's climate falls in the humid continental climate zone. The variety is hot-summer except in the county's higher elevation areas, where it is warm-summer. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year.
In Allentown, January lows average and highs average. The lowest officially recorded temperature was in 1912. July lows average and highs average with an average relative humidity of 82%. The highest temperature on record was in 1966. Early fall and mid-winter are generally driest with October being the driest month with only 74.7 mm of average precipitation.
Snowfall is variable with some winters bringing light snow and others bringing numerous significant snowstorms. Average snowfall is per year, with the months of January and February receiving the most now with just over in each of these months. Rainfall is generally spread throughout the year with eight to twelve wet days per month, at an average annual rate of. The hardiness zone in the majority of the county has increased from 6b to 7a. 6b still exists in some northern and higher areas.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 374,557, a median age of 40.1 years, 22.1% of residents under the age of 18, 17.8% of residents 65 years of age or older, 93.9 males for every 100 females, and 91.1 males for every 100 females age 18 and over. The county's population growth of 7.2% since 2010 is among the fastest in the state.
As of the 2020 census, the racial makeup of the county was 65.3% White, 7.4% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.7% Asian, less than 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 13.1% from some other race, and 10.1% from two or more races, while Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 25.9% of the population.
As of the 2020 census, 90.1% of residents lived in urban areas and 9.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 142,970 households in the county, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them; 47.0% were married-couple households, 17.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, 27.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present, 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 149,830 housing units, of which 4.6% were vacant, and among occupied housing units 64.2% were owner-occupied and 35.8% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%.

Politics and government

As of March 4, 2024, there were 243,427 registered voters in Lehigh County:
Lehigh County leans Democratic, but is still politically competitive. Lehigh County and neighboring Northampton County are part of Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional district. The 7th Congressional district is a contentious swing district with neither Republicans nor Democrats winning the district consistently. Voters elected Republican Charlie Dent in 2004, 2006, and 2008 and, previously, Republican Pat Toomey in 1998, 2000, and 2002. In 2004, the county narrowly voted for John Kerry over George W. Bush for President. In 2008, all statewide Democratic candidates won the county with significant leads and, in the presidential election, Barack Obama won the county, 57.1% to 41.5%, over John McCain. In the 2012 presidential election, Obama again carried the county but by a narrower margin, 53.17% to 45.52%.

U.S. House of Representatives

Education

Four-year colleges and universities

Two-year colleges and technical institutes

Public school districts

School districts include:

Public charter schools

Private high schools

Vocational high school

Public libraries

Transportation and infrastructure

Air

Lehigh County's primary commercial airport is Lehigh Valley International Airport, located in Hanover Township in the county. The county is also served by Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport, a two-runway general aviation facility located off Lehigh Street in Allentown used predominantly by private aviation.

Bus

Public bus service in Lehigh County is available through LANta. Several private bus lines, including Trans-Bridge Lines, provide bus service from Allentown to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal, Philadelphia's Greyhound Terminal and 30th Street Station, Atlantic City's Bus Terminal, and other regional locations.

Major highways

Media

Newspapers

The Morning Call, The Express-Times, and The Times News each cover Lehigh County.

Radio

Lehigh County-area radio stations include WAEB-AM in Allentown, B104 in Allentown, WZZO in Bethlehem, WHOL in Allentown, and others. Some major New York City stations and every major Philadelphia station are received in the county.

Television

Lehigh County is part of the Philadelphia broadcast media market, the nation's fourth-largest media market. Numerous New York City radio and television stations are also carried in the county. Three television stations are based in the county, WBPH-TV Channel 60, WLVT Channel 39, and WFMZ Channel 69.
The four major Philadelphia-based network stations serving Lehigh County are KYW-TV, WCAU, WPVI, and WTXF. The four major New York City-based network stations serving Lehigh County are WABC, WCBS-TV, WNBC, and WNYW. The four major Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-based network stations serving Lehigh County are WNEP-TV, WBRE-TV, WYOU, and WOLF-TV.

Telecommunications

From 1947 until 1994, Lehigh County was served exclusively by the 215 area code. With the county's growing population, area code 610 was also allocated to the county in 1994. Today, Lehigh County is covered largely by the 610 area code. An overlay area code, 484, was added to the 610 service area in 1999. A plan to introduce area code 835 as an additional overlay was rescinded in 2001. It has since been reintroduced and will begin use once 610 and 484 extensions are exhausted, possibly as early as September 2022.

Recreation

Amusement parks

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, one of the largest amusement and water parks on the U.S. East Coast, is located in South Whitehall Township in the county. It is open May through the end of October.

Fairs and festivals

The Great Allentown Fair, one of the nation's largest and longest ongoing city fairs, is held annually at Allentown Fairgrounds on North 17th Street in Allentown the end of August and beginning of September. Mayfair Festival of the Arts, an arts and festival fair, is held annually in May on the campus of Cedar Crest College in Allentown.

Golf

Lehigh County is home to multiple golf courses, including Brookside Country Club in Macungie, Lehigh Country Club on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Allentown, Olde Homestead Golf Club in New Tripoli, Saucon Valley Country Club in Upper Saucon Township, Shepherd Hills Golf Club in Wescosville, and Wedgewood Golf Course in Coopersburg.

Museums and history

The county has several museums, including Allentown Art Museum, America on Wheels, Da Vinci Science Center, George Taylor House, Lehigh County Historical Society at Trout Hall, Museum of Indian Culture, The 1803 House, and others.

Parks and zoo

Lehigh County also has of public parks, including:

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: [List of List of cities in Pennsylvania|cities in Pennsylvania|cities], [List of List of towns and boroughs in Pennsylvania|towns and List of towns and boroughs in Pennsylvania|boroughs in Pennsylvania|boroughs], [List of List of townships in Pennsylvania|townships in Pennsylvania|townships], and, in only one case, towns. The following cities, boroughs, and townships are located in Lehigh County:

Cities

Boroughs

Townships

Census-designated places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

Lehigh County's largest cities, townships, boroughs, and other communities, based on the 2020 census, include:
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1† 'AllentownCity125,845
2Bethlehem City74,982
4EmmausBorough11,652
5Ancient OaksCDP6,995
6CatasauquaBorough6,518
7WescosvilleCDP6,039
8Fountain HillBorough4,878
9DorneyvilleCDP4,406
10SlatingtonBorough4,232
11BreinigsvilleCDP4,138
13CoplayBorough3,192
14MacungieBorough3,074
15SchnecksvilleCDP2,935
17CoopersburgBorough2,386
18AlburtisBorough2,361
19CetroniaCDP2,115
20TrexlertownCDP1,988
22Laurys StationCDP1,243
24DeSales UniversityCDP953
25New TripoliCDP898
26Slatedale'CDP455

Notable people

Since its founding in 1812, Lehigh County has been the birthplace or home to several notable Americans, including: