LEHIGH County, PA

Lehigh County (Pennsylvania Dutch: Lechaa Kaundi) is a county located in the Lehigh Valley region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 374,557. Its county seat is Allentown, the state's third-largest city behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Lehigh County falls between two Appalachian mountain ridges, the Blue Mountain ridge to its north and South Mountain to its south.

Lehigh County is the most populated of the four counties that comprise the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey. It is one of the fastest-growing counties in Pennsylvania and part of the Philadelphia media market, the fourth largest television market in the nation.

History

Settlement

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."

American Revolutionary War

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, a Committee of Observation was formed by local American patriots. With the Declaration of Independence, the Colonial British government in Allentown began to break down and patriot militias took control, pressuring Tories out of the Allentown area, and plans were made for the raising of a patriot militia.

After General George Washington and the Continental Army's defeat 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 (then known as the State House Bell), be taken down and moved to present day Allentown (then Northampton Town) and hidden in the basement of Zion Reformed Church on present day West Hamilton Street to protect them from being melting down by the British Army for use as ammunition.

American Civil War

Following the Union Army's defeat at the Battle of Fort Sumter in the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued his April 15, 1861 proclamation, calling for state militia to provide 75,000 volunteer troops to defend Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. In response, Allentown sent the Allen Infantry. Also known as the Allen Guards, 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 much of the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment.

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.

Geography

right|240px|thumb|The Lehigh River in Lehigh County near

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water.

Topography

Lehigh County is the most populous county in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan region, which consists of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania and Warren County in northwestern New Jersey.

Lehigh County borders two Appalachian mountain ridges. To the north, the county is bordered by the Blue Mountain ridge, which has an altitude of . To the south, the county is bordered by South Mountain, a ridge of that cuts through the southern portions of 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 ridge of the Blue Mountain in northwestern Heidelberg Township.

Lehigh County is part of the Delaware River watershed. While most of the county is drained by the Lehigh River and its tributaries, the Schuylkill River also drains regions in the south of the county via the Perkiomen Creek and in the northwest of the county via Maiden Creek.

Adjacent counties

Climate

Lehigh County's climate falls in the humid continental climate zone. The variety is hot-summer (Dfa) except in higher areas, where it is warm-summer (Dfb). 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 the city of 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 (morning) 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.

The hardiness zone is mainly 6b with some 6a in higher areas.

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 highest at just over each. Rainfall is generally spread throughout the year with eight to twelve wet days per month, at an average annual rate of .

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the county was 71.6% White Non-Hispanic, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American or Alaskan Native, 2.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 2.9% were two or more races, and 8.6% were some other race. 18.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.

As of the 2010 census, there were 312,090 people, 121,906 households, and 82,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 900 people per square mile (348/km²). There were 128,910 housing units at an average density of 372 per square mile (144/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.02% White, 3.56% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 2.10% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 5.28% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. 10.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 27.1% were of German, 7.9% Italian, 7.7% Irish, 6.2% Pennsylvania German and 5.6% American ancestry. 85.0% spoke English, 8.4% Spanish and 1.2% Arabic as their first language.

There were 121,906 households, out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

Lehigh County's population is spread out with 23.90% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males.

Politics and government

As of May 2021, there were 239,865 registered voters in Lehigh County:

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, and in 2008 the county gave all statewide Democratic candidates significant leads and Barack Obama a victory of more than 15 points over John McCain, 57.1% to 41.5%. In 2012, Obama carried the county again, but by a narrower margin: 53.17% to 45.52%.

County executives

Commissioners

Other county offices

State House of Representatives

State Senate

United States House of Representatives

Education

4-year colleges and universities

2-year colleges and technical institutes

Public school districts

275px|thumb|right|Map of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania School Districts

Public charter schools

Private high schools

Transportation

Air

Lehigh County's primary airport, Lehigh Valley International Airport , is located northeast of Allentown in Hanover Township.

The county is also served by Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport, a two-runway general aviation facility located off of Allentown's Lehigh Street used predominantly by private aviation. In 2006, Queen City was awarded the General Aviation Airport of the year by the Eastern Region of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Bus

Public bus service in Lehigh County is available through the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority, known as LANTA. Several private bus lines, including Fullington Trailways and 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

The 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 also are available in Allentown and its suburbs. Lehigh County-based media include The Morning Call, a daily newspaper based in Allentown, and two Allentown television stations, WLVT Channel 39 (a PBS affiliate) and WFMZ Channel 69 (an unaffiliated, independent television station).

Television

The four major Philadelphia-based network stations serving Lehigh County include KYW-TV (CBS), WCAU (NBC), WPVI (ABC) and WTXF (Fox). The four major Scranton/Wilkes-Barre-based network stations serving Lehigh County are WNEP-TV (ABC), WBRE-TV (NBC), WYOU (CBS), and WOLF-TV (Fox) The four major New York City-based network stations serving Lehigh County include WABC (ABC), WCBS-TV (CBS), WNBC (NBC), and WNYW (Fox). Lehigh Valley-based television outlets include WFMZ-TV Channel 69 (an Allentown independent station), WBPH-TV Channel 60, and WLVT-TV (a Bethlehem PBS affiliate).

Print

The primary newspaper for the county is The Morning Call, based in Allentown. The Express-Times, based in Easton, and Times News, based in Lehighton, also cover the county.

Radio

Lehigh County-area radio stations include WAEB-AM, a news, talk and sports station (in Allentown), WAEB-FM (known as B104), a Top 40 music station (in Allentown), WZZO, a classic rock music station (in Whitehall Township), and others. Some major New York City stations and every major Philadelphia station also can be heard in the county.

Telecommunications

Lehigh County was once served only by the 215 area code from 1947 (when the North American Numbering Plan of the Bell System went into effect) until 1994. With the county's growing population, however, Lehigh County areas were afforded area code 610 in 1994. Today, Lehigh County is covered by 610. 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.

Recreation

thumb|Steel Force and

thumb|Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the

thumb|Little Lehigh Creek flows through Lehigh Parkway in Lehigh County

Most municipalities in the county have set aside at least some land for public recreation, from neighborhood parks and playgrounds to the more expansive parkways developed by the county, city and several townships. Following are the public parks within the county of more than of , including listings of their primary activities:

thumb|upright|Jordan Creek Greenway along

Communities

right|thumb|275px|Map of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Cities and Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue)

thumb|Young people gather on 19th Street, in

thumb|A farm in .

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, 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

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Lehigh County.

† county seat

Notable people

Lehigh County is the birthplace of, or home to, several notable Americans, including: