Egypt (
Pennsylvania German: ''Iegypden'') is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
(CDP) in
Whitehall Township in
Lehigh County,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The population of Egypt was 2,588 as of the 2020 census.
It located about north of
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them:
*Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
*Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County
*Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...
and is part of the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th most populous
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
Geography
Egypt is located in northeastern
Lehigh County in the northwestern corner of
Whitehall Township. It is bordered to the east by
Cementon and to the north and west by
North Whitehall Township.
Pennsylvania Route 329
Pennsylvania Route 329 (PA 329) is a Pennsylvania state highway that runs for through Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. It runs from PA 873 in the North Whitehall Township village of Neffs east to PA ...
is Egypt's Main Street and runs east into Cementon and west to
Neffs. PA-329 intersects
PA-145 on the eastern edge of Egypt, at the area known as
Eagle Point. PA-145 leads north to
Walnutport and south to Center City Allentown.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, Egypt has a total area of , of which , or 0.26%, are water.
Coplay Creek
Coplay Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 17, 2014 tributary of the Lehigh River in eastern Pennsylvania.
Coplay Creek joins the Lehigh River at Hokendau ...
, a tributary of the
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward pat ...
, flows eastward through the southern part of the community. Via the Lehigh, the community is part of the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
watershed.
History
![Fort Deshler Blockhouse 1895](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Fort_Deshler_Blockhouse_1895.jpg)
Egypt is one of the oldest communities in the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
region of eastern Pennsylvania. It was settled as early as 1733.
It was the first settlement in Pennsylvania north of
South Mountain.
[Page 19] Egypt is one several
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
locations, including
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
,
Emmaus
Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...
, and
Allentown's Jordan Creek, whose name was inspired by locations referenced in the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
.
Early
Pennsylvania German settlers of nearby present-day
Lynn and
Albany townships had named the area where they settled ''Alle mängel'' ("all deficiencies") due to the poor quality of the soil on which they were trying to farm and raise crops. By contrast, the soil here was found to be quite fertile, and early settlers named this region "Egypta", since
ancient Egypt, with its fertile
Nile delta
The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...
, was the "granary of the world".
The Reformed Congregation of Egypt Church was established in 1734, and a log church was erected in 1764.
The cemetery of the Egypt church contains the graves of many of the region's earliest inhabitants, including 25 veterans of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, 15 veterans of the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, and nine veterans of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Across the street from the church stands Egypt's
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
monument, which honors the 76 men from Egypt who served during that war. Dedicated on June 10, 1923, the centerpiece of the monument is the pressed copper sculpture, ''
Spirit of the American Doughboy
''The Spirit of the American Doughboy'' is a pressed copper sculpture by E. M. Viquesney, designed to honor the veterans and casualties of World War I. Mass-produced during the 1920s and 1930s for communities throughout the United States, the ...
'', by
E. M. Viquesney.
One of the first settlers,
John Jacob Mickley (1697–1769), started farming here in 1745.
In 1755, Jacob Kohler established a
gristmill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
, located along Coplay Creek just south of the church.
The
Troxell-Steckel House, which was built in Egypt in 1756, is one of the oldest buildings in Lehigh County and is today operated as a museum and historic site by the
Lehigh County Historical Society
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 region of eastern Pennsylvania. The Historical So ...
. The Egypt area was also the location of
Fort Deshler
Fort Deshler, located near Egypt, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, USA, was a French and Indian War era frontier fort established in 1760 to protect settlers from Indian attacks.Roberts ''et al'', page 111. The fort was near the location of what is now ...
, a
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
era frontier fort established in 1760 to protect settlers from Indian attacks. The fort, which was near the present intersection of PA Route 145 and Chestnut Street, stood until about 1940. The site is commemorated by a
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...
marker.
A granite marker, located just outside Egypt at Scheidy's Road and Spring Street in North Whitehall Township, commemorates the last Indian attack in Lehigh County, which occurred on October 8, 1763, when nine settlers were murdered.
The earliest hotel in the area was the Werley House, which operated from 1796 to 1815.
[Roberts, ''History of Lehigh County'', Page 1015.] The first "English school" (as opposed to one that taught students in the
Pennsylvania German dialect) was organized in 1808.
Other early industries in the immediate area included a
carriage works,
coal yard,
bakery
A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who ...
,
tannery
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
and
silk works.
Development of the community was spurred by the organization of the American Improved Cements Company (later American Cement Company), which took over and modernized the older Egypt Mills
cement plant
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...
, located on the north side of Chestnut Street. In 1884, the company shipped its first load of cement to market using the
Ironton Railroad. In 1896, American Cement ran power lines to supply the village of Egypt with electricity from its own power plants.
[Gensey, Page 105.] American Cement, which subsequently opened a number of mills in the Egypt area, operated until 1913, when it was purchased by Giant Portland Cement.
[Gensey, Page 106.] In addition to the Egypt Mills plant, Giant Portland operated six other cement mills in Egypt (Pennsylvania, Columbia, Giant #1 & #2, Central and Reliance), and had an annual production capacity of 2.1 million barrels of cement.
Parts of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
were built using cement manufactured in Egypt's mills.
Giant Portland ceased production around 1929, and mills were either closed or sold to other companies operating in the area. Today, cement production remains an important part of the local economy, and plants in the area are operated by
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
-based ESSROC, a subsidiary of the Italian firm
Italcementi
Italcementi is an Italian multinational company, quoted on the Borsa Italiana, which produces cement, ready-mix concrete and construction aggregates. In 2015, 45% of Italcementi was acquired by HeidelbergCement, together forming the world's secon ...
, and the French company
Lafarge
La Farge, LaFarge or Lafarge can refer to:
People
* Antoinette LaFarge (1966–), American artist and writer
* Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), American architect and partner in the firm Heins & LaFarge
* Christopher Grant La Farge ( ...
.
On June 2, 1947, the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
came to the Egypt Park to play an Egypt area high school team of the old Twilight League. The Phillies came to entice
Curt Simmons
Curtis Thomas Simmons (May 19, 1929 – December 13, 2022) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to and to . Along with right-hander Robin Roberts (a member of the Baseball H ...
, a 17-year-old
Whitehall High School pitcher from Main Street in Egypt, to play for them. Simmons took the Phillies to the wire, and the Phillies came back and tied the Egypt team 4-4 on account of darkness.
Notable people
*
Althea Henley
Althea Henley (July 23, 1911 – April 25, 1996) was an American film actress and dancer. She appeared in approximately 15 films between 1930 and 1936.
Career
Born in Egypt, Pennsylvania in 1911, Henley was the second of four children. She was t ...
, former actress
*
Dan Koppen
Daniel Koppen (born September 12, 1979) is a former American football center who played for ten years in the National Football League with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
Prior to entering the NFL in 2003, he played college footba ...
, former professional football player,
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
and
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
*
Curt Simmons
Curtis Thomas Simmons (May 19, 1929 – December 13, 2022) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to and to . Along with right-hander Robin Roberts (a member of the Baseball H ...
, former professional baseball player,
California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
,
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
,
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
and
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
Public education
Egypt is part of the
Whitehall-Coplay School District
Whitehall-Coplay School District is a public school district in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It serves the borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countri ...
. Students in grades nine through 12 attend
Whitehall High School.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{authority control
1733 establishments in Pennsylvania
1733 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies
Census-designated places in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Populated places established in 1733
Unincorporated communities in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania