Martins Creek is a
census-designated place in
Lower Mt. Bethel Township,
Pennsylvania. It is located along
Martins Creek. Its population was 664 as of the
2020 U.S. census. Martins Creek is part of the
Lehigh Valley 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. The
Zip Code is 18063.
History
''Circa'' 1730, a number of
Scotch-Irish settled in a part of the town called Hunter's Settlement. Martin's Creek was first settled by Robert Lyle in 1741, with James Martin arriving around 1747. Martin operated a
grist mill, and later served as a
colonel in the
American Revolution. In 1744, missionary
David Brainerd began his work here with the Clistowackin band of
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
Indians.
By the 1800s, the area had developed the name of Flatfield because of its level terrain. By the time of the
Civil War, it was known as Martinsville, and later changed to Martin's Creek.
In 1939, exiled
Russian prime minister
Alexander Kerensky married Australian journalist
Lydia Ellen Tritton
Lydia "Nellé" Tritton (Russian: Лидия Тереза ("Нелль") Керенская (Триттон)) was an Australian journalist, poet and "public elocutionist".
Biography
Lydia "Nellé" Tritton was born in Brisbane, Australia on 19 Se ...
in Martins Creek.
Industry
The major industry in the area was as the Alpha Portland Cement Company, which closed in 1964. In 1942 an explosion at the Lehigh Portland Cement Co. plant in nearby Sandts Eddy killed 31 people.
The Hunter-Martin Settlement Museum commemorates the early history of the area.
Notable people
*
Alexander Kerensky, former president of the
Russian Republic in 1917
References
Unincorporated communities in Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania
{{NorthamptonCountyPA-geo-stub