Lehigh County (;

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

: ''Lechaa Kaundi'') is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 374,557.Lehigh County
at U.S. Census Quick Facts Its county seat is Allentown, the state's third-largest city after

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Along with Northampton County to its east, the two counties combine to form the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

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 fourth-largest television market in the nation. The county is named for the Lehigh River, a tributary of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, which flows through Lehigh County. During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, the Lehigh River served a vital role in the nation's development by offering one of the first transportation and trading routes for

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

products, including

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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

and among the oldest still-standing building structures in the U.S. state of

American Revolution

Some of the first resistance to

British colonialism The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establish ...

, which led ultimately to 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, began in present-day Lehigh County. On December 21, 1774, patriots in the area formed one of the

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

' first Committee of Observations. Following the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

, 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 The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

were defeated at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, the revolutionary capital of

was left defenseless and Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council ordered that eleven Philadelphia bells, including the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...

(then known as the State House Bell), be taken down and moved to present day Allentown (then called Northampton Towne) 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 The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

, ultimately becoming a major 20th century center for heavy industry and manufacturing and one of several hubs for the

American Civil War

Following the Union Army's defeat at the

Battle of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter (also the Attack on Fort Sumter or the Fall of Fort Sumter) (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

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. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, 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 A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

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 Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

streets in

Center City Allentown Center City Allentown is the downtown and central business district of Allentown, Pennsylvania, the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It has a dense population and is currently undergoing an urban revitalization process. ...

, where it still stands.

Geography

2017 - Hamilton Street Christmas Skyline - Allentown PA

Lehigh County has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) 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

watershed. Most of the county is drained by the Lehigh River and its tributaries, though the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

also drains regions in the county's south through Perkiomen Creek and in the county's northwest through Maiden Creek.

Adjacent counties

* Carbon County (north) * Northampton County (northeast) * Bucks County (southeast) * Montgomery County (south) * Berks County (west) * Schuylkill County (northwest)

Climate

Lehigh County's climate falls in the

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

zone. The variety is hot-summer (''Dfa'') except in the county's higher elevation 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 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 A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

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's population was 374,557. The county's population growth of 7.2% since 2010 is among the fastest in the state. The racial makeup of the county, as of the 2020 census, was 60.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 26%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino, 6.12%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 3.66% Asian, 3.33% from other or mixed races, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 0.1% Native American.

Politics and government

As of March 4, 2024, there were 243,427 registered voters in Lehigh County: * Democratic: 111,646 (45.86%) * Republican: 84,937 (34.89%) * No affiliation: 38,901 (15.98) * Other parties: 7,943 (3.27%) 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 John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

over

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. In 2008, all statewide Democratic candidates won the county with significant leads and, in the presidential election,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

won the county, 57.1% to 41.5%, over

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

. In the 2012 presidential election, Obama again carried the county but by a narrower margin, 53.17% to 45.52%.

State House of Representatives

State Senate

U.S. House of Representatives

* Ryan Mackenzie, Republican, Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district

Education

Four-year colleges and universities

* Cedar Crest College in Allentown * DeSales University in Center Valley *

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German pat ...

in Allentown * Penn State Lehigh Valley in Center Valley

Two-year colleges and technical institutes

Baum School of Art The Baum School of Art is a non-profit community art school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvan ...

in Allentown * Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville (main campus), and Donley Center in Allentown (satellite campus) * Lincoln Tech in Allentown

Public school districts

School districts include: * Allentown School District **

William Allen High School William Allen High School, often referred to as Allen High School or simply Allen, is one of two large, urban state school, public secondary education in the United States, high schools of the Allentown School District in Allentown, Pennsylvania. ...

in Allentown ** Louis E. Dieruff High School in Allentown **Francis D. Raub Middle School in Allentown **Harrison-Morton Middle School in Allentown **South Mountain Middle School in Allentown **Trexler Middle School in Allentown * Bethlehem Area School District * Catasauqua Area School District ** Catasauqua High School in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

**Catasauqua Middle School in Catasauqua * East Penn School District ** Emmaus High School in Emmaus **Eyer Middle School in Macungie **Lower Macungie Middle School in Macungie * Northern Lehigh School District ** Northern Lehigh High School in Slatington **Northern Lehigh Middle School in Slatington * Northwestern Lehigh School District **Northwestern Lehigh High School in New Tripoli **Northwestern Lehigh Middle School in New Tripoli * Parkland School District ** Parkland High School in South Whitehall Township **Orefield Middle School in Orefield **Springhouse Middle School in Allentown * Salisbury Township School District ** Salisbury High School in Salisbury Township **Salisbury Middle School in Allentown * Southern Lehigh School District ** Southern Lehigh High School in Center Valley **Southern Lehigh Middle School in Center Valley * Whitehall-Coplay School District ** Whitehall High School in Whitehall Township **Whitehall-Coplay Middle School in Whitehall Township

Public charter schools

* Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School in Allentown *

Roberto Clemente Charter School Roberto Clemente Charter School is a small, urban, public charter school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The school is located at 4th and Walnut Streets in Allentown. It serves students in gr ...

in Allentown *Seven Generations Charter School in Emmaus

Private high schools

Allentown Central Catholic High School Allentown Central Catholic High School (ACCHS), often referred to as Central Catholic or Central, is a private, parochial school located at 301 N. 4th Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The school is managed by the Diocese of Allentown, and pred ...

in Allentown * Salem Christian School in Macungie

Vocational high school

* Lehigh Career and Technical Institute in Schnecksville

Public libraries

* Allentown Public Library in Allentown

Transportation and infrastructure

Air

Lehigh County's primary commercial airport is

Lehigh Valley International Airport Lehigh Valley International Airport , formerly Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton International Airport, is a domestic airport located in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Hanover Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley I ...

, 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

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus station, bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving ab ...

's Greyhound Terminal and

30th Street Station 30th Street Station, officially William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, is a major intermodal passenger transport, intermodal transit station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The station opened in 1933 as Pennsylvania Station– ...

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

Bus Terminal A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

, and other regional locations.

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Cedar Crest Boulevard * Lehigh Street * Tilghman Street

Media

Newspapers

'' The Morning Call'' (in Allentown), '' The Express-Times'' (in Easton), and '' The Times News'' (in Lehighton) each cover Lehigh County.

Radio

Lehigh County-area radio stations include WAEB-AM in Allentown ( talk and news), B104 in Allentown ( contemporary hits), WZZO in Bethlehem (

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

), WHOL in Allentown (

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

), and others. Some major

stations and every major

station are received in the county.

Television

Lehigh County is part of the

broadcast media market, the nation's fourth-largest media market. Numerous

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 (the

's PBS affiliate), and WFMZ Channel 69 (an independent television station). The four major Philadelphia-based network stations serving Lehigh County are

KYW-TV KYW-TV (channel 3), branded as CBS Philadelphia, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division alongside WPSG (channel 57 ...

(the CBS affiliate), WCAU (the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

affiliate), WPVI (the ABC affiliate), and WTXF (the Fox affiliate). The four major

-based network stations serving Lehigh County are WABC (the ABC affiliate),

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–lic ...

(the CBS affiliate),

WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey� ...

(the NBC affiliate), and

WNYW WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secauc ...

(the Fox affiliate). The four major Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-based network stations serving Lehigh County are WNEP-TV (the ABC affiliate), WBRE-TV (the NBC affiliate), WYOU (the CBS affiliate), and WOLF-TV (the Fox affiliate).

Telecommunications

From 1947 until 1994, Lehigh County was served exclusively by the 215

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

. 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 Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an Amusement park, amusement and water park located in Dorneyville, Pennsylvania, outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, Allentown, in the United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, Six Flags Entertainment Corpor ...

, 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: * Lehigh Parkway in Allentown, is a city-owned park along

Little Lehigh Creek Little Lehigh Creek is approximately long and is located in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is sometimes referred to as the Little Lehigh River. It is the largest tributary of the Lehigh River. The creek flows in a win ...

. * Lock Ridge Park in Alburtis, is a county-owned park along Swabia Creek that includes the Lock Ridge Furnace Museum. * Trexler Nature Preserve in North Whitehall Township, is a county-owned park along Jordan Creek, which includes the Lehigh Valley Zoo. * Whitehall Parkway in Whitehall Township, is a township-owned park connected to the Ironton Rail Trail.

Communities

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

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

, townships, and, in only one case,

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

. The following cities, boroughs, and townships are located in Lehigh County:

Cities

* Allentown (county seat) *

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

(mostly in Northampton County)

Boroughs

* Alburtis * Catasauqua * Coopersburg * Coplay * Emmaus * Fountain Hill * Macungie * Slatington

Townships

* Hanover Township * Heidelberg Township * Lower Macungie Township * Lower Milford Township * Lowhill Township * Lynn Township * North Whitehall Township * Salisbury Township * South Whitehall Township * Upper Macungie Township * Upper Milford Township * Upper Saucon Township * Washington Township * Weisenberg Township * Whitehall Township

Census-designated places

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

s 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. * Ancient Oaks * Breinigsville * Cementon * Cetronia * DeSales University * Dorneyville *

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

* Fullerton * Hokendauqua * Laurys Station * New Tripoli * Schnecksville * Slatedale * Stiles * Trexlertown * Wescosville

Unincorporated communities

* Balliettsville * Best Station * Center Valley * Colesville * Eagle Point *

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

* Fogelsville * Friedensville * Gauff Hill * Germansville * Hensingersville * Hosensack * Ironton *

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

* Kuhnsville *

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

* Limeport * Locust Valley * Lynnport * Mickleys * Neffs * New Smithville * Old Zionsville * Orefield * Pleasant Corners * Powder Valley * Scherersville * Schoenersville * Shimerville * Sigmund * Summit Lawn * Vera Cruz * Walbert * Wanamakers * Werleys Corner * West Catasauqua * Zionsville

Population ranking

Lehigh County's largest cities, townships, boroughs, and other communities, based on the 2020 census, include: † ''county seat''

Notable people

Since its founding in 1812, Lehigh County has been the birthplace or home to several notable Americans, including: * Chuck Bednarik, former professional football player,

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, and 1967

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

inductee *

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he receive ...

, former novelist * Michaela Conlin, stage and television actress, '' Bones'' *

Todd Howard Todd Andrew Howard (born 1970) is an American video game designer, Creative director, director, and Video game producer, producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the ...

, video game designer, director, and executive producer of

Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...

Lee Iacocca Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive who developed the Ford Mustang, Lincoln Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, and then reviv ...

, former president and chief executive officer of

Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also be ...

, jazz musician * Michael Johns, healthcare executive and former

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

presidential speechwriter * Billy Kidman, former professional wrestler *

Carson Kressley Carson Kressley (born November 11, 1969) is an American television personality, actor, and designer. Beginning in 2003, he appeared in the Bravo series '' Queer Eye for the Straight Guy''. He was also the motivational host of the TV show '' How ...

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

-winning fashion designer, Bravo's '' Queer Eye'' * Rose Lambert, former American missionary who witnessed the 1909 Adana massacre of

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

* Varvara Lepchenko, professional tennis player *

Lil Peep Gustav Elijah Åhr (; November 1, 1996 – November 15, 2017), known professionally as Lil Peep, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He was a member of the hip-hop collective GothBoiClique, and is credited as being a leading figure of ...

, former American

emo rap Emo rap is a subgenre of Hip hop music, hip hop with influence from emo. Originating in the SoundCloud rap scene in the mid-2010s, the genre fuses characteristics of hip hop music, such as trap-style beats with vocals that are usually sung. Some ...

per, singer, and songwriter *

Matt Millen Matthew George Millen (born March 12, 1958) is an American former professional football player and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Millen played as a linebacker for 12 years for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, San Franci ...

, former professional football player,

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, and former president and general manager,

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

* Andre Reed, former professional football player,

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

, and 2014

inductee * John O. Sheatz, former Pennsylvania state representative, state senator, and state treasurer from 1908 to 1911 * Amanda Seyfried, actress, ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...

'', ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer that aired on HBO from 2006 to 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a Mormon fundamentalism, fundamentalist Mor ...

'', '' Mamma Mia!'', and ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' * Curt Simmons, former professional baseball player,

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, and St. Louis Cardinals * Eric Steckel, blues singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer * Dana Snyder, film and television actor, ''

Aqua Teen Hunger Force ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'' (also branded with different #Alternative titles, alternative titles for seasons 8–11), is an American adult animated television series created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late night progra ...

'' * Christine Taylor, actress and wife of actor

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...

* Lauren Weisberger, author, '' The Devil Wears Prada''

References

External links

Lehigh County websiteLehigh County news
at Lehigh Valley Live

" ''The Morning Call'', August 18, 2006 {{coord, 40.61, -75.59, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-PA_source:UScensus1990 1812 establishments in Pennsylvania Lehigh Valley Populated places established in 1812