Trexlertown is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
and
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 ...
(CDP) in
Upper Macungie Township in
Lehigh County,
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 population was 2,382.
It is part of 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 ...
, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
in the U.S. as of the 2020 census, and lies between
Breinigsville and
Wescosville.
The global corporate headquarters of
Air Products is located immediately across the Trexlertown's eastern border with
Allentown.
Lehigh Valley Velodrome, a
velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
for professional and amateur
cycling
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
, also is located next to Trexlertown, in
Breinigsville.
History
Jeremiah Trexler obtained land adjoining that of his father in present-day
Upper Macungie Township, where he operated a tavern as early as in 1732. Two years later, in 1734, a road was developed from his Upper Macungie Township tavern south through
North Wales
North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...
to
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 ...
.
As was the custom of the time, a village grew around the tavern, and the village came to be known as Trexlertown in honor of Trexler's role in its founding.
[Roberts, Stoudt, Krick and Dietrich, ''History of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania'', 3:1321; "History of Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania", online <>; Thomas Lynch Montgomery, ''Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series'', 14: 269-271.]
Geography
Trexlertown is located southwest of the center of
Lehigh County along the southeastern edge of
Upper Macungie Township at an altitude of . It is bordered to the southwest by
Breinigsville and to the southeast by
Lower Macungie Township.
U.S. Route 222 forms the northern edge of the community; US 222 leads northeast to its terminus at
Interstate 78 outside of
Allentown and southwest to
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
.
Pennsylvania Route 100 forms the western edge of Trexlertown, leading north to its terminus at
PA 309 near
Pleasant Corners and south to
Pottstown.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, Trexlertown has a total area of , of which , or 0.80%, are water.
Schaefer Run and Iron Run join in the southwestern part of the community to form
Spring Creek
A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...
, a southwestward-flowing tributary of
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 ...
and part of the
Lehigh River watershed.
Education
Trexlertown is part of the
Parkland School District, and students in grades nine through 12 attend
Parkland High School.
References
{{Authority control
Census-designated places in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Census-designated places in Pennsylvania