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BHistory
History · Lehigh Township

2 of Lehigh Township’s places are on the National Register

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #654 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Lehigh Water Gap Chain Bridge Toll House and East Bridge Abutment and the Mary Immaculate Seminary (MIS). Most of Lehigh Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 2000.

2on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

About Lehigh Township’s history

How historic is Lehigh Township?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Lehigh Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lehigh Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #654 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lehigh Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19409.1% of homes (±4.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 2.8 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 37%

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lehigh Township’s 2.8 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points).

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Lehigh Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages10 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lehigh Township, and 19 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lehigh Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19226 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1997. Watch Lehigh Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

10 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Berlinsville
1810–1907
Kernsville
1813–1836
Cherryville
1816–today
Petersville
1836–1908
Newhart's
1852–1875
Danielsville
1855–today
Wales
1855–1855
Treichlers
1880–today
Harper
1890–1905
Pomfret
1894–1902
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AppsBerlinsvilleBossards CornerCherryvilleDanielsvilleEdgemontHarpersHowersvilleIndianlandLockportPennsvillePetersvilleRockvilleSlate ValleySlatefieldTreichlersWalnut AcresWalnutport AcresWeiders Crossing
Gone or out of use
Dieters AirportairportLehigh Canalcanal

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Lehigh Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lehigh Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Lehigh Township on the map, 1922 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lehigh Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lehigh Township on the 1922 USGS mapLehigh Township on the 1943 USGS mapLehigh Township on the 1960 USGS mapLehigh Township on the 1970 USGS mapLehigh Township on the 1984 USGS mapLehigh Township on the 1997 USGS map1922Lehighton sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lehigh Township.

The story so far

Lehigh Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lehigh Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lehigh Township is a township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population of Lehigh Township was 10,773 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census. Lehigh Township is located 14.5 miles (23.3 km) north of Allentown, 73.4 miles (118.1 km) north-northwest of Philadelphia, and 97.9 miles (157.6 km) west of New York City.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 10,526 to 10,774 (+2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Lehigh Township, 1810 to 1922

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1810Post officeThe Berlinsville post office opens
  3. 1813Post officeThe Kernsville post office opens
  4. 1816Post officeThe Cherryville post office opens
  5. 1836Post officeThe Kernsville post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907Post officeThe Berlinsville post office closes
  8. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lehigh Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, Lehigh Township, Northampton County, PA, July 20252025St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, Lehigh Township, …PA 145 nb with a view of Treichlers, Feb. 20252025PA 145 nb with a view of Treichlers, Feb. 2025LEHIGH WATER GAP CHAINE BRIDGE TOLL HOUSE LEHIGH TWP NORTHAMPTON COUNTY PA2021LEHIGH WATER GAP CHAINE BRIDGE TOLL HOUSE LEHIGH TWP …Sunday Drive (1)2014Sunday Drive (1)Northampton county2014Northampton countyLehigh Township, Growth2010Lehigh Township, Growth
On the National Register

2 historic places in Lehigh Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2021
Lehigh Water Gap Chain Bridge Toll House and Ea…
Lehigh Water Gap Chain Bridge Toll House and East Bridge AbutmentMary Immaculate Seminary (MIS)
Buildings
All 2 listings
Lehigh Water Gap Chain Bridge Toll House and East Bridge AbutmentBuilding · listed 2021Mary Immaculate Seminary (MIS)Building · listed 2022

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Lehigh Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00020002020Peak: 10,773

Between 9,728 and 10,773 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lehigh Township’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lehigh Township

Nobody well known was born in Lehigh Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jane JensenVideo game designer · b. 1963
Samuel Henry KressAmerican businessman and philanthropist (1863-1… · b. 1863
B
Bill MlkvyAmerican basketball player · b. 1931
Dorothy PageAmerican actress · b. 1904
A
Althea HenleyAmerican film actress · b. 1911
Matt MillenAmerican football player and executive · b. 1958
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

North Whitehall Township4 historic placesA−Laurys StationIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington Township1 historic placeA−WalnutportIts storyB−Lower Towamensing Township1 historic placeB+Slatington3 historic placesA+Allen Township1 historic placeBMoore Township1 historic placeB−East Penn TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Lehigh Township’s history

How does Lehigh Township rank for history?

Lehigh Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #654 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Lehigh Township?

Two places: the Lehigh Water Gap Chain Bridge Toll House and East Bridge Abutment (listed 2021) and the Mary Immaculate Seminary (MIS) (2022).

How old are the homes in Lehigh Township?

9% of Lehigh Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1979.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.