Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Northampton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northampton is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #667 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Northampton’s overall grade.
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 Northampton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 points). Two sources give 1867.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Northampton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Northampton was created from the villages of Siegfried, Newport, and Stemton, which unified to form Northampton in 1902.
Due to the limestone formations in the region, Northampton became a global center for the manufacturing of cement. Atlas Portland Cement Company, the largest such company in the world for much of the 20th century, operated in Northampton from 1895 to 1982. It produced some eight million barrels of cement for construction of the Panama Canal, which included most of the cement used on the canal's construction.
In 1909, Atlas petitioned county courts to change the alliance into a borough, reportedly because the change would make it easier for the company to send and receive mail.
Passages that mention Northampton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Portrait and biographical record of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, Pennsylvania. Containing biographical sketches of prominent1894 · page 462Read the page →
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Mr. Brodhead was the first to suggest the construction of the New Street bridge, which, starting in Bethlehem, in Northampton County, crosses the canal and railroad of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, the Monocacy Creek, a section of Lehigh County, the Lehigh River, many tracks of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and after a stretch of eleven hundred feet, terminates in South Bethle-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh under supervision and revision of William J. Heller, assisted by an advisory board of editors..1920 · page 534Read the page →
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Northampton Heights — The borough of Northampton Heights was fonnerly a part of the township of Lower Saucon. It is connected with the city of Bethlehem by a bridge over the Lehigh Valley railroad, and extends for about five blocks down two parallel streets. The population is estimated to be about 1,200, mostly employes of the Bethlehem Steel Works. During the late war the population was increased several thousands, a large percentage being Greeks, Hungarians, and Russians. At a short distance from the borough is located the Lehigh Coke Works, operated by the Bethlehem Steel
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Portrait and biographical record of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, Pennsylvania. Containing biographical sketches of prominent1894 · page 964Read the page →
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He opened a book and stationery store on Northampton Street, on a small scale, and there continued for twelve years. In the winter of 1875 he purchased the property at No. 332 Northampton Street, enlarged it to a depth of one hundred and fifty feet, and moved his book .and stationery store there in the spring of 1876. He continued thus for thirteen years, when he moved to his present
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh under supervision and revision of William J. Heller, assisted by an advisory board of editors..1920 · page 237Read the page →
Read the text
of Freeman M. Messinger, of Easton. Pennsylvania, their settlement in Northampton county, dating from 1743. The American ancestor, Michael Messinger, bought land in Forks township from the heirs of William Pcnn. there located and founded the important Messinger family of Northampton county. The line of descent to Freeman M. Messinger is thus traced. Michael Messinger was born in Switzerland, November 10, 1719, died October 24, 1791, in Northampton county, Pennsylvania. He married Catherine Abel, born April 23, 1723, died July i, 1785, and they were the parents
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Northampton, 1845 to 1948
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1867, according to Wikidata. Northampton’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1800 counted 573 people here.
How does Northampton rank for history?
Northampton is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #667 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.
How old are the homes in Northampton?
50% of Northampton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1941.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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