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Local History

Talks in the Tavern Series – “Spinning Natural Fibers into Fabrics”

Guest speakers Barbara Hohenwarter and Doreen Kruk describe and demonstrate the colonial process of developing fabrics from the simple fibers obtained from livestock and natural plants. The event is held […]

Latest in Local History
School Building Demolished Hellertown
Early 1900s School Building Demolished in Hellertown

A former school building and manufacturing facility located at the corner of Main Street and Kichline Avenue in Hellertown borough was demolished in recent days.

The Story of the Plaza Clock Tower in Hellertown

The clock tower in Hellertown's Detwiller Plaza has become a beloved borough symbol that appears on everything from Christmas cards to the patches worn by Hellertown police officers. But do you know anything about how it came to be there?

Ralph Mann
Ralph Mann: An Unforgotten WWII Hero from Coopersburg

Coopersburg native Ralph Mann (1923-2013) was just 21 years old when he parachuted onto Normandy Beach on D-Day as a “Red Devil” in the 82nd Airborne division. A member of "the Greatest Generation," he later shared some of his memories of World War II with his friend and pastor, Rick Paashaus.

Christmas Hellertown Olden Days
Olden Days, 1921: Businessmen Put Up ‘Community Christmas Tree’

Exactly one hundred years ago, the residents of the small borough of Hellertown (population: 3,008 in the 1920 Census) were busy preparing for Christmas.

Air Reduction Company The_Allentown_Democrat_Fri__Nov_22__1918_
Olden Days, 1918: Air Reduction Co. Builds Plant in Hellertown

Although it is primarily a bedroom community today, there was a time when Hellertown was a bustling industrial center. Probably the biggest and best-known of its former industrial outfits was the Thomas Iron Company, which once occupied a site along the Saucon Creek, however other businesses also located operated factories in the borough.

Olden Days Hellertown 1918
Olden Days, 1918: Hellertown Hotelier Handed Labor Law Violation

In 1918, women in the U.S. did not yet have the right to vote. However, they had other protected rights, as evidenced by a newspaper article from Aug. 31, 1918 about a Hellertown hotel owner who was fined for requiring his female employees to "work more than six days a week."

Lafayette
Olden Days, 1920: Hellertown Woman Who Served in WWI Returns Home

More than a year after the Armistice signed on Nov. 11, 1918 brought an end to World War I, Hellertown welcomed back the only woman from the borough who answered the call to serve her country during that conflict.

Lutz-Franklin School Lower Saucon Photo Contest
Win Up to $350 in Lower Saucon Historical Society’s Photo Contest

Do you love to take pictures of historic locations in the Saucon Valley area? If you do, you'll probably want to enter the Lower Saucon Township Historical Society's "History Through Photography" contest.

Explore History at Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum

The Lehigh and Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum's massive display takes visitors on a trip through our area's historic rail systems.