To contact Northampton Boro, phone 610‑262‑2576.
Beginnings [1]
Northampton Borough was incorporated in 1901. About 1920 it was a bustling town of about 10,000 inhabitants, more than 1/3rd of whom were of foreign extraction. It is situated on the east bank of the Lehigh River, and on both sides of the Hoendauqua creek, a tributary of the Lehigh River.
Northampton Boro was formed by uniting tow towns, Stemton and Siegfried, which had grown together, both of which had been centers of trae for more than a century. These towns were a part of Allen Township, and were the western end of the famous Irish settlement of the Colonial period. The first white man to settle at what is now Northampton Boro appears to have been Hugh Wilson. On August 20, 1739, William Allen obtained from the Penns, whose creditor he was, a grant of 1,345 acres of land east of the Lehigh River, on the Hoendauqua creek, embracing most of what is now the Borough of Northampton. Two days later he sold the grant to Hugh Wilson. Hugh Wilson and his three sons, Thomas, Samuel and Charles, were among the pioneers of the Irish Settlement. In 1752 High Wilson conveyed the mill, together with a number of acres of land and all the water rights and courses to his son Thomas for "five shillings and natural love and affection."
Northampton was the site of a famous Indian village many moons before it became a pale-face settlement. The beautiful meadow in front of the home of John Smith, and the busy scene of the Atlas Portland Cement mills, were the site of the quiet and peaceful Indian village or plantation of Hockyondocquay (Hokendauqua). This village was at the time of the "Walkiing Purchase: the home of the famous orator and "honest old Indian," Chief Lappowinzo.
Nearby Towns: Allentown City • Catasauqua Boro • Chapman Boro • Coplay Boro • East Allen Twp • Fountain Hill Boro • Lehigh Twp • Moore Twp • North Catasauqua Boro • South Whitehall Twp • Whitehall Twp •