West Bethlehem History Links, Lehigh County, PA

West Bethlehem History Links
Lehigh County, PA

Updated Monday, August 13, 2007

Bethlehem was founded in 1741 by the Moravian Church. The portion of Bethlehem which lies west of the Monocacy Creek is located in Lehigh County, while the rest of the city is located in Northampton County.

Bethlehem was a closed Moravian community for its first 100 years. All land was held by the Moravian Church, and the government was comprised of the church elders.

Much of the land in West Bethlehem, 500 acres to be exact, was added by James and Mary Burnside's association with the church. Today Burnside Plantation is a museum of the Historic Bethlehem Partnership. Burnside's land extended from the Monocacy Creek west to Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Burnside tract was part of Hanover Township until the Victorian era. Hanover Township included the Native American village called Nain and Rittersville. West Bethlehem became a borough briefly from 1886 to 1904, when it was added to the Borough of Bethlehem. This neighborhood became part of the City of Bethlehem in 1918, as it remains today.

Please contact me if you are interested in establishing the

West Bethlehem Historical Society

We could probably meet at Burnside Plantation and historic homes in the area. We are sure to discover quite a few interesting and historic sites west of the Monocacy Creek, such as the Revolutionary War burial ground near First Avenue.