- Egypt, Pennsylvania
Egypt is an unincorporated community located in
Lehigh County ,Pennsylvania , in theUnited States . The village is in Whitehall Township, convert|7|mi|km|sing=off north of Allentown and convert|1|mi|km|sing=off west of Cementon. Egypt is located onPennsylvania Route 329 , just west of its intersection withPennsylvania Route 145 at Eagle Point.History
Egypt is one of the oldest communities in Lehigh County, having been settled as early as 1733.cite book |last= Roberts |first= Charles Rhoads |coauthors= Rev. John Baer Stoudt, Rev. Thomas H. Krick, William J. Dietrich |title= History of Lehigh County Pennsylvania and a Genealogical and Biographical Records of its Families |publisher= Lehigh Valley Publishing Company |year= 1914 |volume = 1Page 1012]
Early Pennsylvania German settlers of nearby present-day Lynn and Albany townships had named the area where they settled "Alle mängel" ("all wants") due to the poor quality of the soil on which they were trying to farm and raise crops. By contrast, the soil here was found to be quite fertile, and early settlers named this region "Egypta," since
ancient Egypt , with its fertileNile delta , was the "granary of the world." [cite book |last=Henry | first=Michael S. | title = History of the Lehigh Valley | publisher = Bixler & Company |location=Easton, Pennsylvania | year=1860 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=9FaQgLhoQ3oC&pg=RA2-PA402&lpg=RA2-PA402&dq=Henry+1860+History-of-the-Lehigh-Valley+pdf&source=web&ots=67P_1hW1ru&sig=kpR-7poL9WlToZFjEWi1VgH2HH0&hl=en#PPR1,M1Page 304]The Reformed Congregation of Egypt Church was established in 1734, and a log church was erected in 1764.cite journal | last = Roberts | first = Charles Rhoads | title = History of Reformed Congregation of Egypt Church | journal = Proceedings of the Lehigh County Historical Society | volume = 1 | pages = 71–101 | publisher = Lehigh County Historical Society | location = Allentown, Pennsylvania | format = pdf | url = http://www.libraries.psu.edu/do/dbwholepdfs/30866700_whole.pdf | date = 1908 | accessdate = 2008-07-09] The cemetery of the Egypt church contains the graves of many of the region's earliest inhabitants.
In 1755, Jacob Kohler established a gristmill, located along the Coplay Creek just south of the church. The Troxell-Steckel House, which was built in Egypt in 1756, is one of the oldest buildings in Lehigh County [Roberts, "History of Lehigh County", Page 1016.] and is today operated as a museum and historic site by the
Lehigh County Historical Society . The Egypt area was also the location ofFort Deshler , aFrench and Indian War era frontier fort established in 1760 to protect settlers from Indian attacks. [Roberts, "History of Lehigh County", Page 111.] The fort, which was near the present intersection of PA Route 145 and Chestnut Street, stood until about 1940. The site is commemorated by aPennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker.cite web |url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/DOH/markerresults.asp?secid=31&namesearch=Deshler&Submit=Search+by+Marker+Title | title = PHMC: Historical Markers Program - Fort Deshler | accessdate = 2008-06-21] A granite marker, located just outside of Egypt at Scheidy's Road and Spring Street, commemorates the last Indian attack in Lehigh County, which occurred onOctober 8 1763 , when nine settlers were murdered. [Roberts, "History of Lehigh County", Pages 104-107.]The earliest hotel in the area was the Werley House, which operated from 1796 to 1815. [Roberts, "History of Lehigh County", Page 1015.] The first "English school" (as opposed to one that taught students in the Pennsylvania German dialect) was organized in 1808. [Roberts, "History of Lehigh County", Page 1015.] Other early industries in the immediate area included a carriage works, coal yard,
bakery ,tannery and silk works. In 1884, development of the community was spurred by the organization of the American Improved Cements Company (later American Cement Company), which took over and expanded a pre-existingcement mill named Egypt Mills. American Cement, which subsequently opened a number of mills in the Egypt area, operated into the early twentieth century. Cement production remains an important part of the local economy. Today, cement plants in the area are operated by Nazarth-based ESSROC a subsidiary of the Italian firmItalcementi , and the French companyLafarge .Notable residents
*
Curt Simmons , former professional baseball player, California Angels,Chicago Cubs ,Philadelphia Phillies andSt. Louis Cardinals .Education
Egypt is part of the
Whitehall-Coplay School District . Students in grades nine through 12 attend Whitehall High School.References
*cite book |last=Henry | first=Michael S. | title = History of the Lehigh Valley | publisher = Bixler & Company |location=Easton, Pennsylvania | year=1860 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=9FaQgLhoQ3oC&pg=RA2-PA402&lpg=RA2-PA402&dq=Henry+1860+History-of-the-Lehigh-Valley+pdf&source=web&ots=67P_1hW1ru&sig=kpR-7poL9WlToZFjEWi1VgH2HH0&hl=en#PPR1,M1
*cite book |last= Roberts |first= Charles Rhoads |coauthors= Rev. John Baer Stoudt, Rev. Thomas H. Krick, William J. Dietrich |title= History of Lehigh County Pennsylvania and a Genealogical and Biographical Records of its Families |publisher= Lehigh Valley Publishing Company |year= 1914 |volume = 1
*cite journal |last=Roberts |first=Charles R. |title=Place Names of Lehigh County and Their Origin |journal=Proceedings: Lehigh County Historical Society |year=1936 |publisher=Lehigh County Historical Society | location=Allentown, PennsylvaniaNotes
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