Bethlehem Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 14.7 square miles (38 km²), of which, 14.6 square miles (38 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (0.61%) is water. It is drained by the Lehigh River, which separates it from Lower Saucon Township. Its villages include Brodhead, Butztown, Farmersville, Middletown, Prospect Park (also in Palmer Township,) and Wagnerville. Its major roads include east-to-west Highway 22, William Penn Highway, and Freemansburg Road and north-to-south Highway 33, Route 191, Butztown Road/Hecktown Road, Farmersville Road, and Main Street Extension.

Neighboring municipalities

History

The ancient Lenni Lenape or Delaware First Nation peoples lived in the Lehigh River valley. The Lehigh River and its Monocacy Creek and Nancy Run tributaries, provided fertile soil and ample fishing opportunities for the area's inhabitants before the arrival of William Penn, newly named "Proprietor" of the Province of Pennsylvania in 1681.

In 1737, Penn's family negotiated a land purchase from the Lenape, known today as the "Walking Purchase". From this agreement, settlement began by Europeans newly arrived in pre-Revolutionary War Pennsylvania.

The municipality of Bethlehem Township was formed in 1746 as a part of Bucks County. The name of Bethlehem itself originated from the German Moravian Brethren on Christmas Eve in 1741. The township, as originally defined, contained the current township as well as the townships of Upper Nazareth and Lower Nazareth. As shown on a page from the 1874 "Atlas of Northampton County", Upper and Lower Nazareth Townships had been created, but the then-borough of Bethlehem had not yet annexed the areas of Altona and parcels along Center Street (Bath Pike), Linden Street (Nazareth Pike), and Easton Avenue.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,171 people, 7,619 households, and 5,889 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,451.7 people per square mile (560.6/km²). There were 7,831 housing units at an average density of 537.0/sq mi (207.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 93.27% White, 2.44% African American, 0.07% Native American, 2.20% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.14% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.97% of the population.

There were 7,619 households, out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.7% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the township the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $60,317, and the median income for a family was $68,427. Males had a median income of $47,363 versus $32,136 for females. The per capita income for the township was $25,141. About 2.2% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The township is served by the Bethlehem Area School District, which consists of sixteen elementary schools, four middle schools, and two high schools. The high schools have a considerable enrollment size, Freedom High School has 1,750 currently while Liberty High School is at 3,000 as of the 2014-2015 school year. Notre Dame High School, Moravian Academy, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help schools make up the parochial schools.

Colleges and Universities

Community, Junior, and Technical Colleges

Public Charter Schools

Private Schools

High Schools

Middle Schools

Elementary Schools

Popular Culture

Dwayne Johnson commonly known as 'The Rock' transferred to Freedom High School in 11th grade and rose up in the football team, resulting in the University of Miami offering him a five-year scholarship. Daniel Dae Kim who can be seen as Chin Ho Kelly in Hawaii Five-0 or Jin-Soo Kwon from Lost and various other roles. He was born in Korea but he and his family moved to Bethlehem and he was raised there.

Film

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen directed by Michael Bay filmed its opening sequence at Bethlehem Steel, a factory that used to produce steel until its closure in 2003. Filming occurred a year prior to the film's release.

Police

There are currently 35 full time sworn officers who do their duty for over 20,000 residents in the area. Police personnel earned 15 of the township's top 20 salaries in 2006 with the highest-paid officer grossing nearly $78,000, according to figures released by the township in 2007.

Fire and EMS

Bethlehem Township is served by two volunteer fire departments. The first department, Nancy Run Fire Company Station 14, houses three Engines, two Trucks (100 ft. Ladder-Tower), one Utility Truck, one Light and Air Truck, and two Command Vehicles. The second department, Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company Station 17, houses two Engines, two Heavy Rescues, two Utility Vehicles, two ATVs, one Brush Unit, and a Rescue Boat. This station also provides Emergency Medical Services and offers BLS and ALS capabilities to the township, its fleet comprises of six ALS ambulances. Both departments average more than 850 fire calls annually (both departments run mutually on each call within the township) making them the busiest volunteer fire district in Northampton county.

Parks and recreation

Bethlehem Township's parks system provides recreation opportunities for its residents through a series of parks, trail systems, and greenways. The two largest parks, Municipal Park on Farmersville Road in the center of the township and the Janet Johnston Housenick and William D. Housenick Memorial Park on Christian Spring Road in the northwestern corner of the township, provide dozens of acres of green space. Municipal Park features a modern recreation facility with tennis and basketball courts, a fitness trail, hardball and softball fields, and other modern amenities. In contrast, the Housenick Park property consists of conserved lands which formed part of the Camel's Hump Farm property of Archibald Johnston, the first mayor of the consolidated city of Bethlehem.

Complementing the active and passive park facilities in the township is the Palmer/Bethlehem Rail Trail, a 7.3-mile [11.7 kilometer] bicycle and walking trail near the north bank of the Lehigh River linking the county seat of Easton to the east with the city of Bethlehem, the largest municipality in the county.