Something Unique In Your Neck of the Woods

Many things come to mind when thinking of Lancaster County: the Amish, center of PA Dutch culture, horse and buggy trotting alongside a bucolic country road. Being hotly contested territory in a violent, decades-long border dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland is not one of them. But Lancaster County was exactly that in the 1730s during a conflict known as Cresap’s War.

Many know of a famous Pennsylvanian named William Penn, but William Allen was an important part of this state’s history as well as the founder of Lehigh County (1812), Allentown (1762), and Mount Airy (which was actually an estate and manor first, built in 1750). Speaking of Allentown, Allen chose the location due to the Lehigh River and its ability to easily transport goods to and from Philadelphia. Today, Allentown is Lehigh County’s county seat.

Let’s dig a little deeper into William Allen’s story and his connection to some well-known historical people.