Whitehall Township | |
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 Helfrich's Springs Grist Mill, built in 1807 in Whitehall Township, in October 2012 | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location of Whitehall Township inLehigh County, Pennsylvania | |
  Whitehall Township Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:40°40′00″N75°30′00″W / 40.66667°N 75.50000°W /40.66667; -75.50000 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Pennsylvania |
| County | Lehigh |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Joseph J. Marx, Jr.[1] (Democratic) |
| Area | |
• Township | 12.86 sq mi (33.31 km2) |
| • Land | 12.57 sq mi (32.55 km2) |
| • Water | 0.29 sq mi (0.76 km2) |
| Elevation | 384 ft (117 m) |
| Population | |
• Township | 26,738 |
• Estimate (2016)[4] | 27,423 |
| • Density | 2,181.9/sq mi (842.43/km2) |
| • Metro | 865,310 (US:68th) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 18052 |
| Area codes | 610 and 484 |
| FIPS code | 42-077-84528 |
| Primary airport | Lehigh Valley International Airport |
| Major hospital | Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest |
| School district | Whitehall-Coplay |
| Website | www |
Whitehall Township is atownship withhome rule status inLehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township's population was 29,173 as of the 2020 census.[5]
Whitehall Township is a suburb ofAllentown in theLehigh Valley metropolitan region, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populousmetropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
The township is 4.4 miles (7.1 km) north of Allentown, 64.1 miles (103.2 km) northwest ofPhiladelphia, and 93.7 miles (150.8 km) west ofNew York City.[6]
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TheProvince of Pennsylvania was created in 1681 whenKing Charles II granted a charter of land in America toWilliam Penn.[7]
After the death of Penn, his sons,John,Thomas, andRichard, became the owners of Pennsylvania.[8] TheLenape Indian tribe deeded that part ofLehigh County lying between theSouth Mountain andBlue Mountain to Penn's sons in 1736.
A wave ofGerman immigrants fromGermany'sPalatinate settled in Whitehall Township. The first was Jacob Kohler, who settled in the vicinity ofEgypt about 1728. The settlers staked their claim on the lands by applying to the Penns for a land warrant. They cleared the land for farming and established churches around which villages grew.
When the first European settlers came to the Whitehall area, the Lenape people were living on the banks ofHokendauqua Creek. The Europeans and the Lenape designed a deal to determine how much land the Europeans would acquire based on how far the Europeans were able to walk in two days. To gain more land, the Europeans paid a professional runner who got as far as what is nowCoaldale, inSchuylkill County.
The Lenape lived peacefully among the German settlers for a time. But the tribe suffered injustices at the hands of the settlers and lashed back during a 1763 uprising inLehigh County. Fort Deshler, which stood near Route 145 at Chestnut Street, played a key role in the defense of settler-held lands during this battle, in which 23 settlers were killed.
The original Whitehall Township, established in 1753, was split into the three townships of Whitehall, North Whitehall, and South Whitehall in 1867. The name Whitehall is said to have originated from Lynford Lardner's hunting lodge that was painted withwhitewash.[disputed –discuss] Lardner named it "Grouse Hall", but the common people of the region called it "White Hall". Whitehall Township's villages includeCementon,Egypt,Fullerton,Hokendauqua,Mickleys,Stiles, andWest Catasauqua.Coplay was also part of Whitehall until it incorporated as a borough in 1869. Agriculture was the major industry until the mid-1800s. Today, about 2,000 acres (809 ha) are under cultivation. There were sixgrist mills in Whitehall, built to process grains for the farmers into flour and animal feed. Only one grist mill remains, the Helfrich Springs Grist Mill, which is also home to the Whitehall Historical Preservation Society, which has preserved the building for use as a local history museum.
Completion of theLehigh Canal in 1829 led to further development. Discovery ofiron ore deposits brought Whitehall into theIndustrial Revolution when the firstblast iron furnace was built inHokendauqua in 1854. This was immediately followed by the establishment of a railroad system to transport raw materials to the furnaces and to ship the final product. Population grew rapidly as these industries attracted Welsh and Irish immigrants.
While the railroads were being constructed, cuts in the bedrock led to the discovery of Whitehall's deposits of Jacksonburglimestone. David O. Saylor perfected and patented the process of manufacturingPortland cement. The first Portland cement plant was located between the villages of Cementon and Coplay. Others quickly followed, and by 1914 70% of the cement produced in the United States came from the "Cement Belt" or Lehigh District. The cement industry attracted a new wave of immigrants fromAustria-Hungary, creating yet another population spurt.
Whitehall became classified as a first class township with a population of 7,935 in 1900. This gave the township specified municipal rights for supplying electric lights, highways, and sewers at public expense. The post-World War II era began the transition from the manufacturing industries to the retail industry as Whitehall became abedroom community and suburb ofAllentown. The individual villages united into a single entity known as Whitehall in 1968, when the U.S. Post Office combined its separate town branches.Breadon Field, which was the home field for a series ofMinor League Baseball teams from the stadium's 1948 opening until its 1964 demolition, was based in Whitehall Township.
In 1974, voters approved the adoption of a Home Rule Charter form of government, creating a seven-member legislative body and an elected mayor. Today, with an annual budget in excess of $21 million, Whitehall provides a full range of municipal services to its residents.[9]
Whitehall Township is in easternLehigh County on the north side of the city ofAllentown. According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 12.9 square miles (33.3 km2), of which 12.6 square miles (32.6 km2) are land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km2), or 2.22%, are water.[2] Whitehall is drained by theLehigh River, which forms the eastern boundary of the township, separating it from the boroughs ofNorthampton andNorth Catasauqua inNorthampton County and the borough ofCatasauqua in Lehigh County.
The township was originally created on March 20, 1753, and included what is nowNorth Whitehall andSouth Whitehall townships. In 1810, a petition was made to the Northampton County Court to split the township into two portions; at the time, the area now encompassed by Lehigh County was part ofNorthampton County. The name "Whitehall" refers to a white hall that was built alongJordan Creek in the early 1700s as a hunting lodge. The area had a largeruffed grouse population along with numerouswhite-tailed deer,eastern elk,eastern wolves, andblack bear. Mountain lions orcougars may have also existed within Whitehall Township at some point in time. Because of the rich biodiversity of the area it became known as the wilderness of Whitehall.Old-growth forest consisting of oak, tulip poplar, hickory, black walnut, sugar maple, basswood, American chestnut, American beech, and sycamore covered the entire township.
In 1867, eastern portions of both North and South Whitehall were reapportioned into the current Whitehall Township. The new Whitehall Township is generally rectangular in shape, running from north-northwest to south-southeast, and is situated along the western bank of the Lehigh River. Two years after the new township's formation, the borough ofCoplay was incorporated, removing from the township a square section of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2).
The township's villages includeCementon,Eagle Point,Egypt,Fullerton,Hokendauqua,Mickleys, North Coplay,Scherersville (also in South Whitehall),Stiles, andWest Catasauqua.
Whitehall Township has a hot-summerhumid continental climate (Dfa) and thehardiness zone is 6b. Average monthly temperatures in Hokendauqua range from 28.8 °F (−1.8 °C) in January to 73.8 °F (23.2 °C) in July.[10]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 24,896 | — | |
| 2010 | 26,738 | 7.4% | |
| 2020 | 29,173 | 9.1% | |
| [11] | |||
As of thecensus[12] of 2010, there were 29,173 people, 11,607 households, and 6,817 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,981.1 inhabitants per square mile (764.9/km2). There were 10,744 housing units at an average density of 855.0 units per square mile (330.1 units/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 90.56%White, 2.74%African American, 0.13%Native American, 3.62%Asian, 0.06%Pacific Islander, 1.71% fromother races, and 1.18% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 4.37% of the population.
There were 10,376 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% weremarried couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 52% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the township, the population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $43,070, and the median income for a family was $51,597. Males had a median income of $39,175 versus $26,933 for females. Theper capita income for the township was $21,383. About 4.4% of families and 6.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.
Whitehall-Coplay School District serves the township and also the borough ofCoplay. Students in grades 9–12 from both municipalities attendWhitehall High School.
There also are several parochial and private schools within the Township:
TheDent Hardware Company Factory Complex inFullerton andHelfrich's Springs Grist Mill in the township are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[13]
TheLehigh Valley Mall, the largestLehigh Valley-based shopping mall, is located in Whitehall Township, as is theWhitehall Mall.
Several radio stations have broadcast facilities within the township (all owned byiHeartMedia), including:
As of 2025, Whitehall Township is represented by the following federal, state, county, and township officials:
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 7,414 | 50.52% | 7,069 | 48.17% | 193 | 1.32% |
| 2020 | 6,783 | 47.05% | 7,500 | 52.02% | 135 | 0.94% |
| 2016 | 6,008 | 48.53% | 5,952 | 48.08% | 419 | 3.38% |
| 2012 | 5,002 | 44.42% | 6,107 | 54.24% | 151 | 1.34% |
| 2008 | 4,766 | 40.48% | 6,832 | 58.03% | 175 | 1.49% |
| 2004 | 5,228 | 45.48% | 6,178 | 53.74% | 90 | 0.78% |
| Whitehall Township Bureau of Police | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1946; 80 years ago (1946) |
| Employees | 59[17] |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Size | 12.86 sq mi (33.31 km2) |
| Population | 26,738 (2010)[3] |
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by | Department of Public Safety |
| Headquarters | 3223 MacArthur Rd, Whitehall, PA 18052 |
| officers | 50 |
| civilians | 9 |
| Elected officer responsible |
|
| Agency executives |
|
| Website | |
| http://www.whitehalltownship.org/police_about.html | |
Whitehall Township Bureau of Police is a medium-sizedcity policeforce. The first police patrolmen were hire in 1905, and the current police department was formed in 1946.[18] Since then, has been ensuring law and order in thetownship.
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Chief of Police |  |
| Deputy Chief of Police |  |
| Lieutenant |  |
| Detective Sergeant |  |
| Sergeant | |
| Officer |
_from_the_overpass_for_Pennsylvania_State_Route_145_(MacArthur_Road)_in_Whitehall_Township%2c_Lehigh_County%2c_Pennsylvania.jpg)
As of 2018, there were 120.85 miles (194.49 km) of public roads in Whitehall Township, 23.25 miles (37.42 km) of which were maintained by the state'sDepartment of Transportation (PennDOT), and 97.60 miles (157.07 km) of which are maintained by the township.[19]
The township's main north–south road is MacArthur Road (PA 145), which has an interchange withUS 22 in the south and crossesPA 329 in the north. PA 145 heads south intoAllentown and north toWalnutport. US 22 passes east–west through the southern portion of Whitehall Township on a freeway called the Lehigh Valley Thruway, with interchanges at PA 145 and Fullerton Avenue. US 22 leads west to connections withPA 309,I-476, also known as thePennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension, andI-78 and east toBethlehem andEaston. PA 329 passes east–west through the northern portion of Whitehall Township on Main Street, leading west toSchnecksville and east toNorthampton andBath.[20]
LANta provides bus service in Whitehall Township with several routes serving the MacArthur Road retail corridor. The bus routes connect the township with Allentown, Bethlehem, and other points in the Lehigh Valley.[21] The transit center at theLehigh Valley Mall moved because the mall requested LANta to move due to safety concerns.[22]
Municipalities and communities ofLehigh County, Pennsylvania,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
