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Easton, Pennsylvania

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Easton, Pennsylvania
Flag of Easton, Pennsylvania
Flag
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyNorthampton
Government
 • MayorPhilip B. Mitman
Elevation
211 ft (64 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total26,263
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Websitehttp://www.easton-pa.com

Easton is a city in Northampton County, in the eastern region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. The population was 26,263 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Northampton CountyTemplate:GR.

Along with Allentown and Bethlehem, Easton is one of three primary cities that comprise the Lehigh Valley region, the state's third most populous metropolitan area. Easton is the easternmost city of the Lehigh Valley, sitting on the confluence of the Delaware River (which divides Pennsylvania and New Jersey) and the Lehigh River, for which the Lehigh Valley is named. Easton is the smallest of the three Lehigh Valley cities, with approximately one-fourth of the population of the largest Lehigh Valley city, Allentown.

Easton is almost equidistant from Philadelphia, which is 60 miles (100 km) to the south, and New York City, which is 70 miles (110 km) to the east.

Air transport to and from Easton is available through Lehigh Valley International Airport, which is located approximately 10 miles west of the city, in Hanover Township.

The greater Easton area consists of the city itself, three townships (Forks, Palmer, and Williams) and three boroughs (Glendon, West Easton, and Wilson).

Easton is perhaps best known globally as the home of former world heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes, who, in honor of the city, fought under the nickname "The Easton Assassin". Holmes continues to reside in Easton and owns several commercial establishments there.

Education

Post-secondary education

Easton is the home of one four-year college, Lafayette College, one of the older colleges in the United States (founded in 1826).

Easton's Lafayette College

Primary education

The Easton area is served by two school districts: the Easton Area School District and the Wilson Area School District.

Easton Area School District

The Easton Area School District serves the residents of the city itself, along with Forks and Palmer Townships and two smaller non-contiguous communities: the borough of Riegelsville, Pennsylvania to the south and the village of Martins Creek, Pennsylvania to the north. The school district has six elementary schools (Cheston, Forks, March, Palmer, Paxinosa, and Tracy) for grades K-4, Easton Area Middle School for grades 5-6, Shawnee Middle School (in Forks Township) for grades 7-8, and Easton High School (in Palmer Township) for grades 9-12. Total student enrollment is about 9000 students in all grades.

Easton High School is known for its long-standing athletic rivalry with Phillipsburg High School in neighboring Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The two teams play an annual football game on Thanksgiving Day that is considered one of the largest and longest-standing rivalries in American high school football. This year (2006) is the 100th year anniversary of the Easton-Phillipsburg high school football rivalry. The game was won by Easton.

Easton High School competes athletically in the Lehigh Valley Conference, generally considered one of the state's most competitive athletic conferences.

As of the 2005 census, the combined population of the municiplaities in the Easton Area School District is 53,554

Wilson Area School District

The Wilson Area School District serves students of the neighboring bouroughs of Wilson, West Easton, Glendon, and Williams Township.

As of the 2005 census, the combined population of the municiplalities in the Wilson Area School District is 13,671

Industry

Easton is the home of Binney & Smith, the manufacturer of Crayola crayons, and was formerly the home of Dixie Cup Corporation, the manufacturer of Dixie Cups and other consumer products.

Media

Easton's daily newspaper is The Express Times, but The Morning Call, based in Allentown, also is widely read in the city. Easton is part of the Philadelphia DMA, but also receives numerous radio and television channels from New York City, and from the smaller Scranton-Wilkes-Barre media market to the northwest.

Two television stations are based in neighboring Allentown: PBS affiliate WLVT Channel 39, and independent station WFMZ Channel 69.

Among Easton-based radio stations is WODE-FM "The Hawk", a classic rock station broadcast at 99.9 FM, and WCTO "Cat Country 96", a country music station broadcasting on 96.1 FM. Other rock music stations within the Easton market include WZZO "Z-95", based in Lehigh Valley's Whitehall Township, which broadcasts at 95.1 FM.

History

Easton is situated at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, a popular area long before it was settled by Europeans. The Native Americans knew this place as "Lechauwitank", or "The Place at the Forks". Thomas Penn was so inspired by the beauty of the place that he set aside a 1000 acre (4km²) tract of land here for a town. Easton, founded in 1752, was so named at the request of Penn: he had recently married Juliana Fermor, the daughter of Lord Pomfret whose estate was called Easton-Neston, in Northamptonshire, England. As the new county of Northampton was being formed at this time, Easton was selected as its county seat, at least partially because it was as far as possible from the Moravians who were settled further up the Lehigh River at Bethlehem.

Several Indian treaties were signed in Easton during the French and Indian War, contributing to the English conquest of the Ohio River Valley.

Declaration of Independence reading

Easton was also an important military center during the American Revolutionary War. In 1776, Easton was one of the first three places the Declaration of Independence was publicly read (along with Philadelphia and Trenton). It is claimed that the Easton flag was flown during that reading, making it one of the first "Stars and Stripes" to fly over the colonies. This flag, which is known to date to the War of 1812, currently serves as Easton's municipal flag.

Industrial history

Easton was a major commercial center during the canal and railroad periods of the 1800s, when it was a transportation hub for the steel industry. Three canals (the Delaware, the Lehigh, and the Morris canals) served to connect the coal regions of the north, the iron works to the west, and the commercial port of Philadelphia to the south. Later, Easton was served by five railroads, and only lost its prominence in transportation with the rise of the automobile.

Like the Pennsylvania Dutch region to the southwest, Easton has a strong German heritage. The Pennsylvania Argus, a German-language newspaper, was published in Easton until 1917. As part of their heritage, the Germans put up one of the continent's earliest Christmas trees in Easton; Daniel Foley's book (page 72) states that "Another diary reference unearthed recently makes mention of a tree set-up at Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1816." There is a plaque in Scott Park (along the Delaware) commemorating this event, and it also mentions the 1816 date.

Most historians of angling believe that Samuel Phillipe, an Easton gunsmith, invented the six-strip split-cane fishing rod. A state historical commission plaque near Center Square commemorates this[1].

Refuge from prohibition

During prohibition, Easton earned a reputation for nightlife in an age when the rest of the nation was dry, and Easton was referred to colloquially as "The Little Apple." Easton was a speakeasy town where liquor flowed freely, brothels were common, and the local police were known to turn a blind eye. Following the end of many Friday Night fights in New York City's Madison Square Garden during this era, crowds were known to chant "Going to Easton" before boarding trains en masse for the short 78 mile trek to this Pennsylvania/New Jersey border town, where nightlife flourished.

Easton was also once known as the "City of Churches". At one time, it had the largest church-to-population ratio in the nation.

Geography

File:Easton Flooding WPVI 2006.jpg
"Action News" coverage of flooding in Easton on June 28, 2006.

Easton is located at 40°41′18″N 75°12′59″W / 40.68833°N 75.21639°W / 40.68833; -75.21639Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (40.688248, -75.216458)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.0 km² (4.7 mi²). 11.0 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (8.39%) is water. including Bushkill Creek and the Lehigh and Delaware rivers.

Downtown Easton lies at the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware rivers, and is a low-lying area surrounded by hills to the north, west, and south. North of downtown is College Hill, the home of Lafayette College. South Easton, divided by the Lehigh River from the rest of the city, was a separate borough until 1898; it was settled initially by canal workers, and was later the home of several silk mills.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 26,263 people, 9,544 households, and 5,735 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,380.3/km² (6,168.4/mi²). There were 10,545 housing units at an average density of 955.7/km² (2,476.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.48% White, 12.71% African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.66% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 3.67% from other races, and 3.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.79% of the population.

There were 9,544 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.7% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 16.3% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,162, and the median income for a family was $38,704. Males had a median income of $32,356 versus $23,609 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,949. About 12.3% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable Easton residents

References

  • Daniel J. Foley. "The Christmas Tree". Chilton Co., Book Division: Philadelphia 1960.
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