Hellertown, Pennsylvania

Hellertown, Pennsylvania
Detwiller Plaza in Hellertown in June 2008
Seal
Location of Hellertown in Northampton County, Pennsylvania (left) and of Northampton County in Pennsylvania (right)
Hellertown Location of Hellertown in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Hellertown Hellertown (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°35′03″N 75°20′17″W
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Northampton
Named for	Christopher Heller
Government
• Mayor	David J. Heintzelman (D)[1]
Area
• City	1.32 sq mi (3.41 km^2)
• Land	1.31 sq mi (3.40 km^2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.01 km^2)
Elevation	322 ft (98 m)
Population  (2020)[2]
• City	6,132
• Density	4,673.78/sq mi (1,805.07/km^2)
• Metro	865,310 (US: 68th)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Zip Code	18055
Area codes	610 and 484
FIPS code	42-33744
Primary airport	Lehigh Valley International Airport
Major hospital	Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest
School district	Saucon Valley
Website	www.hellertownborough.org

Hellertown is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Its population was 6,131 at the 2020 census. Hellertown is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of 2020.

Hellertown is home to Lost River Caverns, a natural limestone cavern.

Geography

Hellertown is located at 40°35′3″N 75°20′17″W (40.584099, -75.338139).^[3] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all land.

History

Pre-settlement

The area of present-day Hellertown was inhabited by various American Indian groups and European settlers.^{[citation needed]}

18th century

Hellertown was founded in 1742 by Christopher Heller and his brother Simon. The family were Palatines that left Rotterdam on September 5, 1738 and landed in Philadelphia. Christopher obtained the patent for his land September 8, 1742, and Simon received his patent October 14, 1746. Together they owned a 176 acre property at the southern foot of the Lehigh Mountain along the Saucon Creek and constructed the family plantation named "delay".^[4]

19th century

In 1820, the town contained thirteen houses, eighteen families, three taverns, two stores, one grist-mill, and seventy-three inhabitants. The town specialized in the production of linseed oil. The first school in Hellertown was built in 1845 following the donation of a plot of land by resident John Reutzheimer. Prior to this all schooling was performed on a rotation basis in local homes.^[5]

In the late 1840s, the town would shift from a small farming community to a burgeoning industrial center, with coal yards being built in 1848, and the Lower Saucon Ironworks opening in 1849. This growth was expedited in 1856 the North Pennsylvania Railroad was built through Hellertown and Rudolphus Kent, of Gwynedd, purchased a plot of land to build a rail station. The small wooden station would be demolished in favor of a larger stone one in 1868. In 1858, the town's first newspaper, The Hellertown Telegraph began publication, but would only last a year before shutting its doors. In 1866, a large iron foundry was constructed by the Lower Saucon Ironworks. It was joined by the Saucon Savings bank in 1871, and a steel foundry in 1872. A Planing mill was built in 1874 and a furniture factory and flour mill in 1875.

In 1870, the original school house built in 1845 was purchased and turned into an Evangelical Church, the first church in the town, prior to which all religious services where held on a rotational basis in people's houses. Since 1867, the town has had an Odd Fellows lodge, and they were joined in October 1869 by the second ever chapter of the Sons of Hermann.

In 1874, the first cemetery in the town was started, the Union Cemetery. In 1875, the town's second newspaper, The Saucon Advertiser was founded, but it would close in just a few months. That year Hellertown consisted of five stores, two hardware stores, one drug store, two carriage factories, one foundry, one grist-mill, one saw-mill, one planing-mill, two furnace stacks, three hotels, coal and lumber yard, furniture manufactory, a town hall, a bank, two churches, and a population of almost 1,000.^[5]

Government and politics

In the 2016 Presidential election Donald Trump won the borough with 1,349 votes to 1,281 votes in favor of Hillary Clinton.^[6] In the 2020 Presidential election Joe Biden won with 1,648 votes to Donald Trump's 1,572 votes.^[7]

Legislators

• State Representative Robert L. Freeman, Democrat, 136th district
• State Senator Lisa Boscola, Democrat, 18th district
• U.S. Representative Susan Wild, Democrat, 7th district

Chief Burgess

Originally, like many other boroughs in Pennsylvania, Hellertown's highest executive was the Chief Burgess a largely ceremonial office selected by members of the borough council amongst themselves to serve a one year term that was often reserved for the more senior members of the council.

No.	Name	Term	Party	Notes
1.	Thomas R. Laubach			Tinsmith and stove dealer elected the first Chief Burgess.[8]
	Milton Hess			Brother of Jeremiah. Local businessman.[8]
	Jeremiah S. Hess			Brother of Milton. Local businessman.[8]
	A.J. Harris			Owner of the first Drug Store in the borough.[8]
	George B. Deemer			Owner of a stone quarry that most of the borough used to build structures.[8]
	Charles J. Waidner			Northampton County commissioner and veterinarian.[8]
	James Wagner			Owner of a gist mill.[8]
	Morris J. Dimmick	1925 - 1945		Vice President of Guerber Engineering from 1930 to 1960.[9]

Mayors

No.	Name	Term	Party	Notes
	Howard Hess	1946-1949		Descendant of Thomas R. Laubach, Northampton county commissioner, restored and preserved the original borough jail.[10]
	Emerson Mills	1969-1981		Served three terms until his defeat in 1981.[11]
	Donald C. Zimpfer	1985-1993	Democratic	Spent eight years on the borough council before becoming mayor.[12] Defeated in the Democratic primaries.[11]
	Ben Muschlitz	1993-1997	Democratic	Longtime borough councilmen, engaged in a corruption scandal at the end of his term.[13] Attempted to merge Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township.[14]
	Richard Fluck	1997-2017	Democratic	Spent 28 years on the borough council, and 20 years as mayor.[15][16]
	David Heintzelman	2017-present	Democratic	Local funeral home owner and prominent local businessman.[17][15]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	605		—
1890	708		17.0%
1900	745		5.2%
1910	915		22.8%
1920	3,008		228.7%
1930	3,851		28.0%
1940	4,031		4.7%
1950	5,435		34.8%
1960	6,716		23.6%
1970	6,615		−1.5%
1980	6,025		−8.9%
1990	5,662		−6.0%
2000	5,606		−1.0%
2010	5,898		5.2%
2020	6,132		4.0%
Sources:[18][19][20][2]

As of the census^[19] of 2000, there were 5,606 people, 2,448 households, and 1,571 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,180.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,614.2/km²). There were 2,570 housing units at an average density of 1,916.6 per square mile (740.0/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.20% White, 0.30% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.68% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.48% of the population.

There were 2,448 households, out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the borough, the population was distributed, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $39,651, and the median income for a family was $49,604. Males had a median income of $37,935 versus $26,322 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $20,119. About 4.1% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

PA Route 412 in Hellertown

Keystone Marker for Hellertown, November 2009

As of 2010, there were 24.26 miles (39.04 km) of public roads in Hellertown, of which 3.58 miles (5.76 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 20.68 miles (33.28 km) were maintained by the borough.^[21]

Pennsylvania Route 412 runs north-south through Hellertown on Main Street, heading north to Bethlehem and south into Bucks County, where it provides access to Pennsylvania Route 611. PA 412 has an interchange with Interstate 78 just outside the corporate limits of Hellertown, which heads west to Allentown and Harrisburg and east to Easton and New York City.^[22]

LANta provides bus service to Hellertown along Route 215, which provides service Monday-Saturday north to Bethlehem and Lehigh Valley International Airport, and Route 105, which provides Sunday service north to Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley Mall.^[23] Klein Transportation and Trans-Bridge Lines provide bus service from Hellertown to New York City from a park and ride lot located at the interchange between I-78 and PA 412.^[24][25] Hellertown formerly had commuter rail service along SEPTA's Bethlehem Line north to Bethlehem and south to Philadelphia at Hellertown station, but service ended in 1981.

Education

Further information: Saucon Valley School District

Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township are served by the Saucon Valley School District. Saucon Valley School District includes an elementary school, middle school, and Saucon Valley High School.

Notable people

• Carl Benjamin Boyer, historian^[26]
• Glenn Hetrick, special makeup effects artist and designer
• Sandy Koufax, Hall of Fame baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, spends his summers in Hellertown.^[27]
• Eugene J. McGuinness, former Bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa
• Ted Poley, lead singer of rock band Danger Danger
• Allen Woodring, 1920 Summer Olympics gold medalist, 200 metres

In popular culture

• Hellertown is mentioned in two Kurt Vonnegut's novels, Slaughterhouse-Five (published in 1969) and Breakfast of Champions (published in 1973).
• In the August 31, 2009, episode "Sin" on Solved on the Investigation Discovery network the murder of Hellertown resident Rhonda Smith, who was found dead in Trinity Lutheran Church in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania, is explored.

References

1. Deegan, Jim (May 17, 2017). "Northampton County primary election results 2017". lehighvalleylive. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
2. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
3. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
4. "Hellertown, Pennsylvania". cityinfo.com. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
5. HESS, J. S. "The History of the Borough of Hellertown". www.lehighvalleyhistory.com. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
6. Popichak, Josh. "Trump Defeats Clinton: How Did Saucon Valley Residents Vote in 2016 Presidential Election?". Saucon Source. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
7. Popichak, Josh. "Election Update: Hellertown, Lower Saucon Split on Biden, Trump". Saucon Source. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
8. "STREETS BEAR NAMES OF NOTABLE RESIDENTS". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
9. Samuels, Karen (June 12, 2011). "Morris J. Dimmick: A Man Ahead of His Time". Patch Media. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
10. "HELLERTOWN SOCIETY TO BE GIVEN OLD JAIL HISTORIANS ELECT OFFICERS". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
11. "HELLERTOWN MAYOR SEEKS RE-ELECTION ELECTION 89". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
12. "AN ELECTION PREVIEW". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
13. "HELLERTOWN COUNCILMAN: QUIT, MAYOR * BEN MUSCHLITZ'S 'I'M SORRY' WON'T BE ENOUGH, JERRY DONNELLY SAYS". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
14. "HELLERTOWN MAYOR WILL INVITE MERGER OPPONENT TO JOIN PANEL * BEN MUSCHLITZ SAID HE'LL ASK LOWER SAUCON TOWNSHIP'S BARRY GEBHART TO BE ON STUDY COMMITTEE". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
15. Popichak, Josh. "Hellertown Borough Elects First New Mayor in 20 Years". Saucon Source. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
16. Popichak, Josh. "Long-time Hellertown Mayor Won't Seek Re-Election". Saucon Source. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
17. Popichak, Josh. "Hellertown Mayor David Heintzelman Announces Re-election Bid". Saucon Source. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
18. "Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
19. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
20. "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
21. "Hellertown Borough map" (PDF). PennDOT. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
22. Northampton County, Pennsylvania Highway Map (PDF) (Map). PennDOT. 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
23. System Map (Map). LANTA. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
24. "Klein Transportation and OurBus announce introductory schedule and rates". Allentown, PA: WFMZ-TV. February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
25. "Bieber sets new pick-up, drop-off point in New York City". Allentown, PA: WFMZ-TV. July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
26. Dauben, Joseph Warren; Scriba, Christoph J. Writing the history of mathematics: its historical development, Birkhäuser, 2002. Cf. pp.380-381 for the biography of Boyer.
27. Bodani, Frank (February 15, 2016). "More than wins, losses for Orioles' Jack Fisher". York Daily Record. Retrieved July 28, 2024. It's even led him to regular golf outings and dinners with Sandy Koufax — arguably the greatest pitcher of his era — who spends his summer only 15 minutes away in Hellertown.

External links

• Borough website
• Community website
• Hellertown Historical Society website
• Our Town, Hellertown, WLVT video