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Hi - I'm Brian. I am an attorney that practices in PA, NJ, NY, and IL. I am a former sex crimes prosecutor and my day-to-day cases are almost exclusively helping survivors of sexual abuse get justice. My team and I are ready to help.
The sexual abuse attorneys in Lehigh Valley, PA, present this article to share a detailed excerpt about the town.
Lehigh Valley is a metropolitan region officially consisting of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton Counties in eastern Pennsylvania. The area spans 730 square miles and hosts an approximate population of 844,052 within area codes 570, 610, 484, and 908. Lehigh Valley is the third most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area in the state of Pennsylvania and is the 70th most populated metropolitan area in the United States.
In 2020, Lehigh Valley was recognized by Site Selection Magazine as one of the top 5 best-performing regions of its size for economic development in the country and the best performing region in the entire Northeastern United States.
The area has also been ranked by Fortune in May 2015 as being among the top 10 best places in the U.S. to locate corporate finance and information technology operations for companies.
Lehigh Valley was originally inhabited by The Lenni Lenape tribes. European settlers first arrived to the area in the early 1700s to trade with the Indians. By 1730, Lehigh Valley became attractive to German settlers following the publication of favorable descriptions about the land in advertisements promoted by William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania.
In 1737, William Penn’s sons expanded their land holdings to include Lehigh Valley. The Lenni Lenape tribes retaliated with occasional raids in the 1750s and early 1760s. Yet, the Lenni Lenape tribes moved out of the area by the mid-1760s.
Lehigh Valley is named after Lehigh River, a 109 mile-long tributary of the Delaware River that runs through the city. Much of Lehigh Valley's development is due to hard coal supplies, timber, and ores.
In the charter of March 1818, the legislature gave complete control of the Lehigh Navigation Company, an anthracite coal mining company, to the Canal Company which it retained until 1964.
The company made vast improvements and overcame the United States's first energy crises due to deforestation in the early 19th century.
The Canal Company operated through the Great Depression and was integral to the regional industrial revolution in the greater Philadelphia–Trenton–Wilmington region. Later on, the Morris Canal and the coal feeder of the Delaware and Raritan Canal were built to supply the anthracite demands of Newark, Trenton, Jersey City, and New York City.
Lehigh Valley runs from the drainage divide in the Solomon Gap just north and the American Canal age had its epicenter at the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware rivers where five major canals met significant rivers and coastal waterways.
The epicenter gave residents and industries of Lehigh Valley access to minerals and markets via Easton from Connecticut, New York, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Lehigh Valley served as the major U.S. center of industrial manufacturing for many years but following the nationwide decline of this industry in the late 20th century and early 2000s, Lehigh Valley shifted its economic focus towards financial services, health care, life sciences, and technology.
Today, Lehigh Valley is in proximity to some of the nation's largest metropolitan areas and has become a distribution hub for some of the largest U.S. markets.
If you're looking to learn more about Lehigh Valley's rich history, be sure to stop by the Lehigh Township Historical Society located at 3811 Lehigh Dr, Northampton, PA 18067.
Formed in 2001, the historical society maintains the Historical Centre and the St. Paul's Schoolhouse, where you will find many artifacts and documents relating to the history of the Lehigh Township area.
The society is a great place to bring the entire family to learn all about the deep history of Lehigh Valley.
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If you or someone you know have experienced sexual abuse, trust the Lehigh Valley, PA, sexual abuse attorneys to help you get the justice you deserve. Contact our legal team today for a free consultation.
