Easton, Pennsylvania
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Template:US City infobox Easton is a city located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 26,263. It is the county seat of Northampton CountyTemplate:GR. Together with Allentown and Bethlehem, Easton comprises the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania's third most populous metropolitan area. Easton is located 60 miles (100 km) north of Philadelphia, 97 miles (156 km) northeast of Harrisburg, and 70 miles (110 km) west of New York City.
Easton is the home of Lafayette College. It is also the headquarters of Binney & Smith, the manufacturer of Crayola crayons.
The city's high school, 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 most intense and long-standing rivalries in American high school football.
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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. Easton was also an important military center during the 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 flag shown here 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.
Easton was a major commercial center during the canal and railroad periods of the 1800's, 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.
Geography
Image:Easton flood 2005.jpg Easton is located at 40°41'18" North, 75°12'59" West (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 is water. The total area is 8.39% water, including Bushkill Creek and the Lehigh and Delaware rivers.
Downtown Easton lies at the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware, 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.
The greater Easton area consists of the city itself, three townships (Forks, Palmer, and Williams) and three boroughs (Glendon, West Easton, and Wilson).
Demographics
Image:South College at Lafayette College.jpg 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. 9.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
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. 16.0% of the population and 12.3% of families were below the poverty line. 21.3% of those under the age of 18 and 11.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Notable Easton residents
- Chuck Amato - college football coach, North Carolina State University.
- James McKeen Cattell - first United States professor of psychology.
- Larry Holmes - boxing's former world heavyweight champion, who fought under the nickname "The Easton Assassin."
- Frank Reed Horton - founder of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.
- Daniel Dae Kim - actor, Lost (TV series).
- Robert B. Meyner - former Governor of New Jersey.
- Sally Jessy Raphaël - talk show host.
- Harry Clay Trexler - industrialist and businessman.
- Bob Weiss - former professional basketball coach, Seattle SuperSonics.
External links
References
- Daniel J. Foley. "The Christmas Tree". Chilton Co., Book Division: Philadelphia 1960.
Template:Northampton County, Pennsylvania
fr:Easton (Pennsylvanie)