The area that is today the center of Allentown was laid out as Northampton Town in 1762 by
William Allen, a wealthy shipping merchant, former
mayor of the city of Philadelphia and then-Chief Justice of the
Province of Pennsylvania. The property was part of a 5,000-acre plot Allen purchased on September 10, 1735 from his business partner
Joseph Turner, who was assigned the warrant to the land by
Thomas Penn, son of
William Penn, on May 18, 1732. The tract was originally surveyed on November 23, 1736. A subsequent survey done in 1753 by David Schultz for a road from
Easton to
Reading, of which present-day Union and Jackson streets were links, shows the location of log house owned by Allen, situated near the western bank of the
Jordan Creek, which was believed to have been built around 1740. Used primarily as a hunting and fishing lodge, here Allen entertained prominent guests including his brother-in-law,
James Hamilton, and colonial governor
John Penn.
The original plan for the town, now in the archives of the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, comprised forty-two city blocks and consisted of 756 lots, mostly 60 feet (18 m) in width and 230 feet in depth. The town was located between present-day Fourth and Tenth Streets, and Union and Liberty Streets. Many streets on the original plan were named for Allen's children: Margaret (present-day Fifth Street), William (now Sixth), James (now Eighth), Ann (now Ninth) and John (now Walnut). Allen Street (now Seventh) was named for Allen himself, and was the main thoroughfare. Hamilton Street was named for
James Hamilton. Gordon Street was named for Sir Patrick Gordon,
Deputy Governor of
Colonial Pennsylvania from 1726–1736. Chew Street was named for
Benjamin Chew, and Turner Street was named for Allen's business partner,
Joseph Turner.
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Trout Hall, built in 1770 by James Allen (son of Allentown founder
William Allen), is the oldest house in Allentown. From 1867 to 1905, it served as the home of
Muhlenberg College.
Postcard (dated 1914) depicting the "Soldiers & Sailors Monument" in Allentown's Centre Square, which was dedicated in 1899 in honor of the Pennsylvania Volunteers' 47th Regiment in support of
the Union in the
American Civil WarAllen hoped that Northampton Town would displace Easton as the seat of
Northampton County and also become a commercial center due to its location along the Lehigh River and its proximity to Philadelphia. Allen gave the property to his son James in 1767. Three years later, in 1770, James built a summer residence, Trout Hall, in the new town, near the site of his father's former hunting lodge.
On March 18, 1811, the town was formally incorporated as the
Borough of Northamptown. On March 6, 1812, Lehigh County was formed from the western half of Northampton County, and Northampton Town was selected as the county seat. The town was officially renamed "Allentown" on April 16, 1838, after years of popular usage. Allentown was formally incorporated as a city on March 12, 1867.
