Egypt, Pennsylvania

File:PA-LEHIGH-TroxellSteckelHouseFrontSide.JPG in Egypt is among the oldest buildings in Lehigh County.]]

File:Fort Deshler Blockhouse 1895.jpg, depicted in this 1895 engraving, was built in 1760 to protect settlers from Indian attacks during the French and Indian War.]]

File:PA-LEHIGH-TroxellSteckelHouseBarn.JPG in Egypt, July 2008]]

Egypt is located in northeastern Lehigh County in the northwestern corner of Whitehall Township. It is bordered to the east by Cementon and to the north and west by North Whitehall Township. PA Route 329 is Egypt's Main Street and runs {{convert|1.5|mi}} east into Cementon and {{convert|5|mi|0}} west to Neffs. PA Route 329 intersects PA Route 145 on the eastern edge of Egypt, at the area known as Eagle Point. PA Route 145 leads north {{convert|8|mi|0}} to Walnutport and south {{convert|6.5|mi}} to Center City Allentown.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Egypt has a total area of {{convert|3.8|sqkm|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|9595|sqm|acre|order=flip|1}}, or 0.26%, are water.{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Places: Pennsylvania|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_42.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=October 26, 2020}} Coplay Creek, a tributary of the Lehigh River, flows eastward through the southern part of the community. Through the Lehigh River, the community is part of the Delaware River watershed.

Egypt is one of the oldest communities in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It was settled as early as 1733.{{cite book |last1= Roberts |first1= Charles Rhoads |last2=Stoudt |first2=Rev. John Baer |last3=Krick |first3=Rev. Thomas H. |last4=Dietrich |first4=William J. |title=History of Lehigh County Pennsylvania and a Genealogical and Biographical Records of its Families |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4XsrAQAAMAAJ |publisher=Lehigh Valley Publishing Company |year=1914 |volume = 1 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4XsrAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1012 1012]}} It was the first settlement in Pennsylvania north of South Mountain.{{cite book |last= Gensey |first= Karen L. | title= Whitehall, Pennsylvania: The Golden Strip of the Lehigh Valley |publisher= Kutztown Publishing Company |year= 2004 |oclc = 262464697}}Page 19 Egypt is one several Lehigh Valley locations, including Bethlehem, Nazareth, Emmaus, and Allentown's Jordan Creek, whose name was inspired by locations referenced in the Bible.{{cite web|last1=Theodore|first1=Bevin|title=Nazareth's Repayment Day celebrates legend of Barony of Rose|url=http://blog.pennlive.com/lvbreakingnews/2008/06/barony_of_rose.html|website=Penn Live|publisher=The Patriot News|access-date=1 May 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617155048/http://blog.pennlive.com/lvbreakingnews/2008/06/barony_of_rose.html|archive-date=17 June 2016}}

Early Pennsylvania German settlers of nearby present-day Lynn and Albany townships had named the area where they settled Alle mängel ("all deficiencies") due to the poor quality of the soil on which they were trying to farm and raise crops. By contrast, the soil here was found to be quite fertile, and early settlers named this region "Egypta", since ancient Egypt, with its fertile Nile delta, was the "granary of the world".{{cite book |last=Henry | first=Michael S. | title = History of the Lehigh Valley | publisher = Bixler & Company |location=Easton, Pennsylvania | year=1860 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9FaQgLhoQ3oC&q=Henry+1860+History-of-the-Lehigh-Valley+pdf&pg=RA2-PA402}}Page 304

The Reformed Congregation of Egypt Church was established in 1734, and a log church was erected in 1764.{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Charles Rhoads |title=History of the Reformed Congregation of Egypt Church |publisher=Lehigh County Historical Society |location=Allentown, Pennsylvania |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t2t43zs9j |year=1908 |hdl=2027/loc.ark:/13960/t2t43zs9j |access-date=2020-09-26 |via=Library of Congress}}

The cemetery of the Egypt church contains the graves of many of the region's earliest inhabitants, including 25 veterans of the American Revolutionary War, 15 veterans of the War of 1812, and nine veterans of the American Civil War.Gensey, Page 139. Across the street from the church stands Egypt's World War I monument, which honors the 76 men from Egypt who served during that war. Dedicated on June 10, 1923, the centerpiece of the monument is the pressed copper sculpture, Spirit of the American Doughboy, by E. M. Viquesney.

One of the first settlers, John Jacob Mickley (1697–1769), started farming here in 1745.{{cite book |last1=Mathews |first1=Alfred |last2=Hungerford |first2= Austin N.|title=History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |date=1884 |publisher=Everts & Richards |location=Philadelphia |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028854201/page/n673 482–483] |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028854201 |chapter=Whitehall Township, Settlement |ol=227379W}}

In 1755, Jacob Kohler established a gristmill, located along Coplay Creek just south of the church. The Troxell-Steckel House, which was built in Egypt in 1756, is one of the oldest buildings in Lehigh CountyRoberts, History of Lehigh County, Page 1016. and is today operated as a museum and historic site by the Lehigh County Historical Society. The Egypt area was also the location of Fort Deshler, a French and Indian War era frontier fort established in 1760 to protect settlers from Indian attacks.Roberts, History of Lehigh County, Page 111. The fort, which was near the present intersection of PA Route 145 and Chestnut Street, stood until about 1940. The site is commemorated by a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker.{{cite web |url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/apps/historical-markers.html |title = Pennsylvania Historical Marker Search |work=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |publisher=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |format=Searchable database |access-date = 2020-09-26}} A granite marker, located just outside Egypt at Scheidy's Road and Spring Street in North Whitehall Township, commemorates the last Indian attack in Lehigh County, which occurred on October 8, 1763, when nine settlers were murdered.Roberts, History of Lehigh County, Pages 104-107.{{sfnp|Roberts|Stoudt|Krick|Dietrich|1914|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4XsrAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA845 p. 845]}}

The earliest hotel in the area was the Werley House, which operated from 1796 to 1815.Roberts, History of Lehigh County, Page 1015.

The first "English school", as opposed to one that taught students in the Pennsylvania German dialect, was founded in 1808. Other early industries in the immediate area included a carriage works, coal yard, bakery, tannery and silk works.

Development of the community was spurred by the organization of the American Improved Cements Company (later American Cement Company), which took over and modernized the older Egypt Mills cement plant, located on the north side of Chestnut Street. In 1884, the company shipped its first load of cement to market using the Ironton Railroad. In 1896, American Cement ran power lines to supply the village of Egypt with electricity from its own power plants.Gensey, Page 105.

American Cement, which subsequently opened a number of mills in the Egypt area, operated until 1913, when it was purchased by Giant Portland Cement.Gensey, Page 106. In addition to the Egypt Mills plant, Giant Portland operated six other cement mills in Egypt (Pennsylvania, Columbia, Giant #1 & #2, Central, and Reliance), and had an annual production capacity of 2.1 million barrels of cement. Parts of the New York City Subway were built using cement manufactured in Egypt's mills. Giant Portland ceased production around 1929, and mills were either closed or sold to other companies operating in the area. Today, cement production remains an important part of the local economy, and plants in the area are operated by Nazareth-based ESSROC, a subsidiary of the Italian firm Italcementi, and the French company Lafarge.

On June 2, 1947, the Philadelphia Phillies came to the Egypt Park to play an Egypt area high school team of the old Twilight League. The Phillies came to entice Curt Simmons, then a 17-year-old Whitehall High School pitcher from Main Street in Egypt, to play for them. Simmons took the Phillies to the wire, and the Phillies came back and tied the Egypt team 4-4 on account of darkness.

{{US Census population

|2000= 2291

|2010= 2391

|2020= 2588

|footnote={{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:42&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=Oct 12, 2022}}

}}

• Althea Henley, former actress
• Dan Koppen, former professional football player, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots
• Curt Simmons, former professional baseball player, California Angels, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals

{{Further|Whitehall-Coplay School District}}

Egypt is part of the Whitehall-Coplay School District. Students in grades Kindergarten and first attend Clarence M. Gockley Elementary School, second through fourth grade attend George D. Steckel Elementary School and fifth through eighth grade attend Whitehall-Copley Middle School. Whitehall High School is attended by freshman through seniors. Whitehall High School.

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last= Gensey |first= Karen L. | title= Whitehall, Pennsylvania: The Golden Strip of the Lehigh Valley |publisher= Kutztown Publishing Company |year= 2004 |oclc = 262464697}}
• {{cite book |last=Henry | first=Michael S. | title = History of the Lehigh Valley | publisher = Bixler & Company |location=Easton, Pennsylvania | year=1860 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9FaQgLhoQ3oC&q=Henry+1860+History-of-the-Lehigh-Valley+pdf&pg=RA2-PA402}}
• {{cite book |last= Roberts |first= Charles Rhoads |author2=Rev. John Baer Stoudt |author3=Rev. Thomas H. Krick |author4=William J. Dietrich |title= History of Lehigh County Pennsylvania and a Genealogical and Biographical Records of its Families |publisher= Lehigh Valley Publishing Company |year= 1914 |volume = 1}}
• {{cite journal |last=Roberts |first=Charles R. |title=Place Names of Lehigh County and Their Origin |journal=Proceedings: Lehigh County Historical Society |year=1936 |publisher=Lehigh County Historical Society | location=Allentown, Pennsylvania}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{cite web|title=Troxell-Steckel House |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=85513 |publisher=The Historical Marker Database}}
• {{cite web|title=In Memory of the Reformed Pastors of the Egypt Union Church |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=124053 |publisher=Historical Marker Database}}

{{Geographic Location (8-way)

| Centre = Egypt

| Northeast = North Whitehall Township

| North = Laurys Station

| East = Cementon

| Southeast = Mickleys, Stiles, Coplay

| South = Ruchsville

| Southwest = Ormrod

| West = Balliettsville

| Northwest = North Whitehall Township

|

}}

{{Lehigh County, Pennsylvania}}

{{Lehigh Valley}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1733 establishments in Pennsylvania

Category:1733 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies

Category:Census-designated places in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

Category:Populated places established in 1733

Category:Unincorporated communities in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

Category:Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania