Allentown, capital of Lehigh county. Pa., on the W. bank of Lehigh river, 18 m. above its junction with the Delaware, and 59 m. by railroad N. N. W. of Philadelphia; pop. in 1860, 8,025; in 18T0. 13,884. In 1762 the town was laid out and called Northampton, the name of the county it then belonged to. It contained 13 families. In 1776 there were 54 houses, of which 7 were taverns. In 1812 Lehigh county was established and Northampton was made the county town, having been incorporated as a borough the year previously. In 1838 the name was changed to Allentown. By a-railroad extending up and down the valley of the Lehigh, it is connected in one direction with the anthracite coal region at the head waters of this stream, and in the other with New York and Philadelphia. Another railroad 36 m. long connects the Lehigh valley with that of the Schuylkill above Reading, and affords the most direct line of communication between New York city and the southwest. By these railroads and the Lehigh canal, Allentown is made a very important central point for supplies of iron ores and anthracite. Several large blastfurnaces, extensive iron works, and rolling mills are in operation. The population of Allentown are mostly of German descent, and the German language is still commonly spoken.

It has 3 daily newspapers, 6 weekly, 1 semimonthly, and 2 monthly periodicals. Allentown contains an academy, a military institute, and a theological seminary. Muhlenberg college, a Lutheran institution, was established here in 1867; in 1868 it had 10 instructors, 161 students, and a library of 1,800 volumes.