Bethlehem

Bethlehem, a post-borough of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, on the Lehigh River, 55 miles N. of Philadelphia by rail, is the principal settlement in America of the Moravians, by whom it was founded in 1741. It has silk, paint, and flour mills, and is noted for its excellent schools. Two bridges across the Lehigh connect the borough with South Bethlehem, the seat of Lehigh University (1866) and other Episcopal institutions, and possessing iron and steel works. Another borough, West Bethlehem, separated from Bethlehem by Monocacy Creek, contains silk and planing mills, machine-shops, and dye-works. Pop. (1890) 6762; of South Bethlehem, 10,302; and of the three boroughs, 15,000.