Billy Joel, in his eponymous hit on his 1982 album The Nylon Curtain, eulogized the steel industry of Allentown. But Allentown, Pennsylvania, wasn’t always a steel town, it played a significant role during the Revolutionary War. Far inland from the mainly coastal British forces, it served as a strategic location for troop movements and encampments and thus saw relatively infrequent direct battle action. It became a favored strategic storage and logistics hub.
The town’s roots go back to William Allen’s land purchase in 1735, who then laid out Northampton Town in 1762. It later became the county seat and was renamed Allentown in 1838, but with its Revolutionary War-era identity still tied to the earlier Northampton name. After the British victory at Brandywine in September 1777, Philadelphians feared that Philadelphia would be occupied by the redcoats (it was), and that their town and church bells would be melted down for weapons, so they moved 11 bells, including the cherished Liberty Bell, north for protection. They rested under Zion’s Reformed Church in Northampton Town until late June of 1778 when Philly was abandoned and evacuated during a British retreat. There was a mad scramble in the rush to also evacuate and securely remove all of the important documents of the young American country, including the original hand-written parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence, perhaps one of the most significant documents in the history of the world. There is a long story of the travels and travails of that parchment, it’s a wonder and a miracle that we have it to display at all.
During their retreat, British forces marched through Northampton Town under a total solar eclipse on June 24, 1778. Washington’s troops, newly mobilized from Valley Forge, attacked the redcoat columns near Monmouth Courthouse in sweltering summer heat. The battle ended inconclusively, with both sides badly bloodied but claiming victory. Still, Monmouth showed that the less experienced and less equipped Continental Army could stand up to British regulars, boosting American morale and momentum. It also put the British Army on the defensive and became the last major Revolutionary War engagement in the North.
The country surrounding Allentown has a lot of tourist appeal, too. It is Pennsylvania Dutch country, which is somewhat of a misnomer. Unlike today, in colonial times there were two “Dutch” constituencies. The “Upper Dutch” emanated from the German highlands and spoke mostly German dialects. “Lower Dutch” hailed from the lowlands of what we now know as The Netherlands and were what we now recognize as Dutch. The Pennsylvania Dutch are Upper Dutch, primarily Germanic and more closely identified with the Amish and Mennonite communities. As such, they have many of the same skills in farming, food stuff and baking that we found in Lancaster among the Amish.
And everywhere you see the Barn Stars. Barn stars are a Pennsylvania Dutch folk-art tradition: colorful geometric symbols painted on barns, often with stars, suns, flowers, and other motifs. In the Pennsylvania Dutch community, they are part of a broader visual language tied to identity, beauty, and sometimes beliefs about good luck or protection, though the “magic charm” interpretation is often overstated. They’re sometimes called “hex signs,” but that name came later and was popularized by outsiders; many earlier Pennsylvania Dutch terms were simpler words for stars and flowers. Today, barn stars are seen as a living folk tradition that reflects the region’s heritage. There is a driving tour in and around Kutztown that showcases dozens of fine examples.
There were plenty of roadside billboards advertising the Lost River Caverns nearby. (Note: after already having driven almost 4,000 miles, we regard anything within 30 miles as “nearby”). Having seen one Lost River, with a Gorge, in New Hampshire, we were curious to see its cousin, with a cavern. Discovered by a mining crew blasting limestone, the caverns were purchased in the early 1900’s and turned into a tourist attraction. A single-lane concrete and brick path descends 116 feet under a hillside to expose numerous cavern features like stalagmites and stalactites, mineral deposits, a few fossils, and the river that appears out of nowhere and disappears back into nowhere below your feet. It’s very much a mini-Carlsbad Caverns experience.
No visit to Allentown would be complete without a stop at Deitrich’s Meat and Country Store. Tons of locally produced meat, pies, candy, canned goods and ice cream will leave your mouth watering (and possibly your wallet thinner). Apparently the Pennsylvania Dutch will eat a pig completely up, including every part of it but the hooves. All the meat cuts, sausage casings, feet, snouts, ears, even jowls. You can get a pig head either fresh or smoked.
And we both guessed that this partially finished (likely abandoned) food trailer project might have something to do with the Pennsylvania Dutch pig fascination.
Update on Rig Repairs: after shattering the right-side convex rearview mirror in the very narrow bridge at Washington Crossing, we ordered a replacement on, you guessed it, Amazon. But it arrived and although being the right size mirror piece, the plastic base was not compatible with our existing mirror housing. That didn’t stop Wendy: she bull-doggedly pried the mirror piece off of the very sticky tar-like glue that held it to the base and got it all off in 3 neat pieces. Add in some Scotch double-sided bonding tape and the new pieces went on right over the broken old pieces. Not quite good as new, but it will get us home much safer.
And with our trailer A/C acting up, sounding like it wants to quit after running for a while, we have been babying it back home, running it as little as possible in anticipation of the days warming up considerably more as we get farther south. We pulled into Walmart and bought a powerful column fan and have been keeping pretty comfortable with its use.
Next up: Staunton VA
Onward!
Tippy has a new friend.
MUDDSCAPE 