Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania

History

The region which would become Fountain Hill was home to Lenape Indians prior to its acquisition by William Penn for his sons, Thomas, John and Richard in 1681. The Penns hired a pioneer, Nicholas Doll, to settle the land, building the first structure there in 1739. The deed for the land was passed to several farming families before being sold to the Moravians in newly-established Bethlehem in 1743. Moravians owned present-day Fountain Hill for 32 years. Over a century after the purchase the area consisted of non-Moravian tenant farmer, the largest of which was a 147-acre farm owned by the Hoffert family. The farm house was built in 1755 by Cornelius Weygandt and remains the oldest standing structure in the borough.

19th century

In 1846, the Moravians sold two acres of the property to Dr. Francis Henry Oppelt, who opened a hotel and mineral spa on the site. Oppelt was a staunch believer in balneotherapy and believed the mineral waters could cure diseases and other ailments. Oppelt's facility existed for 25 years from 1846 until 1871.

Oppelt eventually went bankrupt, and the resort was sold in a sheriff sale to Tinsley Jeter, who in turn sold it to Asa Packer, founder of Lehigh University in nearby Bethlehem, in 1876. Packer promptly gifted the land to St. Luke's Hospital who moved their hospital from South Bethlehem to the now vacant resort.

In 1848, the Hoffert farm was sold to real estate developers, who turned it into a massive mansion named the "Fontainebleau estate," which traded ownership several times before 1866 when the estate would also be purchased by Tinsley Jeter who laid a town plot on the property. Jeter purchased most of the farms in the region and the mansions built for Lehigh Valley Railroad executives, many of which are preserved in the Fountain Hill Historic District.

In 1866, Jeter was choosing a name for the property and settled on "Fountain Hill", due to the earlier Fontainebleau estate, which stood on a small hill. In 1886, the growing town became the home to several Silk Mills with the birth of the Industrial Revolution.

With the advent of local industry, the regions population surged, however, there was still no incorporated government, with the region operating as a village within Salisbury Township. After a successful petition to the Lehigh County government, Fountain Hill became an incorporated municipality on November 13, 1893.

20th century

In 1905, residents of Fountain Hill rejected a proposal to join the municipality of South Bethlehem (annexed by Bethlehem in 1917) to form an independent city. In 1919, Fountain Hill annexed some portions of neighboring Salisbury Township. A decade later, in 1929, Fountain Hill's most famous resident, Stephen Vincent Benét, began his literary career, publishing John Brown's Body. Through the 1940s, Fountain Hill remained a cultural retreat for Bethlehem residents, hosting many operas, playhouses, and theaters.

In 1949, Fountain Hill annexed another parcel from Salisbury Township, bringing the borough to its present borders.

Geography

Fountain Hill is located at (40.601698, -75.396357). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.7 sqmi, of which 0.7 sqmi is land and 1.41% is water. Fountain Hill is approximately 450 acre, predominantly residential in character, with approximately 1,754 dwelling units. It uses the Bethlehem ZIP code of 18015.

Transportation

As of 2010, there were 13.60 mi of public roads in Fountain Hill, of which 0.88 mi were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 12.72 mi were maintained by the borough.

No numbered highways pass through Fountain Hill. The main thoroughfare through the borough is Broadway, which follows a northeast–southwest alignment through the middle of town. Pennsylvania Route 378 and Pennsylvania Route 412 are the closest numbered highways, both of which pass just to the east of Fountain Hill.

Education

Fountain Hill is served by the Bethlehem Area School District. Fountain Hill Elementary School for kindergarten through grade five is located in Fountain Hill.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,597 people living in the borough. The racial makeup of the borough was 81.4% White, 6.6% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 7.7% from other races, and 3.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.5% of the population.

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Notable people

Main article: List of people from the Lehigh Valley

• Stephen Vincent Benét, former author
• Joseph F. Brennan, former Pennsylvania State Representative
• Edwin Drake, "Father of the Oil industry", first American to drill for crude oil
• Justin D. Jirolanio, former Pennsylvania State Representative and State Senator
• T. J. Rooney, former Pennsylvania State Representative
• Alejandra Feliz, singer, member of the Carlos & Alejandra

References

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. "About Fountain Hill".
3. "Fountain Hill".
4. "Fountain Hill’s Rich History".
5. (2011-02-12). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
6. "18015 ZIPCode Map Bethlehem Pennsylvania - HipCodes.com".
7. "Fountain Hill Borough map". PennDOT.
8. "Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania Population 2024 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)".
9. "Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau.
10. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
11. "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". U.S. Census Bureau.
12. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau.
13. "ELECTION RESULTS".
14. (November 26, 2024). "November 2024 General Election".