Dear Society Members and Friends; In 2024 the Northampton Area Historical Society continued our display at the Siegfried Railroad Station that focused on the United States in World War II. We now have more than six scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings of military personnel from our Northampton Area. We have identified more than 1000 men and women who served from Northampton and our neighboring communities, We also traced the development of the One Room School Houses of the Northampton Area. A special program was held that reviewed the schools of the municipalities that make up todays Northampton Area School District. All told there were 70 of them. The earliest of these were Subscription Schools, meaning that the parents would pay a fee for each child that was enrolled in order to pay the cost of the teacher and the supplies. This all changed after the passage of the Free Public-School Act of Pennsylvania in 1834. Now each community had to establish a School District. This was what we would call an elementary school. high school education would not become the law until the late 1890's. Please visit the Siegfried Station on any of the public hours which occur on the 3rd Sunday of each Month from May through October, from 1:00-4:00 P.M. There will be a special opening on the 4th weekend in July as part of the Lehigh Valley Passport to History Program. Please check back to get the times for those openings. Please be sure to visit the station to view these exhibits. If you cannot come at our scheduled times, Group tours are available by appointment year-round, Call me at 610-262-8198 or Larry Oberly at 610-570-5083. Irene Urban, President Northampton Area Historical Society In 2025
Our 2025 programs will feature a continuation of our World War II Scrapbooks and a 'Look at the History of our Churches" Group tours are available by appointment year-round, call 610-262-8198 or 610-570-5083. |
Who We Are
The Northampton Area Historical Society was founded in 1977 by a group of Northampton residents interested in preserving the history of Northampton Borough. The Northampton Area Historical Society since its inception has been responsible for the restoration and maintenance of the historical Siegfried Station. The Society also operates a museum at the site containing documents and artifacts which highlight the history of Northampton Borough. The museum is open the third Sunday of every month through the spring, summer and fall. Membership We are now accepting membership applications and renewals for 2025. Join us! Newsletters are available under the news tab found above.
. Donations
We have received more artifacts as people cleaned out their attics during the pandemic .. We hope you will visit us to see some of this newly re-discovered history. We are grateful for the many donations we received in the last year. Here is just a sample! |
Welcome to the home of the Northampton Area Historical Society
The Northampton Area Historical Society is located in the former Siegfried Railroad Station on West 21st Street at Canal Street in Northampton, Pennsylvania.