According to public records, the areas along the Delaware River and its tributaries in eastern Pennsylvania were long inhabited by indigenous peoples of various cultures. By the time of European contact, these areas were the historic territory of the Algonquian-speaking Lenape Nation, which had two main language families, the Unami and the Munsee. They traded with the Dutch and then English colonists in the mid-Atlantic area.
On Christmas Eve in 1741, David Nitschmann and Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf, leading a small group of Moravians, founded the mission community of Bethlehem along the banks of the Monocacy Creek by the Lehigh River in the colony of Pennsylvania. They named the settlement after the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
In 1762, Bethlehem built the first water works in America to pump water for public usage. While George Washington and his troops stayed in Valley Forge, his personal effects were stored at the farm of James Burnside in Bethlehem. This is now a historical museum (Burnside Plantation). (wikipedia)In addition, the past held significance based on the massive steel industry. Bethlehem became a center of heavy industry and trade during the industrial revolution. Bethlehem Steel, founded in 1857, began producing the first wide-flange structural shapes made in the United States. The company was the first to produce the now-ubiquitous "I-beam" used in construction of steel-framed buildings, including skyscrapers. It manufactured construction materials for numerous New York and other city skyscrapers, as well as major bridges, including the Golden Gate Bridge. The company was a major supplier of armor plate and ordnance products during World War I and World War II, including the manufacture of 1,100 warships. (wikipedia)
Today, in the present, I believe God is doing BIG things in that little town! El Shaddai Ministries, led by Pastors Gary and Marilyn Hartman, is serving the community in Jesus name. Bringing joy and hope to a lost and hurting world. They are also striving to raise up a new generation of Jesus-lovers, seeking to heed the call of Christ on their lives. I'm grateful to have met and worked with them!
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| various shots of different airports i visited...all on monday |
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| view from my room...rain, trains and automobiles |
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| historic Bell House |
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