Egypt

History

Egypt is one of the oldest communities in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It was settled as early as 1733. It was the first settlement in Pennsylvania north of South Mountain. Egypt is one several Lehigh Valley locations, including Bethlehem, Nazareth, Emmaus, and Allentown's Jordan Creek, whose name was inspired by locations referenced in the Bible. Early Pennsylvania German settlers of nearby present-day Lynn and Albany townships had named the area where they settled Alle mängel ("all deficiencies") due to the poor quality of the soil on which they were trying to farm and raise crops. By contrast, the soil here was found to be quite fertile, and early settlers named this region "Egypta", since ancient Egypt, with its fertile Nile Delta, was the "granary of the world". The Reformed Congregation of Egypt Church was established in 1734, and a log church was erected in 1764. The cemetery of the Egypt church contains the graves of many of the region's earliest inhabitants, including 25 veterans of the American Revolutionary War, 15 veterans of the War of 1812, and nine veterans of the American Civil War. Across the street from the church stands Egypt's World War I monument, which honors the 76 men from Egypt who served during that war. Dedicated on June 10, 1923, the centerpiece of the monument is the pressed copper sculpture, Spirit of the American Doughboy, by E. M. Viquesney. One of the first settlers, John Jacob Mickley (1697–1769), started farming here in 1745. In 1755, Jacob Kohler established a gristmill, located along Coplay Creek just south of the church. and is today operated as a museum and historic site by the Lehigh County Historical Society. The Egypt area was also the location of Fort Deshler, a French and Indian War era frontier fort…

Geography

Egypt is located in northeastern Lehigh County in the northwestern corner of Whitehall Township. It is bordered to the east by Cementon and to the north and west by North Whitehall Township. PA Route 329 is Egypt's Main Street and runs east into Cementon and west to Neffs. PA Route 329 intersects PA Route 145 on the eastern edge of Egypt, at the area known as Eagle Point. PA Route 145 leads north to Walnutport and south to Center City Allentown. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Egypt has a total area of , of which , or 0.26%, are water. Coplay Creek, a tributary of the Lehigh River, flows eastward through the southern part of the community. Through the Lehigh River, the community is part of the Delaware River watershed.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Parkland HS
  High · Allentown · 3,220 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• William Allen HS
  High · Allentown · 2,852 students · 20.2:1 ratio
• Louis E Dieruff HS
  High · Allentown · 1,915 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• Whitehall HS
  High · Whitehall · 1,459 students · 16:1 ratio
• Executive Education Academy CS
  Other · Allentown · 1,368 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Springhouse MS
  Middle · Allentown · 1,344 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• Lower Macungie MS
  Middle · Macungie · 1,043 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• South Mountain MS
  Middle · Allentown · 1,007 students · 14.2:1 ratio