Martins Creek, Pennsylvania

Martins Creek, Pennsylvania
census-designated place
Front Street in Martins Creek
Location of Martins Creek in Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Martins Creek Location of Martins Creek in Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°47′00″N75°11′11″W / 40.78333°N 75.18639°W / 40.78333; -75.18639
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Northampton
Township	Lower Mount Bethel
Area [1]
•  census-designated place	0.82 sq mi (2.13 km2)
• Land	0.82 sq mi (2.11 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)
Population  (2020) [2]
•  census-designated place	664
• Density	813.73/sq mi (314.19/km2)
•  Metro	865,310 (US: 68th)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	18063
Area code(s)	610 and 484
FIPS code	42-47896

Martins Creek is a census-designated place in Lower Mount Bethel Township, Pennsylvania located along Martins Creek. Its population was 664 as of the 2020 U.S. census. Martins Creek is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census. The Zip Code is 18063.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2020	664		—
U.S. Decennial Census [3]

History

In approximately 1730, a number of Scotch-Irish settled in a part of the town called Hunter's Settlement. ^[4] Martin's Creek was first settled by Robert Lyle in 1741, with James Martin arriving around 1747. Martin operated a grist mill, and later served as a colonel in the American Revolution. In 1744, missionary David Brainerd began his work here with the Clistowackin band of Lenape Indians. ^[5]

By the 1800s, the area had developed the name of Flatfield because of its level terrain. By the time of the Civil War, it was known as Martinsville, and later changed to Martin's Creek. ^[5]

In 1939, exiled Russian prime minister Alexander Kerensky married Australian journalist Lydia Ellen Tritton in Martins Creek. ^[6]

In 1942, an explosion at the Lehigh Portland Cement Co. plant in nearby Sandts Eddy killed 31 people. ^[7] The Hunter-Martin Settlement Museum commemorates the early history of the area.

The major industry in the area was as the Alpha Portland Cement Company, which closed in 1964. ^[8]

Notable people

• Alexander Kerensky, former president of the Russian Republic in 1917
• Larry Fink, photographer ^[9]

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
2. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
3. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
4. Rutman, Nancy (March 23, 2007). "A rich history of Valley, its "Scots-Irish' settlers". The Morning Call. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
5. Reaman, Denise (January 22, 1995). "MARTINS CREEK VILLAGE IS ONE OF THE OLDEST IN THE COUNTY". The Morning Call. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
6. Armstrong, Judith. "Tritton, Lydia Ellen (Nell) (1899–1946)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
7. "31 killed in 1942 cement plant explosion to be memorialized". The Associated Press. May 10, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
8. Tatu, Christina (September 4, 2017). "Keeping the memory alive: Former workers recall Alpha Portland Cement". The Morning Call. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
9. Green, Penelope (November 30, 2023). "Larry Fink, Whose Photographs Were 'Political, Not Polemical,' Dies at 82". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 31, 2024.