The Slate Belt is a geographic region in Northampton County, Pennsylvania that is typically described as including Bangor, Wind Gap, Pen Argyl, and Portland. [1] The region is named for the historical prevalence of slate quarrying in the area.
The Slate Belt is a geographic region in Northampton County, Pennsylvania that is typically described as including Bangor, Wind Gap, Pen Argyl, and Portland. [1] The region is named for the historical prevalence of slate quarrying in the area.
The Slate Belt lies between the Appalachian Trail in Wind Gap and the Delaware River in Portland, Pennsylvania. [2]
Bangor, Wind Gap, Pen Argyl, and Portland are the largest communities in the Slate Belt region. Other smaller municipalities in the region include Roseto, East Bangor, Plainfield Township, Upper Mount Bethel, Lower Mount Bethel, and Washington Township. [3]
This definition of the region's boundaries does not align perfectly with the geological boundaries of slate deposits, and is based more on the region of the slate industry and slate production. Geologist Charles H. Behre , in a 1926 report, included a much larger geographic definition of the Slate Belt that extended the southern boundary to the Lehigh River north of Catasauqua. [4]
The slate industry in the Slate Belt quickly expanded following the arrival of Robert M. Jones, a Welsh immigrant, in 1848. Jones founded Bangor, Pennsylvania and established several slate quarries. The industry continued to expand throughout the 19th century, reaching its peak production in 1903. [5]
At its 19th century peak, the Slate Belt was the world's largest slate-producing region despite its relatively small geographic size, which is 22 square miles. [6]
In the years leading up to World War I, Pennsylvania was responsible for more than half of the slate production in the United States, and the vast majority of it came from Northampton County in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. More than 40% of national slate production during this period came from Northampton County alone. [7]
The slate industry in the region began declining in the first half of the 20th century. During World War I, many quarry owners closed their quarries to allow workers to contribute to the war effort, especially at nearby Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem. [8] The increased use of other roofing materials, especially asphalt shingles, resulted in reduced demand for slate. Many quarries also removed all of the easily extractable slate present. A final factor to the industry's decline was the Great Depression, which resulted in greatly reduced home constructions that represented the market for slate roofs. Many quarries in the Slate Belt went out of business during this period. [5]
Three slate quarries remain active in the Slate Belt: one each in Bangor, Wind Gap, and Pen Argyl. [5] Slate quarries that have been abandoned remain recreational popular for swimming, despite the dangers associated with them. Several people have drowned while swimming in them. [9] [10] [11]
Slate-board quoits, which originating with Slate Belt miners in the 1930s, remain popular in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern regions of Pennsylvania. [12]
Northampton County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 312,951. Its county seat is Easton. The county was formed in 1752 from parts of Bucks County. Its namesake was the county of Northamptonshire in England, and the county seat of Easton was named for Easton Neston, a country house in Northamptonshire.
Bangor, or West Bangor, to differentiate it from its immediate neighbor East Bangor, is a borough located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 32 miles (51 km) north of Allentown. It had a population of 5,187 as of the 2020 census.
Pen Argyl is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The borough's population was 3,510 as of the 2020 census.
Plainfield Township is a township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The population of Plainfield Township was 6,138 at the 2010 census. The township 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.
Upper Mount Bethel Township is a township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The population of Upper Mount Bethel Township was 6,706 at the 2010 census. The township 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.
Wind Gap is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The population of Wind Gap was 2,820 at the 2020 census. Wind Gap 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 Lehigh Valley, known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic and metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bounded to its north by Blue Mountain, to its south by South Mountain, to its west by Lebanon Valley, and to its east by the Delaware River and Warren County, New Jersey. The Valley is about 40 miles (64 km) long and 20 miles (32 km) wide. The Lehigh Valley's largest city is Allentown, the third-largest city in Pennsylvania and the county seat of Lehigh County, with a population of 125,845 residents as of the 2020 census.
The Lehigh and New England Railroad was a Class I railroad located in Northeastern United States that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety after the New York, Ontario and Western Railway. It was headquartered in Philadelphia.
Area codes 610, 484, and 835 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the eastern and southeastern regions of Pennsylvania. The numbering plan area (NPA) includes regions to the west of Philadelphia and the cities Allentown, Bethlehem, and Reading. It includes much of the Delaware Valley, including almost all of Delaware County, most of the Philadelphia Main Line, and all of the Lehigh Valley.
Martins Creek is a 10.4-mile-long (16.7 km) tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania in the United States. In all, the main creek and its two branches drain an area of 46.7 square miles. Martins Creek joins the Delaware just south of the town of Martins Creek.
Pen Argyl Area School District is a public school district located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It serves the boroughs of Pen Argyl and Wind Gap and Plainfield Township.
Pennsylvania Route 512 is a 26.1-mile-long (42.0 km) state route in Northampton County in the Lehigh Valley region in eastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 22 north of Bethlehem in Hanover Township. The northern terminus is at PA 611 in Upper Mount Bethel Township. The route heads north from US 22 to Bath, where it intersects PA 248. From here, PA 512 continues northeast and intersects PA 946 in Moorestown before it reaches an interchange with the PA 33 freeway in Wind Gap. The route heads east through the northern Northampton County boroughs of Wind Gap, Pen Argyl, Bangor, and East Bangor, intersecting PA 191 in Bangor. It then continues east to PA 611.
The Ordovician Martinsburg Formation (Om) is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is named for the town of Martinsburg, West Virginia for which it was first described. It is the dominant rock formation of the Great Appalachian Valley in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Bangor Area High School is a four-year public high school located in Bangor, Pennsylvania in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Bangor Area School District.
The Express-Times is a daily newspaper based in Easton, Pennsylvania. The newspaper provides national news and extensive local news coverage of the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, The Express-Times is the longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley.
Pennsylvania State Senate District 18 includes parts of Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is currently represented by Democrat Lisa Boscola.
The 138th Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located in Southeastern Pennsylvania and has been represented since 2021 by Ann Flood.
Slateford is an unincorporated community that is located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which has a population of 861,899 and is the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
District 11 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) is an interscholastic athletic association in eastern Pennsylvania.
Gus Paul Verona was an American politician who represented the Lehigh Valley as a Democrat for six years from 1959 until his death in 1964, serving in both the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania State Senate.