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Bethlehem Pike is a historic long road in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...
of Pennsylvania that connects Philadelphia and
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19,3 ...
. It began as a Native American path called the Minsi Trail which developed into a colonial highway called the King's Road in the 1760s. Most of the route later became part of
U.S. Route 309 Pennsylvania Route 309 (PA 309) is a state highway that runs for 134 miles (216 km) through eastern Pennsylvania. The route runs from an interchange between PA 611 and Cheltenham Avenue on the border of Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township ...
, now Pennsylvania Route 309.


History


Colonial age

The Bethlehem Pike originated from a Native American pathway known as the Minsi Trail. Named after the Minsi Indians, the trail was routed between the Blue Mountains and the lands to the south. In December 1740, David Nitschmann and his party went to
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital of ...
and Nazareth along this trail. A year later, a second party joined the first, traversing the same pathway. Nicolaus Zinzendorf, was included in the second party who visited the pioneers in the cabin along the banks of the Monocacy Creek. On Christmas Eve, Zinzendorf celebrated a famous love-feast service, during which the new settlement was named Bethlehem. After the founding of Bethlehem, a number of settlements began to rise along the route, causing a constant use of it and the highway to be called King's Road. The first trip made by George Klein was by
stage wagon Stage wagons are light horse-drawn or mule-drawn public passenger vehicles often referred to as stagecoaches. Like stagecoaches they made long scheduled trips using stage stations or posts where the horses would be replaced by fresh horses. Sta ...
on September 10, 1763. He later made regular trips between Philadelphia and Bethlehem on a weekly basis. He started on Mondays from the Sun Inn in Bethlehem, and returned from the King of Prussia Inn in Philadelphia, on Thursdays. Bethlehem Pike and Germantown Avenue were the first two segments of the King's Highway, the main road carrying passengers and their goods between Philadelphia and the north. In the northern regions of Philadelphia, the pike intersected the
Old York Road Old York Road (originally York Road, with reference to New York) is a roadway that was built during the 18th century to connect Philadelphia with New York City. Through New Jersey it was built along the Raritan (Unami tribe) "Naraticong Trail ...
. According to a legend,
Tamanend Tamanend (historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, "the Affable," ) (–) was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the Peace Treaty with ...
, the great Indian chief, presented all lands within the young Germans' vision. Following the gift they received from the natives, they concluded the ritual, the sun rose, and the men named the spot Rising Sun. During the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, British officers gathered near the southern terminus of the modern day pike. They gathered in the days their army faced the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
at Whitemarsh. Further north along the route in the Whitemarsh Valley is the site where
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
held Howe at bay, thus becoming famous in history as Church Hill. Before heading to Valley Forge, Washington and his army encamped here on December 11, 1777. During the revolution, the pike dealt with a busy time period, for Bethlehem was crowded with officers, prisoners, and soldiers from the war. There was great excitement in Bethlehem on September 13, 1777, when the Patriot Army retreated from Philadelphia. Later, a letter had arrived by express courier from
David Rittenhouse David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society a ...
, announcing that all the military stores, in 700 wagons, were sent north on the Bethlehem Pike. Even the church and state bells were sent over for safekeeping on the pike. In Quakertown, the wagon carrying the
Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independenc ...
broke down. The bells had to be unloaded on September 25, 1777. Eventually the wagon was repaired and they were sent to
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...
, where it was hidden from danger on Hamilton Street. The road traverses Rockhill Township, where the New Jersey and Pennsylvania armies listened to Richard Peters in 1799, a member of the
Colonial assembly The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...
. They camped at Seller's Tavern, today known as Sellersville.


Bethlehem Turnpike

In 1804, the route became a toll road known as the Bethlehem Turnpike. Tolls were voluntary only during morning hours. On March 11, 1834, Pennsylvania governor
George Wolf George Wolf (August 12, 1777March 11, 1840) was the seventh governor of Pennsylvania from 1829 to 1835. On June 29, 1888, he was recognized as the "father of the public-school system" in Pennsylvania by the erection of a memorial gateway at Ea ...
signed a license authorizing the Bethlehem Turnpike Road Company to erect many of its gates. The turnpike was authorized to collect tolls from travelers on horses, cattle, and carriages. In 1904, the Bethlehem Pike became a free road after it was tolled for 100 years. The tolls were removed in 1910. When Pennsylvania signed the Sproul Road Bill on May 31, 1911, the state began taking over the highways across the commonwealth. The bill defined the Bethlehem Pike as Legislative Route 297 (LR 297) in Northampton County and LR 153 in Lehigh County. The pike was defined as LR 153 through the counties of Bucks and Montgomery.


Age of numbered roads

In 1926, when the U.S. Numbered Highway System was established, each designated trail in the United States was given a number and the majority of the Bethlehem Pike was signed as
U.S. Route 309 Pennsylvania Route 309 (PA 309) is a state highway that runs for 134 miles (216 km) through eastern Pennsylvania. The route runs from an interchange between PA 611 and Cheltenham Avenue on the border of Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township ...
(US 309). During a three-decade period after the system was created, the pike was designated as
Pennsylvania Route 12 Pennsylvania Route 12 (PA 12) is a state highway located in Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 222 (US 222) and US 422 in Wyomissing. Its eastern terminus is PA& ...
(PA 12) from
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital of ...
to Center Valley. South of Center Valley, the route was known as US 309. By 1960, a portion of the road was designated as Pennsylvania Route 191, when it replaced the entire routing of PA 12. North of Philadelphia, US 309 was designated on the newly built Fort Washington Expressway, east of the original alignment on the Bethlehem Pike. By 1970, US 309 was deleted and replaced by Pennsylvania Route 309. Following the commission of the route, PA 309 was moved to a newly constructed freeway, bypassing Sellersville, and west of the Bethlehem Pike. Six years later, Interstate 378 was deleted and PA 191 was truncated, thus designating their former alignments as
Pennsylvania Route 378 Pennsylvania Route 378 (PA 378) is a north-to-south road in Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 309 in Center Valley. Its northern termi ...
.


Today

The modern Bethlehem Pike is mostly designated as Pennsylvania Route 309 in the Lehigh and
Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Vall ...
s. In Philadelphia, the road is signed as SR 4017, with a daily traffic of 15,000 vehicles. The pike is routed as SR 2018 in Montgomery County, while parallel to PA 309. North of Fort Washington, the road is known as PA 309, with an average of 17,000 to 21,000 vehicles a day. In Sellersville, the pike is signed as SR 4013, south of PA 152, and SR 4085 north of PA 152. From Quakertown to Center Valley, the pike has an old alignment west of the current designation on PA 309. In the Quakertown area, the PA 309 segment of the pike averages a daily traffic of 18,000 vehicles. North of Center Valley, the road is aligned as PA 378, Old Bethlehem Pike, and Old Philadelphia Pike, with an average traffic of 17,000 vehicles a day on PA 378. The northernmost segment of the pike is known as Main Street in
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital of ...
. Lower Gwynedd formed a project to improve the Bethlehem Pike within the township and estimated to cost $500,000.


Major intersections


See also

* * *


References


External links

*{{cite web, url=http://www.ushistory.org/bethpike/index.htm, title=Our friends of historic Bethlehem Pike, work=USHistory.com, access-date=2007-05-16 Roads in Pennsylvania Native American trails in the United States Streets in Philadelphia Transportation in Philadelphia Transportation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Northampton County, Pennsylvania Former toll roads in Pennsylvania Historic trails and roads in Pennsylvania Native American history of Pennsylvania