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 so ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

that connects

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

. 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, now Pennsylvania Route 309.

History

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.

18th century

In December 1740, David Nitschmann and his party went to

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

and

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

along the trail. A year later, in 1741, a second party joined the first, traversing the same pathway.

Nicolaus Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediat ...

was included in the second party who visited the pioneers in the cabin along the banks of the Monocacy Creek. On Christmas Eve 1741, 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, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * '' The Stage'', a weekly Bri ...

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 The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

Inn in

, 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. According to a legend,

Tamanend Tamanend ("the Affable"; ), historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the founding peace treaty w ...

, 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, 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 representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

at Whitemarsh. Further north along the route in the Whitemarsh Valley is the site where

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

held Howe at bay, thus becoming famous in history as Church Hill. Before heading to

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

, 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

. 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 an ...

, 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 Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...

broke down and the bell had to be unloaded on September 25, 1777. The wagon was repaired, and the bell was sent to

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

, where it was hidden from the British on Hamilton Street. The road traverses Rockhill Township, where the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and

armies listened to Richard Peters in 1799, a member of the Colonial assembly. They camped at Seller's Tavern in present-day Sellersville.

19th century

Milestone on Bethlehem Pike in Flourtown PA

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 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.

20th century

In 1910, the Bethlehem Pike became a free road after it was tolled for a century. 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. In 1926, when the U.S. Numbered Highway System was established, each designated trail in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

was given a number and the majority of the Bethlehem Pike was signed as U.S. Route 309 (US 309). During a three-decade period after the system was created, the pike was designated as Pennsylvania Route 12 (PA 12) from

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

, 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, in 1976, Interstate 378 was deleted and PA 191 was truncated, and their former alignments were designated as Pennsylvania Route 378.

21st century

In the 21st century, Bethlehem Pike is mostly designated as Pennsylvania Route 309 in the Lehigh and

Delaware Valley The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

s. In

, 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

. Lower Gwynedd formed a project to improve the Bethlehem Pike within the township and estimated to cost $500,000.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
"Bethlehem Pike"
at U.S. History Former toll roads in Pennsylvania Historic trails and roads in Pennsylvania Native American history of Pennsylvania Native American trails in the United States Roads in Pennsylvania Streets in Philadelphia Transportation in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Northampton County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Philadelphia