Historic Catasauqua Preservation Association

Historic Catasauqua Preservation Association Our Mission
HCPA was created in 1984 to encourage an appreciation of the historical and architectural heritage of the Borough of Catasauqua Welcome!

HCPA traces its beginnings to 1983 when a small group of residents banded together to prepare applications for the establishment of two national historic districts in the Borough of Catasauqua (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania); the Biery's Port Historic District and the Mansion District. Since then, HCPA has worked to revive and maintain the towpath along the canal thru Catasauqua and has preserved Th

e Biery House at 8 Race St, its Summer Kitchen, and the Deily Coal Yard, Scale House and Mule Barn – all between Union and Race St along the Canal. They have secured 6 of the 7 State Historic Markers in the borough and created an art gallery and museum at their 8 Race St headquarters featuring the borough’s history and architecture. HCPA remains active as an organizer and volunteer in the community for events such as Fest O’Fall and the recent Old Home Week celebration. In addition, our members enact their passion for historic preservation through biennial home and garden tours that highlight Catasauqua's rich history. HCPA's webpages are hosted by the Borough of Catasauqua; where HCPA creates and maintains the History pages for the borough. Included are Block by Block Walking Tours in addition to links to history resources. You can visit them by appointment or by stopping by 8 Race St the first and third Sundays of each month from May through September. History

Located at the center of the Lehigh Valley, Catasauqua is one of the smallest, but most densely populated municipalities in the Valley. Now a quiet residential community, the borough once was home to the Crane Iron Works, the first commercially successful anthracite iron furnace. Its first blast in 1840 marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in America. The iron and allied industries brought much wealth to the town; such that by the early 1900s, Catasauqua had the highest concentration of millionaires per capita in the nation. Industry waned after WWI and commerce declined with the introduction of malls in neighboring Whitehall in the 1960s. With the purchase of the old Crane Iron site, the borough is targeting a development of the canal front and revitalization of downtown areas.

What year would you guess this is? Front St. Old Fuller home next to McCartys. EDIT: Building is Fisher steamship of...
08/16/2026

What year would you guess this is? Front St. Old Fuller home next to McCartys. EDIT: Building is Fisher steamship office; not McCarty's.

08/15/2026
Early maps show a Lenni Lenape village here where the Catasauqua Creek enters the Lehigh. There was also a village near...
07/27/2026

Early maps show a Lenni Lenape village here where the Catasauqua Creek enters the Lehigh. There was also a village near Vera Cruz which was known for their arrowheads made out of local jasper.

Did you know that mining in Lehigh County started with jasper about 8,000 to 12,000 years ago? Jasper from Vera Cruz was used to make tools such as projectile points, knives, and axes. The Lenape used fire to burn the area, then pour water on it so the jasper would crack into manageable chunks. After being pulled from the earth, workers would use a knapping stone, or a round hammer-like stone, to chip the jasper into the shape needed for their tools. The Vera Cruz jasper, also known as Eastern Pennsylvania jasper, flakes away easily and in a predictable way, making it very easy to create the desired shape. A vein of jasper ran from Easton through Reading. Research shows that the pits were abandoned around the mid-1600s, which would be about the time Europeans brought metals. The Lenape pits were first documented in the 1890s by Henry Mercer of Bucks County and had been studied ever since. In a 1981 excavation of the area by archeologists from the Pennsylvania State University showed that there were up to 140 pits in the area, some said to be as deep as 100 feet. The group wanted to research just how far Vera Cruz jasper was traded between the Native Americans, which they later discovered had traveled as far as New England. (Picture: Jasper pit preserved in Jasper Park, credit: The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

07/25/2026

We should have the museum back together by next weekend! (All the sports and school exhibits were temporarily moved to the park for the MegaReunion on J4.)
So come visit us on Sunday, August 2nd, between 11am and 3pm for a free Open House. Lots of changes over the past year. We've added wheel chair access via the rear kitchen door and a first floor restroom. We converted the first floor event space and art gallery into period decor and moved some of our museum displays to the first floor.
We welcome families with kids to the Open House and have created a Scavenger Hunt for them to explore. There may be prizes and refreshments.

Depending on response to the Open House, we may schedule another before we start to remake the house for the holiday shoppe. The museum will reopen during the holiday shoppe.

A little history on the park, playground and bandstand. From 1935.
07/20/2026

A little history on the park, playground and bandstand. From 1935.

Address

8 Race Street
Catasauqua, PA
18032

Telephone

+16102310603

Website

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