Whitehall Historical Preservation Society

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Whitehall Historical Preservation Society

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The Whitehall Historical Preservation Society works to preserve the heritage of Whitehall Township. Come visit us on the third Sunday of each month from 1-3 pm!

The Society maintains and interprets the Helfrich Springs Grist Mill and the Peter Grim House.

11/04/2026

View of Third Street in Fullerton, Pennsylvania, looking south from Summit to Fullerton Junction, c. 1900.

Photo: Collection of the Whitehall Historical Preservation Society. E. Diefenderfer Photograph.

11/03/2026

What kind of structure stood where the Grim Homestead now stands in 1798? Thanks to the very unpopular 1798 Direct House Tax, we have a good idea!

To determine the tax, assessors recorded information about almost every dwelling house in America. The records show that George Adam Blank, who then owned the land on which our brick Federal-style headquarters now stands, was living in a 28 x 22 two-story log house at the time.

This tax may have sparked fierce protests in its time, but the records it generated are now an invaluable historical resource for anyone doing property research.

Source: 1798 Direct House Tax Records, Northampton County, digitized on Ancestry

11/02/2026

Take "A Trip through the Dairy" with these two pages from the Lehigh Valley Dairy's 30th anniversary booklet, published in 1964. The booklet features scenes from inside the Dairy's 1934 Art Deco headquarters on MacArthur Road.

The Dairy processed milk from many Lehigh Valley farms, and the milk delivered to almost all local families first passed through these rooms!

Booklet: Collection of the Whitehall Historical Preservation Society

10/30/2026

Happy Friday from Helfrich Springs Grist Mill! Have a safe and fun Halloween weekend.

10/29/2026

Report card for nine-year-old Betty Stem of West Catasauqua, a fourth-grader in Whitehall Public Schools, c. 1930s.

Any parent would be proud of this report card, especially of the empty "Conduct" section on the second page, lower right. Thankfully, young Betty was not "inclined to mischief" and did not throw spitballs OR spittleballs!

Collection of the Whitehall Historical Preservation Society. Gift of Bonny Griffith, 2026.

10/28/2026

View of Main Street in Cementon showing Valley House and Siegfried's Bridge to Northampton, 1929.

Collection of the Whitehall Historical Preservation Society. Gift of Karen Gensey, 2002.

10/27/2026

Now you see it...now you don't!

This hidden storage space next to the fireplace in the sitting room of the Grim Homestead was sometimes called a chimney closet or a chimney cabinet, and versions of them are common in some older houses.

Not only did they create storage in what would otherwise be "dead" space, they could also be used to keep things like clothing and food and drink warm.

Have you toured the Grim Homestead yet? If not, mark your calendar for our next Open House on Sunday, November 15 from 1-3 pm!

10/26/2026

"At the present time I am somewhere in the Middle East, that is the only thing I can tell you. By the time you receive this letter, I will be somewhere else again..."

This from "News from the Front," a segment on page 2 of "The Egyptian," October 1944, a newsletter published "For the Boys in Service" in Egypt, Pennsylvania, during World War II.

More pages of these newsletters will be featured here weekly.

Newsletter: Collection of the Whitehall Historical Preservation Society.

10/23/2026

We had a blast at the Whitehall Township Halloween Parade last night! Beautiful weather, great people, and a wonderful parade. We'll look forward to doing it all again next year!

10/22/2026

View of the Dallas Semmel farmhouse in Mickleys, Pennsylvania, along old Mickley Road, now MacArthur Road, c. 1890-1900. The steeple of the former St. John's UCC Church is visible in the background.

Photograph: Collection of the Whitehall Historical Preservation Society. Gift of Barbara Reph, 1999.

Address

506 Mickley Road
Whitehall, PA
18052

Telephone

+16107767280

Website

http://www.whitehallhistoricalsociety.org/

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