Ben Franklin Was Here!

As far as history goes in the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem gets all the attention.  The Sun Inn, where Washington and other founding fathers slept . The sixth oldest college in the country, Moravian College. The oldest bookstore too, Moravian Bookstore. And their wonderful story of being named Bethlehem on Christmas Eve in 1741.   While I admire Bethlehem and its rich traditions, for this post I would like to say blah blah blah and yada yada yada.

You all know by now how proud I am of my little hometown, Slatington.  Well guess what! Benjamin Franklin was there!! Below is a picture (still having difficulty putting pictures where I want them) of the remains of Trucker’s Mill. It was a sawmill along Trout Creek (officially known as Big Trout Run) in the center of what is today Slatington.  Back then it was one of only a handful of dwellings in the area. Benjamin Franklin was on a mission of building forts north of the bigger towns in the area to protect them from Native Americans. Ben Franklin purchased lumber at Trucker’s Mill for the building of Fort Allen.  The mill also was a stationing point for soldiers during the French and Indian War.  How cool is that!

The picture you see is probably, at least, fifty years old. There is even less of Trucker’s Mill left today. What a shame.  That’s where my admiration of Bethlehem and its view of its own history becomes even more important.  Bethlehem has worked hard to keep its historic buildings in tact and its story alive. Slatington did not and doesn’t. That’s why everyone in the Lehigh Valley knows about historic Bethlehem and I bet no one, except those who grew up in Slatington, have ever heard of Trucker’s Mill.

I have often told myself that if I ever win big in the lottery, I would try to restore some of Slatington’s history.  But then, the Slatington in me says….but first my house on a lake, a horse for Emma, and a myriad of other things I would like to spend my winnings on.  Trucker’s Mill will have to wait.

Trucker’s Mill below