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==History== The area that would become Freemansburg was first settled by the Bachman family in the 1760s with their old stone house, which also doubled as a tavern, still standing on the western edge of the borough. The Bachmans resisted several attacks from local [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]] who lived on the opposite bank of the [[Lehigh River]]. Shortly afterwards the Bachmans were joined by the Freemans as well as [[Moravian Church|Moravians]] from neighboring [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania|Bethlehem]] who built a series of mills, as well as a distillery and tavern.<ref name="LVH">{{cite web |title=The History of The Borough of Freemansburg β Lehigh Valley History |url=https://www.lehighvalleyhistory.com/the-history-of-the-borough-of-freemansburg/ |website=lehighvalleyhistory.com |access-date=5 October 2023}}</ref> In 1811 a bridge was built across the Lehigh River at Freemansburg and the first physician moved into the area in 1817, as well as the opening of the first general store in 1825. By the 1830s the hamlet was starting to develop into a municipality within its own right, as a public school was built in 1838.<ref name="LVH" /> Also in the 1830s the eponymous Jacob Freeman began operating a local tavern.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n131 132]}}</ref><ref name="mcall history">{{cite web |title=FREEMANSBURG: CONTROVERSIAL CANAL TOWN. |url=https://www.mcall.com/1992/07/19/freemansburg-controversial-canal-town/ |website=[[The Morning Call]] |access-date=5 October 2023}}</ref> Freemansburg would become an incorporated borough in January 1856.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Borough of Freemansburg |url=https://www.boroughoffreemansburg.org/history.htm |website=Freemansburg |access-date=5 October 2023}}</ref> It originally had a Chief Burgess system of government, like many municipalities in Pennsylvania, where the executive of the government was a mostly powerless honorary position elected for one year terms from among members of the city council. The first Chief Burgess was George Bachman, and the first members of the city council were: William Gwinner the council President, Amos Seip, John Warg, Thomas Doney, and R. O. Lerch. They would be sworn in on March 29, 1856.<ref name="LVH" /> The town is notable for having a seven-member city council, the same size as that of Bethlehem, despite Bethlehem having a population nearly 4000% larger than Freemansburg. Additionally, this council has seen high turnover of membership and rather vitriolic debates and name calling as well as a deep-seated rivalry between true "burgers", people born and raised in the borough, and those who moved in from Bethlehem after the closing of the [[Bethlehem Works]].<ref name="mcall history" />
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