Editing Lehighton, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
At the time of the first European's encounters with historic American tribes, this area was part of the shared hunting territory of the [[Iroquoian]] [[Susquehannock]] and the [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] [[Lenape]], also called the Delaware, after their language and territory along the [[Delaware River]], peoples, who were often at odds.<ref name="AmHeritageBk">
{{cite encyclopedia |year=1961 
|title=The American Heritage Book of Indians
|editor=Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.
|pages=180–211|publisher=American Heritage Publishing Co.
|lccn=61-14871
}}</ref>

Close relatives of the peoples of [[New England]] and along the St. Lawrence Valley of Canada occupied much of the coastal mid-Atlantic area in [[Delaware]], [[New Jersey]], [[Lehigh Valley|Eastern Pennsylvania]], and lower eastern [[New York (state)|New York]], including [[Long Island]].<ref name="AmHeritageBk"/> The Susquehannock confederacy's homelands were mainly along the Susquehanna River, from the Mohawk Valley in lower [[New York (state)|New York]] southerly to the [[Chesapeake Bay|Chesapeake]] and [[Virginia]]'s [[Shenandoah Valley]], but may have ranged into the empty lands<ref>re: The term'' 'empty lands': ''Swedish, Dutch, and French explorers all reported the lands west of the [[Allegheny Ridge]] and south of the shores of Eastern [[Lake Erie]] (the [[Erie people]]'s territory west of the [[Ohio River|Ohio]] and [[Allegheny River]] valleys [i.e. Central and Eastern and lower Ohio; including parts of left bank Kentucky.]) to be empty of population; hunting grounds which may have been shared by tribes as diverse as the Iroquois, Creek, Shawnee, Miami, Erie, Susquehannock, Delaware peoples, and possibly some of the tribes around the Potomac.  By the time the English trappers and traders pushed West into the [[Ohio Country]], the territories had been claimed by the Iroquois&mdash;who'd defeated and broken their relatives &mdash; the Erie and Susquehannocks, while adopting survivors, including remnant bands of Susquehannocks, and asserting control over the [[Lenape]] tributary tribe.</ref> of [[West Virginia]], [[Ohio|Eastern Ohio]], and [[Western Pennsylvania]].<ref name="AmHeritageBk"/>

The Dutch and Swedes first settled the [[Delaware Valley]], and found the area north of the Lehigh Gap to be lightly occupied, probably by transients, but traveled regularly by the Susquehannock. This tribe traveled quite a bit according to the ''American Heritage Book of Indians'',<ref name="AmHeritageBk"/> including being described in lofty terms by [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] when a band visited the new [[Jamestown, Virginia]] colony.<ref name="AmHeritageBk"/>  In the decades of the [[Beaver Wars]] in the mid-1600s, the Susquehannocks conquered and made the Lenape a tributary tribe &mdash; and also nearly inflicted an overwhelming defeat on the powerful [[Iroquois Confederacy]],.<ref name="AmHeritageBk"/> Shortly thereafter, the Susquehannocks suffered a reversal, falling first to epidemic disease that raged for three years which killed off perhaps 90% of their population,<ref name="AmHeritageBk"/> and a series of battles on most of their frontiers as various enemies took advantage.<ref name="AmHeritageBk"/>  This vacated the southeastern and central Pennsylvania regions for the Delaware peoples. However, all tribes were thereafter displaced westwards by continued colonial growth. Delaware dominance at the time of European colonization is why William Penn's settlers adopted Lenape Lenki (Delaware) names for landscape features, and less than a handful of Susquehannock names.

Lehighton was built on the site of the German [[Moravian Brethren]]'s mission station "[[Gnadenhütten, Pennsylvania|Gnadenhütten]]" (cabins of grace) founded in 1746. It was established as a mission to the Lenape by Moravians from [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania]], lower on the Lehigh River.<ref>[http://www.lehightonborough.com/history.htm "History"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509063028/http://www.lehightonborough.com/history.htm |date=2008-05-09 }}, Lehighton Borough official website</ref> The German name was transcribed as "Canatanheat" by missionary John Brainerd.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=EgXGu4VHGyQC&q=Gnadenh%C3%BCtten&pg=PA197 Thomas Brainerd, John Brainerd: ''The Life of John Brainerd: The Brother of David Brainerd, and His Successor as Missionary to the Indians of New Jersey ...''], Presbyterian Publication Committee, 1865, p. 197. Footnote: "This was, doubtless, Gnadenhütten, founded by the Moravians in 1746. It was situated on the [[Mahoning Creek (Lehigh River)|Mahoning Creek]], near the [[Lehigh River]],..."</ref>

During the [[French and Indian Wars]] ([[Seven Years' War]]), Native allies of the French killed 11 missionaries during the [[Gnadenhütten massacre (Pennsylvania)|Gnadenhütten massacre]] on 24 November 1755. They destroyed the mission village,<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/335178/Lehighton "Lehighton"], ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref> and only four of the sixteen residents escaped.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZxKAAAAMAAJ&q=%2BGnadenh%C3%BCtten Clarence Marsh Case: ''The Social Psychology of Passive Resistance''], PhD Dissertation, Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 1915, p. 120</ref> (During the [[American Revolutionary War]] in 1782, Pennsylvania militia raided another Moravian mission village, also called Gnadenhutten, in present-day [[Ohio]]. Suspecting the Lenape of being allied with the [[United Kingdom|British]], the militia killed 96 unarmed men, women, and children in what became better known as the [[Gnadenhutten Massacre]].)

The Lehigh River was a source of water power for developing industries in the 19th century. Lehighton had silk and [[lace]] mills, a [[meat-packing]] house, shirt factory, automatic-press works, car shops, stoneworks, and [[foundries]]. In 1900, the population was 4,629 people. By 1940, it had reached 6,615.

The coming of the [[railroad]] made it easier for residents to get their products to major markets. For many years, the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]] had a major repair facility in Lehighton. The coming of the railroad was a major economic boost for the town. It was the area's largest company, employing several thousand workers at the repair facilities or operating and maintaining the railroad. Restructuring in the railroad industry led to the repair facilities being moved to another location. Lost jobs meant that some people had to relocate for work.

The Lehighton downtown declined after the [[Carbon Plaza Mall]] was built in nearby [[Mahoning Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania|Mahoning Township]]. Suburban housing developed, pulling more businesses from downtown. After struggling for three decades, the downtown is experiencing a rebirth as people appreciate the qualities of a compact central location, royalty and historic architecture.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}