Editing Palmer Township, Pennsylvania (section)

===18th century===
The first known inhabitants of the area now known as Palmer Township were the [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] in the 17th century. [[Germans|German]] [[Moravian Church|Moravian]] settlers built on land in the Palmer area in 1740. At the time, the area was part of [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania]], which by the mid-18th century also included land now called [[Northampton County, Pennsylvania|Northampton County]] and [[Lehigh County, Pennsylvania|Lehigh County]].

Northampton County separated from [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Bucks County]] on March 11, 1752. In 1754, [[Forks Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania|Forks Township]], which then also consisted of what is now Palmer Township, was incorporated in 1754 with a total population of about 50 inhabitants.<ref name="Anderson3">{{Cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=B. Jack |last2=Daws |first2=H. Robert |last3=Kocher |first3=Paul C. |last4=Sales |first4=Harrison T. |last5=Vivian |first5=Edward C. |year=1968 |title=1968 Progress Report on the 111th Anniversary: A Township Report |publisher=Palmer Township Board of Supervisors |location=Palmer Township, Pennsylvania |page=3}}</ref>

On May 5, 1857, Palmer Township was formed out of the land area of Forks Township south and west of the [[Bushkill Creek]]; the original population of the township was about 1,300 people. The township was named after George Palmer, the Pennsylvania Surveyor General who surveyed the original township lines.<ref name="Anderson4">Anderson, p. 4</ref> At the time that it was incorporated, the township was about {{convert|14|sqmi|km2|sigfig=2}} and included what are now known as the boroughs of [[Tatamy, Pennsylvania|Tatamy]] (which became incorporated in 1893), [[West Easton, Pennsylvania|West Easton]] (incorporated in 1898), [[Stockertown, Pennsylvania|Stockertown]] (incorporated in 1901), and [[Wilson, Pennsylvania|Wilson]] (incorporated in 1920). 

The main activity of Palmer Township during its earliest years was providing access roads from neighboring [[Easton, Pennsylvania|Easton]] to surrounding communities, including [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania|Bethlehem]], [[Freemansburg, Pennsylvania|Freemansburg]], and [[Nazareth, Pennsylvania|Nazareth]].<ref name="Anderson5">Anderson, p. 5</ref>