Bethlehem Pike
| Bethlehem Pike | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Route information | |
| Maintained by PennDOT | |
| Length: |
42.21 mi (67.93 km) |
| Existed: | 1763 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end: | Germantown Pike in Philadelphia |
 PA 309 near Fort Washington US 202 in Montgomeryville  PA 313 / PA 663 in QuakertownPA 309 in Center Valley
|
|
| North end: | Main Street in Bethlehem |
| Location | |
| Counties: | Bucks, Lehigh, Montgomery, Philadelphia |
42.21 mi (67.93 km)
Length source data gathered using historical 19th Century USGS maps.
Bethlehem Pike is a historic 42.21 mi (67.93 km) long road in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, connecting Philadelphia and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It began as a Native American path called the Minsi Trail which developed into a colonial highway called the King's Road in the 1760s. Most of the route later became part of U.S. Route 309, now Pennsylvania Route 309.
The Bethlehem Pike originated from a Native American pathway known as the Minsi Trail. Named after the Minsi Indians, the trail was routed between the Blue Mountains and the lands to the south. In December 1740, David Nitschmann and his party went to Bethlehem and Nazareth along this trail. A year later, a second party joined the first, traversing the same pathway. Nicolaus Zinzendorf, was included in the second party who visited the pioneers in the cabin along the banks of the Monocacy Creek. On Christmas Eve, Zinzendorf celebrated a famous love-feast service, during which the new settlement was named Bethlehem.
After the founding of Bethlehem, a number of settlements began to rise along the route, causing a constant use of it and the highway to be called King's Road. The first trip made by George Klein was by stage wagon on September 10, 1763. He later made regular trips between Philadelphia and Bethlehem on a weekly basis. He started on Mondays from the Sun Inn in Bethlehem, and returned from the King of Prussia Inn in Philadelphia, on Thursdays. Bethlehem Pike and Germantown Avenue were the first two segments of the King's Highway, the main road carrying passengers and their goods between Philadelphia and the north.
...
Wikipedia