Now home to over thirteen colleges and universities, the Lehigh Valley was historically ahead of its time in educating the community. From one room schoolhouses to formal 18th century schools for girls and boys, explore the following sites to understand our area’s rich system of education. Visit the following sites for more:
Governor Wolf Historical Society
The Governor Wolf Historical Society museum is housed in one of the classrooms of the Monocacy School. It holds an interesting display of artifacts from the Wolf Academy Historic Site and a small section of an early school room. Displays change periodically throughout the year.
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites
Countess Benigna Zinzendorf founded a school for girls in the Gemeinhaus in 1741. Moravians educated all members of the community, boys and girls alike. The school she founded was the predecessor of Moravian Academy and Moravian College.
Leesport Area Historical Society
The Leesport Area Historical Society is located in an 1858 four room school that was used as a school through 1960. We have one room set as a classroom, one room as a museum of local history which includes a complete 1930’s print shop, and one room is for research with a large genealogy collection. We are open on the first Sunday of each month from 1:00 – 4:00 pm, except Holidays, or by appointment.
Lower Saucon Township: Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse
Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse -Visitors can step back in time to experience the learning environment of students who attended the one-room schoolhouse during the years 1930-1958. Artifacts and documents, including textbooks, maps, and photographs, allow visitors to develop a chronology of the schoolhouse and to construct a timeline that reveals changes that occurred in education in Pennsylvania.
Moravian Historical Society
Visitors to the Moravian Historical Society can learn about the Moravian’s contributions to education in Colonial America. These contributions include the first boy’s school in Nazareth that eventually became the Nazareth Military Academy. The school attained wide fame as a “classical academy.” Over its 180 years in operation, closing only for a brief period of six years due to economic hardship, Nazareth Hall was at the forefront of progressive education in America. The Whitefield House museum features a number of objects and documents related to Nazareth Hall. Visitors can also learn about the early education of women including Anna Nitschmann who helped establish a girl’s school in 1741. From 1745 until 1749, the Moravian School for Girls was located in the Whitefield House.
