Hellertown Train Station Was an Important Hub

"HELLERTOWN is a thriving village, situated in the centre of Lower Saucon township, in the rich and fertile Saucon valley, on the right bank of the  Saucon Creek, on the eastern side of the North Pennsylvania Railroad, of which it is an important station."

This description of the borough by J.S. Hess, Esq., can be found in History of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, 1877, edited by Davis and published in Philadelphia and Reading by Peter Fritts in 1877.

The book also includes a description of the borough's train station, which once stood where an apartment building at 950 Front Street is located today.

The history of the railroad in Hellertown dates to 1856, when the North Pennsylvania Railroad was completed, connecting Hellertown to Bethlehem and Philadelphia.

At the time, there was a quarrel between Rudolphus Kent and Rev. Samuel Hess over the location of the railroad station.

Kent, an outsider from Gwynedd, Pa., purchased a tract of land from John A. Geisinger, in the area of Front and Depot streets. He intended to create a new town called "Hampton" by building the railroad station along with several homes.

Hess, however, wanted the station built on his property in the area of Hess Avenue and Clauser Street.

Kent won the dispute but the older residents of Hellertown took exception to his interference as an outsider. Consequently, he was only able to build one home and sold back his property to Geisinger in defeat.

A small frame shanty was built on the Kent property to serve as a depot in Hellertown, until 1868 when a brick building was erected. Joseph F. Boyer was the railroad agent at the time.

The Front Street Apartments, a senior housing facility built at 950 Front Street, was built on the site of the old Hellertown train station in 1997.