A Changing Confluence

Future cartographers will locate the confluence of the Little Lehigh Creek and the Lehigh River as south, and slightly east of the current LCA sewage plant. Historians will know better. Up to forty years ago, nature joined the Little Lehigh with with western channel of the Lehigh, halfway down the side of Kline's Island. In the mid-1960's, the City of Allentown decided to reclaim the river channel north of the confluence, ending Kline's status as an island. What is now the last section of the Little Lehigh, was previously the Lehigh. The map shown was produced in 1900. Also gone from current geography is the man made harbors, shown north of the Hamilton Street bridge. The new google map shows that the

former bridge to Kline's Island still stands, crossing the now reclaimed former west channel of the Lehigh River. Also visible is the footprint of Allentown's former gas tank.




reprinted from June of 2013

UPDATE APRIL 14, 2020: I surmise that the change noted above was done to make the sewer plant less vulnerable to flooding, and the Lehigh less susceptible to contamination. Shown here is a portion of the city blueprint from May of 1964, clearly showing the abandoned western channel of the Lehigh. Note that the current last portion of the Little Lehigh was formally the bed of the Lehigh itself.