5 Historic Streets That Kept Their Original Names

Editor's note: Each Thursday, we'll be presenting The List, a feature that outlines five interesting things about Easton's past and -- more often -- present. This week, Christina Georgiou looks at five Easton streets that still have their original names.

Easton has a rich history dating back to before the American Revolution, the city having been commissioned by order of Thomas Penn, son of William Penn.

Then Surveyor General of Pennsylvania and associate of Benjamin Franklin, William Parsons was instructed to lay out plans for Easton in 1750, and Northampton County with Easton as the county seat became official on March 11, 1752.

True to Easton's love of both tradition and innovation, over two and a half centuries, many things have changed and others have stayed remarkably the same in the oldest section of Easton, the Downtown historic district.

These five street names would be familiar to Eastonians of any century.

1. Ferry Street
Probably the oldest street in Easton, it predates William Parsons' layout and Easton's official charter in 1752. It formerly ran directly to the point at the forks of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, where there was a ferry and established river crossing.

2. Northampton Street
Northampton Street has been Northampton Street since Easton's founding.

3. Church Street
Much like Ferry Street, the name of this street is descriptive of it's most prominent use and feature. Other streets in Easton named for their historical dominant use include Bank Street, Canal Street and Coal Street.

4. Spring Garden Street
This street still boasts some of Easton's oldest dwellings, particularly east of North Second Street, and bears the original name as designated by Parsons.

5. Bushkill Street
Named for the the adjacent Bushkill Creek, an important waterway in pre-Industrial Revolution Easton, this once picturesque street of proud brownstone residences was reduced a shadow of it's former self when Route 22 cut through the city in the mid-20^th century. Still, the name remains.

However, several current street names have been changed from Easton's early days:

• Fourth Street was originally called “Hamilton Street”.
• Third Street was first named “Julianna Street." Julianna was Thomas Penn's wife.
• Second Street was once known as “Fermor Street”. Fermor was her maiden name.
• North Delaware Drive (Route 611), though probably pre-existing Easton as a Native American trail route, was known in the early days of Easton as “Pomfret Street”, making way to “Front Street” by 1874. A decade or so later, it was known as “First Street." And Pomfret, incidentally, was Julianna Fermor's father's title: Lord Pomfret.

It would appear the original names of the city's north-south streets fell out of favor during the mid-nineteenth century, probably during the boom-phase of building and local industry that took place in Easton during that time. The names of the streets running east-west were apparently retained.

 References:

“Northampton County Atlas, 1874”, A. Pomeroy & Co. 

“The History of Easton, Penn'a, from Earliest Times to Present, 1739-1885” by Rev. Uzal W. Condit, published, illustrated and printed by George W. West