5 Things You May Not Know About Northampton County History

All this week, the Northampton County Courthouse is marking its 150th anniversary. On Monday morning, the county hosted a short ceremony at the government center in Easton to mark the occasion. 

A few different speakers talked about the history of the courthouse, and what the county was like in the 1800s. Here are five interesting things I learned:

1. We may have livestock to thank for the courthouse's current location. Originally, the courthouse was in Easton's Centre Square. But in 1801, residents began complaining about that location, partially due to the sheep and pigs that would congregate there. 

2. The cost to build the courthouse was $53,000. By way of comparison, this year's county budget calls for $370,000 just to replace the windows in the prison.

3. Not everyone was a fan of the new location. Controller Stephen Barron talked about reaction to the new courthouse. There was even a poem, he said, which complained about the building's place in "the highlands of the borough of Easton" leading to sore necks as people strained to look up at it.

4. In 1861 most people in the county spoke German. Historian Dick Jacoby told the audience that only about 1/8 of the kids in county schools at the time spoke only English. 

5. In the 1860 election, voters chose one of Abe Lincoln's opponents. Jacoby said John Breckenridge, a Southern Democrat from Kentucky, won the county by 52 percent. But Jacoby said that was because he "bamboozled the people" into thinking he was a Unionist. During the Civil War, Breckenridge was a general in the Confederate army.