Troxell-Steckel House
Whitehall, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Just west of here is the house built originally by John Peter Troxel in 1756 and acquired by Peter Steckel in 1768. It was restored in 1943 and is now owned and maintained as a museum by the Lehigh County Historical Society.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Just west of this marker stands the stone house John Peter Troxell built in 1756 and Peter Steckel acquired in 1768, a survivor of colonial Lehigh County's German farming community. Its enduring masonry speaks to the craftsmanship of the region's Pennsylvania-German settlers. Restored in 1943, the home is now maintained as a museum by the Lehigh County Historical Society.
Why it matters
It safeguards a tangible piece of Pennsylvania-German heritage, honoring the immigrant families whose farms and traditions built the colonial backcountry.
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Related people
- · John Peter Troxell
- · Peter Steckel
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Troxell-Steckel House
Whitehall, PA · est. 1970
Built in 1756 by John Peter Troxell and acquired in 1768 by Peter Steckel, this sturdy stone farmhouse reflects the German-speaking settlers who shaped colonial Lehigh County. Their solid Pennsylvania-German architecture was made to last generations, and this one did. Restored in 1943, it now serves as a museum kept by the Lehigh County Historical Society.
David Thomas
Catasauqua, PA · est. 2001
David Thomas carried a hard-won secret across the Atlantic from Wales: how to smelt iron using abundant, slow-burning anthracite coal rather than scarce charcoal. Settling in the Lehigh Valley, he built the Crane Iron Works, widely credited as the first anthracite iron furnace to succeed both technically and as a business. His breakthrough transformed eastern Pennsylvania's hard-coal region into an industrial powerhouse and earned him the title "father of the American anthracite iron industry."
Abraham Blumer - PLAQUE
South Whitehall Township, PA · est. 1929
Born in Grabs, Switzerland, Abraham Blumer crossed the Atlantic to serve the German Reformed congregations of the Lehigh Valley, ministering at Jordan, Union, Egypt, and Allentown from 1771 to 1801. During the Revolution he also served as chaplain to the First Battalion of the Northampton County Militia. He spent three decades tending to the spiritual life of his frontier congregations and is buried in this cemetery.
Slate Industry
Slatington, PA · est. 2002
The region around Slatington grew into one of the largest slate-producing centers in the United States after Welsh entrepreneur William Roberts spotted slate near a local barn in 1844. He and fellow Welsh immigrants opened a cluster of quarries, including the vast "Big Franklin" and the "Williams" quarry famous for making school slates. Their work helped fuel the popularity of slate roofing across America in the later 19th century.