Easton, city, seat of Northampton County, eastern Pennsylvania, at the junction of the Lehigh and Delaware rivers, opposite New Jersey; incorporated as a city 1887. Manufactures include paper products, clothing, metals, chemicals, and electrical items. Located in a rich agricultural area, Easton has a large farmers' market (one of the oldest in the U.S.) and is the site of Lafayette College. The sons of William Penn purchased (1737) land here from the Delaware and Iroquois peoples. The community was laid out in 1752 and is named for the English estate of the father-in-law of Thomas Penn, a son of William Penn. In 1776 it was the site of the final public reading of the Declaration of Independence. It grew in the late 1820s as a coal-transporting point on the Lehigh and Delaware canals. Population 26,027 (1980); 26,276 (1990); 26,263 (2000).Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Easton Information info
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