Monocacy Creek and Johnston Park

Monocacy Creek and Johnston Park. . , ”Every municipality is morally bound to furnish to its inhabitants an abundant supply of pure water, and a well-drained soil... " , Archibald Johnston , First Mayor of the unified City of Bethlehem , Monocacy Creek is exceptional – a wild trout stream in an urban setting, one of the few in the U.S. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania classifies the Monocacy a High Quality Coldwater Fishery and nearly two miles of it is designated "Class A" Wild Trout Waters and Trophy Trout Water by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Upstream development has made keeping the Monocacy pristine a challenge. Removal of a small dam and stream bank improvements will allow the creek to handle heavy rainfall better. Native plants on the banks will help improve water quality and aquatic habitat. , The Monocacy Powered the Moravians – , America's First Industrial Park , By 1746 the Moravian founders of Bethlehem harnessed the Monocacy's water power to drive waterwheels that operated the millstones and gears used by 35 different crafts, trades and industries established in the Colonial Industrial Quarter. At this site, a dam was built to channel a portion of the Monocacy Creek through a raceway that powered the Waterworks. A remnant of the dam remains today. , Johnston Park , WPA Era Construction , This park is one of several in Bethlehem that were constructed in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, a Federal program that provided jobs for unemployed people during the Great Depression.