History of Palmer | Home

The primarily purpose of this page is for those who may be looking for a community to settle in and are looking for information about that community. We feel that Palmer Township has a lot to offer its residents as offered on this page and the other pages within this web site.

Palmer Township is a community of approximately 19,000 people located near Easton, on the eastern end of the greater Lehigh Valley. Palmer prides itself in being a planned community for the last 52 years, and as a result, we have a mixture of home types, industrial centers and shopping facilities that meet most of the needs of our residents.

Palmer is one of the larger of the 34 municipalities in Northampton County. When measured on our citizen involvement in our youth sports programs and our various governmental boards, commissions and committees we stand well above the others. Through the years, Palmer has been built by governmental officials who had a vision of what our township should be. A strong and active governing body - our Board of Supervisors - our township employees and the many volunteers continue to use that vision to make Palmer what it is today and will be in the future.

Let's look at some of the important components and aspects of our township.

Palmer has a 34 member professional police department which is highly trained and properly equipped to carry out its duties of protecting and serving the residents of the township, and those who visit or pass through our community. There is a community policing program in place where the police and community work together to enhance the safety and the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

The municipal fire department is a totally volunteer organization of 45 members. The department has two stations with all the necessary equipment to handle the emergency situations they encounter. The members are very well trained with the majority of them holding state certification. Also, the equipment within the fire department is funded through the taxing power of the township and the Fireman's Relief Association. Therefore, department members can focus on prevention, training, and handling emergencies versus trying to raise money to support their operations.

Suburban Emergency Medical Services provides the emergency medical service and transportation within our township. This organization is staffed with full-time and volunteer professionals.  Easton Hospital is within a 5 to 10 minute drive from anywhere in the township. Also, there are several other hospitals located in Bethlehem and Allentown which are the other two cities in the Lehigh Valley. We are fortunate to have high quality medical facilities and practitioners in our area.

Our recreation programs and facilities include our youth sports programs, twelve parks, eight miles of biking/walking paths, summer children's park programs, and two community swimming pools (one private and one public).

Palmer is blessed to be bordered on two sides by waterways. On the east side we are bordered by the Bushkill Creek, which is a cold water stream and a favorite fishing spot. In the next couple of years the township plans to have a walking/bike path along the creek so our residents can enjoy the quiet tranquility. On the south we are bordered by the Lehigh River which is also used for fishing and other recreation purposes.

Palmer is in the Easton Area School District. Within our township we have two elementary schools (Palmer School and Tracy School) along with the Easton Area High School.

Since Palmer is located in the greater Lehigh Valley there are a number of available services and attractions. Visit the Lehigh Valley web site for more information (www.lehighvalley.org).

The tax structure within Palmer for 2003 is 5,25 mils on real estate and 0.5% earned income tax. If your home is assessed for $100,000, which is one-half the market value, your real estate tax for the township would be $525/year. This does not include the county and school taxes.

Four times per year the Township publishes a newsletter. This newsletter has many interesting articles on the Township and the activities going on within it.

The above, along with many other services and support functions, makes Palmer Township the place where people like to LIVE, WORK AND PLAY. Hopefully, you will join us. You can find out a lot more about Palmer by moving through this web site.