Orefield, Pennsylvania

Orefield, Pennsylvania
Unincorporated community
Homes in Orefield
Orefield
Coordinates: 40°38′05″N 75°35′04″W / 40.63472°N 75.58444°WCoordinates: 40°38′05″N 75°35′04″W / 40.63472°N 75.58444°W
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Lehigh
Township	North Whitehall and South Whitehall
Elevation	453 ft (138 m)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	18069
Area code(s)	610 and 484
GNIS feature ID	1183034[1]

Orefield is a small unincorporated community in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States, split between North Whitehall and South Whitehall township. Located along Pennsylvania Route 309, Orefield has the zip code of 18069. Its name is derived from the extensive deposits of limonite (iron ore) once mined here. It was once the terminus of the Siegersville Branch of the Ironton Railroad, which was extended here to haul the ore.

Orefield is the former home to Parkland High School. It is a part of the Lehigh Valley and is only a few miles outside of Allentown. It is surrounded by many suburban housing developments, many of which were former farms operated by the Pennsylvania Dutch whose influence in the community is waning. There are many covered bridges nearby which cross the Jordan Creek.

Located near Orefield is a large factory for Alpo Dog Food, which has been owned by the Ralston Purina Company since the 1990s. Also located nearby are the Jaindl turkey farms, which provide the turkey for the White House on many Thanksgivings. Located in Orefield is Shankweiler's Drive-In, the second drive-in ever built (1934) and America's oldest operating drive-in theater.

Orefield is served by the Parkland School District, which has Orefield Middle School in the village. The district's high school was located in Orefield until 1999, when it moved to Cedar Crest Boulevard to the east. Kernsville Elementary School is located just west of the village.

Notable residents

• Stephen Kroninger, artist, book illustrator, animator and regular illustrator to Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker and The New York Times.^[2]
• Brant Weidner, former professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs.
• Greg DeLong, former professional football player for the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Roderick Strohl, World War II veteran, Staff Sergeant. Served with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. Strohl was one of the original 140 Toccoa men of East Company made famous by the mini-series Band of Brothers. Strohl is an honored veteran of D-Day/Battle of Normandy, Operation Market Garden, and Battle of the Bulge.

References

1. "Orefield". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.