The Palmerton Historic District Public Meeting will be held this Friday at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Knight's Gallery on the second floor to discuss the proposed Palmerton National Historic District.

The meeting is open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend to learn more about the district and the designation. "This will be the public's opportunity to look at the boundaries of the proposed district, learn about the benefits of having this designation, and ask questions" said Betsy Burnhauser of the Historical Society. .The Palmerton Area Historical Society has been pursuing the historic district designation for the past several years with assistance from the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor. The Historical Society hired a historic preservation consultant, Ben Harvey, who completed all of the district survey and documentation work. Most recently, Harvey was contracted again to prepare the Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.According to Dale Freudenberger, Anthracite Region Coordinator with the D&LNHC, "the Palmerton Nomination is set to be reviewed by the state Historic Preservation Board at their June meeting. If it is approved on the state level, the Nomination will then be sent on to Washington D.C. where it will be reviewed by the Keeper of the National Register. We hope that the Palmerton National Historic District will be officially approved later this summer" said Freudenberger."The Historical Society has requested letters of support for the Historic District Nomination from various organizations in the borough" said Peter Kern of the Palmerton Area Chamber of Commerce.Burnhauser said "we hope that the public comes out Friday night to this special meeting to learn more about the historic district, ask any questions that they may have, and voice their support or any concerns."According to Freudenberger, "the Palmerton Historic District Nomination is based upon the town's history and design as a well planned, company established town. Many of the community's assets that are still enjoyed today are the direct result of it being a well planned community since it was laid out in 1898 by the New Jersey Zinc Company. The town still prospers today because of this smart planning early on, and the community facilities that were built for everyone's benefit.In 2012, the Borough is celebrating its Centennial, having been incorporated in 1912. If everything goes as planned, the official designation of the Palmerton National Historic District later this summer will be the pinnacle of Palmerton's Centennial Celebration.