traffic, which exceeded 210 million pounds in 2016. The Lehigh Valley is located within the U.S. Northeast megalopolis with ease of access and close proximity to many of the nation's largest population centers, airports, terminals, railways, and seaports, including New York City, the nation's largest city, which is to its east, and Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most-populous city, which is to its southeast. The region is located geographically within a one-day drive to over a third of the U.S. population and over half of Canada's population, which has been a factor in its 21st century emergence as a North American leader in light manufacturing and commercial distribution. Gains in these and other industries have helped offset the significant losses the region had experienced from its late 20th century decline in heavy manufacturing. Since its settlement in the 1700s, the Lehigh Valley has been the birthplace or home to several notable Americans who have proven influential across a broad range of fields, including academia, art and music, business, government and politics, the military, professional and Olympic-level athletics, and other fields. History The Lehigh Valley was settled in the first half of the 1700s by predominantly German immigrants fleeing war and religious persecution. Prior to their arrival, the region was inhabited by Lenape Indian tribes who hunted, fished, and quarried jasper in the region. Sons of provincial Pennsylvania founder William Penn acquired much of the Lehigh Valley in the Walking Purchase in 1737 during the colonial period. Lenape Indians subsequently retaliated with raids against European settlers throughout the 1750s and early 1760s but were moved out of the region by the mid-1760s. The region was initially established in 1682 as part of Bucks County. In 1752, the region became part of Northampton County, and Lehigh County was later separated from Northampton County and formally established in 1812. Shelter House in Emmaus, constructed in 1734 by Pennsylvania German settlers, is the oldest still-standing building structure in the Lehigh Valley and believed to be one of the oldest in the state. American Revolutionary War Allentown and its surrounding communities played an important and historic role in the emergence of the American Revolution. Some of the first resistance to British colonialism began in Allentown and surrounding Lehigh County communities in the Lehigh Valley. As early as June 21, 1774, patriot forces in Allentown began meeting to formulate resistance plans to British colonial governance. On December