thumb|The Farr Building at 739 Hamilton Street, where a hospital for wounded Continental Army troops existed during the Revolutionary War Allentown played a central role in both inspiring the American Revolution and supporting the subsequent Revolutionary War. Some of the first Patriot resistance to British colonialism in the Thirteen Colonies began in and around present-day Allentown. On December 21, 1774, a Committee of Observation was formed by Allentown-area patriots. Following the Declaration of Independence's unanimous signing by the Second Continental Congress, British governing control in Allentown began to break down as patriot militias expanded their resistance. The patriot militias also pressured Tories out of the city, and expanded their ranks, which were ultimately incorporated into the Continental Army. The burden of supplying the local militias fell on the people, and requisitions for food, grain, cattle, horses, and cloth were common.
thumb|The Farr Building at 739 Hamilton Street where a hospital for wounded Continental Army troops existed during the Revolutionary War Allentown played a central role in both inspiring the American Revolution and supporting the subsequent Revolutionary War. Some of the first Patriot resistance to British colonialism in the Thirteen Colonies began in and around present-day Allentown. On December 21, 1774, a Committee of Observation was formed b,y Allentown-area patriots. Following the Declaration of Independence's unanimous signing by the Second Continental Congress, British governing control in Allentown began to break down as patriot militias expanded their resistance. The patriot militias also pressured Tories out of the city, and expanded their ranks, which were ultimately incorporated into the Continental Army. The burden of supplying the local militias fell on the people, and requisitions for food, grain, cattle, horses, and cloth were common.