Vera Cruz, Pennsylvania facts for kids
Vera Cruz is a small village in Upper Milford Township, Pennsylvania. It is located south of Emmaus. Vera Cruz is part of the Lehigh Valley region. This area is home to many people.
Vera Cruz uses the same Zip Code as Emmaus, which is 18049.
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History of Vera Cruz
Ancient Jasper Mines
Long ago, before settlers came, the Lenape Native American tribes lived in the area now known as Vera Cruz. This place was very important because it had some of the oldest jasper mines in North America. These mines date back about 10,000 years, to around 8000 BC.
The Lenape people dug more than 100 small pits to find jasper. Many of these pits were in what is now called Jasper Park. They used the jasper to make tools like arrowheads. These tools were important for hunting and for daily life.
Jasper from Vera Cruz was traded far away, even to places like New England. This shows how important Vera Cruz was for early jasper production. The mines were no longer used after the 1680s.
Today, the old jasper pits in Jasper Park are a local attraction. People can enjoy hiking and biking trails there. It is against the rules to remove any jasper from Jasper Park.
How Vera Cruz Got Its Name
Before 1851, Vera Cruz was just an unnamed village. It was located at a busy crossroads in Milford Township. One day, some people were relaxing at Alexander Weaver's store. They saw a newspaper with a headline about an event in Mexico.
Suddenly, they heard angry voices outside. Two people were fighting. Alexander Weaver joked, "Now we have a name for our village! Why not call it Vera Cruz?" Since that day, the village has been known as Vera Cruz.
Geography of Vera Cruz
Vera Cruz is located near Leibert Creek. This creek flows into Little Lehigh Creek, which is to the north. A ridge to the south separates Vera Cruz from another river system called the Schuylkill River.
Geographically, Vera Cruz is part of the Appalachian Mountains. It sits in a section known as the Reading Prong.
Getting Around Vera Cruz
Interstate 476 passes through Vera Cruz. This highway is also called the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It is located about halfway between the Lehigh Valley and Quakertown exits.
A commercial train line, the Perkiomen Branch, also runs through Vera Cruz. The Dillinger Tunnel in Emmaus carries this train line under the land between Vera Cruz and the tunnel.
Education in Vera Cruz
Students in Vera Cruz attend schools in the East Penn School District. Older students, in grades nine through 12, go to Emmaus High School. This high school is located in Emmaus.
Students in grades six through eight attend middle school. They go to either Eyer Middle School or Lower Macungie Middle School. Both of these schools are in Macungie.
See also
In Spanish: Vera Cruz (Pensilvania) para niños
