In the early 1800s, Andrew K. Wittman, a surveyor, observed a strange mineral that he thought might be gold on the Jacob Ueberroth farm, located in Friedensville. In 1845, Wittman brought a specimen of the mineral to William T. Roepper. Roepper was a local metallurgist who identified it as zinc, in the form of calamine ore. Roepper later became the first professor of mineralogy and geology at Lehigh University.

In the 13th century, zinc ore was used for making brass in India and zinc oxide for healing wounds and sore eyes in Persia. The metallurgist Andreas Libavius identified the pure metal of zinc in 1597. Modern day uses for zinc are glazes, enamels, galvanizing steel, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

The word spread about the Friedensville zinc deposit, which soon attracted Samuel Wetherill (1821-1890) to the site. Wetherill had received a patent for a new process for making zinc oxide from calamine ore. He planned to use zinc oxide as a substitute for lead in his paint manufacturing business.

Wetherill leased the Ueberroth property and erected zinc oxide furnaces on the south side of the Lehigh River, four miles from the mine. The furnaces were built in 1853, less than a hundred yards from the South Bethlehem entrance to the Fahy Bridge. This was the first large enterprise established in South Bethlehem.

The site was chosen because the Lehigh Valley Railroad was laying tracks at that time in the area. In 1855, the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Zinc Company was chartered, with Wetherill as superintendent. The ore was transported from the mine to the South Bethlehem furnaces by wagons or pack mules.

Wetherill was a talented inventor but lacked management skills. He soon found his process of extracting zinc oxide to be too expensive.

Joseph Wharton (1826-1909) was born to Philadelphia Quaker parents, William and Deborah Wharton. At age 21, with his older brother Rodman, he entered the business of manufacturing white lead. Two years later, Wharton started a business manufacturing bricks. Through these endeavors, although some of them failed, he gained valuable business experience.

In 1853, Joseph Wharton visited the zinc mines at Friedensville in the course of a horseback riding trip with friends. Soon after, Wharton, his brother Charles and associates bought the controlling interest in the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Zinc Company. From 1853 to 1863, Wharton guided the company to become the first successful producer of zinc in the United States.

The company removed as much as 17,000 tons of zinc ore a year from the Friedensville mine. In 1860, the company changed its name to Lehigh Zinc Co. Wharton risked his entire personal estate in assuming control of the company. He mortgaged all his property in Philadelphia to fund the building of new furnaces and mining operations. The new furnaces were modeled on the Belgian process, which incorporated redistillation to remove the impurities from the ore. Wharton's gamble paid off as he made a large fortune from the proceeds of the zinc company.

During his involvement with zinc, Wharton lived in several rooms at the Sun Inn. He could not convince his wife, Anna Corbit Lovering Wharton, whom he had married in 1854, to move to Bethlehem. Anna was the younger sister of his brother Charles' wife. Their daughter, Joanna, was born 1858 and suffered periods of illness. Anna's concern for Joanna's health and her close relationship with her parents, who also resided in Philadelphia, persuaded her to remain in their Philadelphia home.

This was a stressful time for the Whartons, and their marriage suffered due to their long separations. In 1863, Wharton sold his interest in Lehigh Zinc Co. and established a nickel refining works in Camden, N.J. This was the first nickel works in the United States. Wharton returned to his family in Philadelphia and never again lived apart from them.

During the 1870s, Wharton invested in the Bethlehem Iron Works and also served on the board of directors for the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Pennsylvania New York Canal and Railroad Company. In 1874, Wharton donated the land for the erection of St. Joseph's Chapel, currently the Holy Bethel Pentecostal Church at 1224 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem.

In the early 1911, Bethlehem Steel Corporation took over the property of the Lehigh Zinc Co. for the production of steel. The zinc company moved to Palmerton to establish a larger facility. The Friedensville Zinc mine closed in 1983 due to the high cost of running the pumps to remove water from the mine. There is still a large reserve of ore at the former mine.