Anyone who travels the roadways of Lower Macungie Township, and has a speck of nostalgia, would most likely enjoy the latest book published by the township’s historical society.

The book is titled “Tour Around the Township” and features “a historical look at Lower Macungie.”

Written in 2021 to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the creation of the Lower Macungie Township Historical Society, the book does what its title promises. It is a written travelogue along every road and lane in the township.

It provides teaser photos of many of the structures still standing in the township, as well as a treasure trove of historical photos of the buildings in eras past.

Every structure of any historical significance built in the township from the early 1700s and onward is noted in the book. Through exhaustive research by authors Sarajane Williams, Ann Bartholomew and several other researchers and contributing authors in the Lower Macungie Township Historical Society, the ownership provenance of every historical structure in the township is chronicled from their origins up through current 2021 property records.

The book chronicles the history of the township from the immigration of the first settlers through the modern era. What the early immigrants had in common was a homeland mainly in the Palatinate of Germany.

Through the years, the early families that settled in what would become Lower Macungie Township seemed to have become interrelated through marriage the authors say.

The authors note the early settlers were first clustered along the Swabia and Little Lehigh creeks where fresh water was readily available.

Most of the early settlers’ homes were log structures built with the abundant supplies of hard wood available in the region. Many of the early log barns and homes of the early 1700s were replaced in the late 1700s by stone structures still standing today.

The authors state the book was conceived and written to satisfy the curiosity generated by seeing the still-standing structures that evoke the past.

From the Brookside Road cover photo of the historic East Macungie Hotel roadhouse now occupied by the rebuilt Buckeye Tavern, through photos of structures still standing throughout the roads and lanes of the township, the book is a take-along travel guide for current day research and reminiscence.

One reviewer of the book said the many stone structures along the byways are scenes that are noted during daily travel, but are peppered with only a tinge of curiosity of what they once were.

The book answers that curiosity, but also whets the inquisitive appetite to notice more and consult the book for more information. The more the book is referenced, the more that appetite to know seems to grow.

The book is available for purchase at the society’s historical museum at 3120 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., at the rearmost structure at Camp Olympic Park.

Information about the book and additional township history can be found at the society’s internet website at www.lmthistory.org, or through the society’s email mail address at lmthistory@yahoo.com.

The book is also available for perusal at the Lower Macungie Township Library at 3450 Brookside Road