Lehigh's first settlers, a Mr. Reed and Mr. Wright, set up a steam sawmill on the site in 1855.
 Originally, the town was named Slabtown because slabs, scrap from the mill, were used in construction.
 By 1870, there was a Methodist church and a school, and Oliver Tyson had purchased the mill and expanded it, adding a flour mill.
 Soon after this, Tyson opened a store.
 The town was later renamed Lehigh, comparing the local coal veins to those of Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.

In 1871, W. C. Wilson of Webster City opened a coal mine in Lehigh and formed the Crooked Creek Railroad and Coal Company.
 The company built a 3-foot gauge rail line from Judd, on the Illinois Central Railroad 8.5 miles south to the mines, including a 370-foot wooden truss bridge across the Des Moines River.
 The line was later extended to Webster City.
 By 1894, the company had opened 5 mines, all using longwall mining.
 The Webster Coal and Land Company operated a mine near Lehigh from 1899 to 1902.

In 1878, Lehigh shipped 5,640 tons of coal.
 In 1883, 6,887 tons were shipped, in 1884, 9,000 tons.
 Membership in the United Mine Workers union is a useful measure of the importance of mining.
 In 1912, Lehigh was home to UMW Local 855 with 64 members (about 6.9% of the 1910 population).

The Crooked Creek railroad was widened to standard gauge in 1880 and a line to Webster City was built in 1886.
 In 1916, the line was incorporated into the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railroad, Iowa's longest Interurban line.
 Diesel traction replaced overhead electric lines in the 1950s and the track was abandoned in 1962.

By 1901, Lehigh was large enough to support a new First National Bank, with an initial capitalization of $25,000.
 The bank must have been small; in 1910, O. J. Woodward arrived in town to become the cashier, manager and director of the bank.

In addition to coal mines, Lehigh was home to several other industries.
 The most prominent were brickyards that used the shale of the coal measures as a source of clay to make both brick and drain tile, firing their kilns with local coal.
 One of these, the Lehigh Brick and Tile company, won the contract to provide paving brick for Dubuque, Iowa in 1896, but suffered a serious fire in late 1897.

In 1901, there were 2 large brickworks in Lehigh, the Corey Pressed Brick Company and the Lehigh Clay Works, which began operation in 1900.
 In addition, the old Lehigh Brick and Tile works was being rebuilt after the fire.
 Corey was mining clay from both above and below the coal seam.
 By 1903, Lehigh Brick and Tile was back in production, the Lehigh and the Campbell brickyard of the Webster city Brick and Tile Company.
 The Cory plant was primarily a brickworks, while the others primarily produced drainage tile.
Lehigh's first settlers, a Mr. Reed and Mr. Wright, set up a steam sawmill on the site in 1855.  Originally, the town was named Slabtown because slabs, scrap from the mill, were used in construction.  By 1870, there was a Methodist church and a school, and Oliver Tyson had purchased the mill and expanded it, adding a flour mill.  Soon after this, Tyson opened a store.  The town was later renamed Lehigh, comparing the local coal veins to those of Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
In 1871, W. C. Wilson of Webster City opened a coal mine in Lehigh and formed the Crooked Creek Railroad and Coal Company.  The company built a 3-foot gauge rail line from Judd, on the Illinois Central Railroad 8.5 miles south to the mines, including a 370-foot wooden truss bridge across the Des Moines River.  The line was later extended to Webster City.  By 1894, the company had opened 5 mines, all using longwall mining.  The Webster Coal and Land Company operated a mine near Lehigh from 1899 to 1902.
In 1878, Lehigh shipped 5,640 tons of coal.  In 1883, 6,887 tons were shipped, in 1884, 9,000 tons.  Membership in the United Mine Workers union is a useful measure of the importance of mining.  In 1912, Lehigh was home to UMW Local 855 with 64 members (about 6.9% of the 1910 population).
The Crooked Creek railroad was widened to standard gauge in 1880 and a line to Webster City was built in 1886.  In 1916, the line was incorporated into the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railroad, Iowa's longest Interurban line.  Diesel traction replaced overhead electric lines in the 1950s and the track was abandoned in 1962.
By 1901, Lehigh was large enough to support a new First National Bank, with an initial capitalization of $25,000.  The bank must have been small; in 1910, O. J. Woodward arrived in town to become the cashier, manager and director of the bank.
In addition to coal mines, Lehigh was home to several other industries.  The most prominent were brickyards that used the shale of the coal measures as a source of clay to make both brick and drain tile, firing their kilns with local coal.  One of these, the Lehigh Brick and Tile company, won the contract to provide paving brick for Dubuque, Iowa in 1896, but suffered a serious fire in late 1897.
In 1901, there were 2 large brickworks in Lehigh, the Corey Pressed Brick Company and the Lehigh Clay Works, which began operation in 1900.  In addition, the old Lehigh Brick and Tile works was being rebuilt after the fire.  Corey was mining clay from both above and below the coal seam.  By 1903, Lehigh Brick and Tile was back in production, the Lehigh and the Campbell brickyard of the Webster city Brick and Tile Company.  The Cory plant was primarily a brickworks, while the others primarily produced drainage tile.
Lehigh, Iowa