The area that is today the center of Allentown was laid out as Northampton Town in 1762 by William Allen , a wealthy shipping merchant , former mayor of the city of Philadelphia and then-Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania .
It was then named a Northampton town ( Northampton-Towne ) in 1762 by William Allen , a rich shipping merchant , Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania and mayor , or leader , of Philadelphia in the past .