As settlers began arriving in 1728 between the banks of today's Lehigh River and Hokendauqua Creek, three distinct hamlets known as Siegfried Bridge, Newport, and Stemton grew and prospered as an agricultural society. In 1902, the three became one, and the newly consolidated borough grew by the strength of its agriculture, and even more so with the discovery of calcium carbonate and its enduring legacy: cement. With the rise of the Atlas Cement Company as the world's largest cement plant, the industry found an international platform in Northampton. The local workforce of more than five thousand provided cement for the Panama Canal, the Empire State Building, and the Hoover Dam.