Pottstown, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Borough of Pottstown | |
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| Borough | |
 High Street, east of North Hanover Street, looking north.
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| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Montgomery |
| Area | 4.9 sq mi (12.7 km²) |
| - land | 4.8 sq mi (12.4 km²) |
| - water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²), 2.04% |
| Center | |
| - coordinates | Coordinates: |
| - elevation | 203 ft (61.9 m) |
| Population | 21,859 (2000) |
| Density | 4,526.3 /sq mi (1,747.6 /km²) |
| Government | Council-manager |
| Founded | 1752 |
| - Incorporated | February 6, 1815 |
| Mayor | Sharon Thomas |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Area code | 610 |
 Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County
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  Location of Pottstown in Pennsylvania
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 Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
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| Website : http://www.pottstown.org | |
Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. Pottstown was laid out in 1752-53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the incorporation as a borough in 1815. In 1888, the limits of the borough were considerably extended. Pottstown is the center of a productive farming and dairying region.
In the past, its iron and steel interests were very extensive. There were large rolling mills, furnaces, nail works, textile mills, bridge works, agricultural-implement works, boiler and machine shops, foundries, and manufactories of bricks, silks, shirts, hosiery, etc. In 1900, 13,696 people lived here; in 1910, 15,599; in 1920, 17,431; and in 1940, 20,194 people lived here. The population was 21,859 at the 2000 census.
Pottstown is not to be confused with Pottsville, a city in Schuylkill County well-known for being the home of the Yuengling brewery.
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[edit] History
Modern day Pottstown is established on land originally deeded to William Penn. Germans, Swedes and English were among the first settlers in the area. After establishment of the first iron forge in 1714, Pottstown's fortunes became tied to the iron industry.
Eventually, blast furnaces for production of iron and later steel opened in the area. Iron and steel production brought the Potts family, iron masters by trade, to the area. They established a forge in the area and built a large home just west of the Manatawny Creek. John Potts founded a town in 1761 on part of the 995 acres (4.03 km²) that he owned.
Over time, Pottsgrove grew and in 1815, was incorporated under the name Pottstown becoming the second borough in Pennsylvania after Norristown.
The extension of the Reading Railroad to Mount Carbon facilitated the movement of raw materials and finished goods which helped Pottstown's economy to grow. In the few years following the extension of the railroad, the population grew from 600 to 1,850 residents. Pottstown's metal production grew and notably, steel from the borough was used in the Panama Canal and Golden Gate Bridge.[1]
In 1944, the city adopted a city manager form of government. By 1964, the city saw the need to re-organize the municipal government. At the time, it had one of the largest borough councils in the state, with 20 members. This was reduced to seven members in redrawn wards.
[edit] Politics and government
Pottstown has a city manager form of government with a mayor and a seven-member borough council. The mayor is Sharon Thomas.
The borough is part of the Sixth Congressional District (represented by Rep. Jim Gerlach), the 146th State House District (represented by Rep. Thomas Quigley) and the 44th State Senate District (represented by Sen. John Rafferty, Jr.).
[edit] Geography
Pottstown is located at (40.249690, -75.640262)[2].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²), of which, 4.8 square miles (12.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (1.83%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 21,859 people, 9,146 households, and 5,533 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,526.3 people per square mile (1,747.4/km²). There were 9,973 housing units at an average density of 2,065.1/sq mi (797.2/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 79.34% White, 15.06% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.89% from other races, and 2.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.53% of the population.
There were 9,146 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the borough the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $35,785, and the median income for a family was $45,734. Males had a median income of $34,923 versus $26,229 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $19,078. About 8.7% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Businesses
- Neapco LLC http://www.neapco.com
- Dana Corp.
- Gudebrod Inc.
- A.L. Handles
- Idelafoil
- Walmart
- K-Mart
- Pottstown Memorial Medical Center
- Occidental Chemical Corp.
[edit] Media
[edit] PCTV
PCTV (Pottstown Community TV) is owned and operated by the Borough of Pottstown and provides local origination programming over Comcast Cable TV in over 77,000 homes in western Montgomery County, Northern Chester County and Eastern Berks County. In existence since 1983, PCTV currently produces programming on 3 local Cable Channels 22, 27 and 98).[[1]]
[edit] Pottstown Mercury
The Mercury has the unique distinction of being the smallest circulation newspaper in the U.S. to win two Pulitzer Prizes. The first award came in 1979 in the Spot News Photography category by staff photographer Tom Kelly. The second Pulitzer Prize came in 1990 for Editorial Writing by Tom Hylton. The Mercury has won hundreds of other state and national awards in the past 75 years.
[edit] WPAZ 1370 AM
1370 WPAZ [[WPAZ (Pennsylvania)|] is Pottstown's station for news, sports, music and local programming. 1370 WPAZ serves Western Montgomery County, Eastern Berks County and Northern Chester County. 1370 WPAZ is a Great Scott Broadcasting Station and has served the Pottstown area for over 50 years. [[2]]
[edit] Transportation
Bus service in Pottstown and the surrounding communities is a publicly owned and privately operated system. The Borough of Pottstown owns, funds, and administers the system. The day-to-day operations are the responsibility of Pottstown Area Rapid Transit, Inc.
Just outside of the borders of Pottstown are two general aviation airports: Pottstown Municipal Airport located in Stowe and Pottstown Limerick Airport located in Limerick.
[edit] Education
[edit] Colleges
- Montgomery County Community College - West Campus
[edit] Public Schools
Pottstown School District
[edit] Private Schools
- Coventry Christian Schools
- St. Pius X High School
- The Hill School
- Wyndcroft School
- Saint Aloysius School
- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
[edit] Notables natives and residents
- Jacob Albright, one of the founders of the United Methodist Church, was born in Pottstown in 1759[4]
- John Backus, computer scientist and inventor of the FORTRAN computer programming language, graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown in 1942.
- Tim Bausher (Boyertown), a Minor League Baseball pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization.
- Aaron Beasley, is a former professional National Football League cornerback.
- Lester and Jules Bihari, record company executives, were born in Pottstown in 1912 and 1913 respectively.
- Benjamin Boyer, U.S. Congressman.
- Al Grey, world famous jazz musician grew up in Pottstown and attended Pottstown High School. Played with the likes of the Count Basie Orchestra.
- Daryl Hall, musician (Hall & Oates) - attended Owen J. Roberts High School.
- Todd Hallowell, Film producer, August 29, 1952.
- Steven Hobble, Minor League Baseball pitcher in the Washington Nationals organization.
- Bobby Shantz, former Major League Baseball pitcher and the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player.
- Don Strock, former professional American football quarterback and coach, attended Owen J. Roberts High School
- Earl Strom, former NBA referee. A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
- Donald Trump, Jr., businessman and son of Donald Trump, is a graduate of the The Hill School.
- Buck Weaver, Major League Baseball player and 1919 Black Sox scandal.
- Lyndie White-Wenner, aka Lyn Kline songwriter ( "Kenny G/I'll Be Alright")and vocalist ("Saint Tropez") 1981-1988 -attended Owen J. Roberts High School.
- Barry Lee Bush, FBI agent who was murdered in the line of duty, attempting to capture a robbery suspect.[5]
- John Rutter Brooke, Civil War Colonel, Commander of the 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry, born in Pottstown on July 21, 1838
- Mike Lupica, sportswriter of the "Shooting from the Lip" column and many books
- Geof Manthorne, an Executive Sous Chef, who stars on the Food Network's "Ace of Cakes", was born in Pottstown, Pa.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Pottstown History from Official City Website]
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ (1967) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who.
- ^ Gonzales, FBI Director Mourn Slain Agent, Washington Post
[edit] External links
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