Pottstown, Pennsylvania

Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States 40 mi northwest of Philadelphia and 18 mi southeast of Reading, 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 there; in 1910, 15,599; in 1920, 17,431; and in 1940, 20,194 people lived there. The population was 22,377 at the 2010 census.

Pottstown is not to be confused with Pottsville, a city in Schuylkill County well-known for being the home of the Yuengling brewery.

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 acre 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.

In 1944, the borough adopted a city manager form of government. By 1964, the borough 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.

Politics and government
Pottstown has a city manager form of government with a mayor and a seven-member borough council. The mayor is Bonnie Heath and the manager is Jason Bobst.

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.).

Geography
Pottstown is located at °N, °W (40.249690, -75.640262).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.9 sqmi, of which 4.8 sqmi is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km² or 1.83%) is water.

Demographics
As of the 2010 census, the borough was 72.1% White, 19.5% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian, and 4.4% were two or more races. 8.0% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.

As of 2006-2008 Census Bureau Estimates, there were 22,018 people living in Pottstown. The racial makeup of the borough was 72.1% White, 19.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 2.2% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.6% of the population.

As of the census 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 per square mile (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.

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.

Pottstown is serviced by Pottstown Municipal Airport, a general aviation airport, and a short distance from Pottstown is Pottstown Limerick Airport located in Limerick.

Passenger train service between Reading/Pottstown and Philadelphia was operated by Conrail under the auspices of SEPTA until July 29, 1981 when all diesel services were terminated. The station site still exists and is currently home to a district justice office.

Public library

 * Pottstown Public Library

Colleges

 * Montgomery County Community College - West Campus

Public Schools Districts

 * The Pottstown School District serves the borough.
 * The Pottsgrove School District serves a surrounding suburb.
 * The Owen J. Roberts School District serves the rural area to the south of the borough, such as Warwick Township, Pennsylvania, East Nantmeal, South Coventry Township, Pennsylvania, North Coventry Township, Pennsylvania, East Vincent Township, Pennsylvania, East Coventry Township, Pennsylvania and West Vincent Township, Pennsylvania.

Private Schools

 * The Hill School
 * Wyndcroft School
 * Saint Aloysius School
 * Stowe Lighthouse Christian Academy
 * Saint Pius X High School of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia is in nearby Lower Pottsgrove Township.

Pottstown Mercury
The Mercury has the unique distinction of being the smallest circulation newspaper in the U.S. to have its staffers 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.

Pottstown Herald
The Herald is the original online newspaper of Pottstown Pennsylvania. It has started in May 2007 and has around 90,000 subscribers. Unlike most printed papers the Pottstown Herald is a free subscription newspaper.

PCTV
PCTV (Pottstown Community TV) is owned and operated by the Borough of Pottstown and provides local Government-access television (GATV) 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 three local Cable Channels 22, 27 and 98).

PCTV also covers local high school sports such as football, basketball, swimming or baseball.

Notable residents

 * Jacob Albright, one of the founders of the United Methodist Church, was born in Pottstown in 1759
 * Aaron Beasley, former NFL cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, and Atlanta Falcons.
 * Dante Calabria, former professional Italian League basketball player. Played at University of North Carolina under coach Dean Smith.
 * Naomi Childers, silent film actress
 * Daryl Hall, member of the Grammy Award winning American rock group Hall & Oates.
 * Geof Manthorne, cake artist and co-star of the Food Network's reality TV series Ace Of Cakes.
 * George Seasholtz, former NFL fullback.
 * Bobby Shantz, former MLB pitcher.
 * Don Strock, retired NFL quarterback.
 * Earl Strom, former NBA referee.
 * Buck Weaver, former MLB shortstop for the Chicago White Sox, involved in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal.
 * Al Grey, legendary Jazz Trombonist, famous for his plunger technique, featured with Count Basie as a soloist

Places of interest

 * Pottsgrove Manor