Leesport is named for Samuel Lee, who in 1840, laid out building lots.[3]
A post office was established in 1851.[4] An anthracite furnace owned by the Leesport Iron Company was built in 1853.[5][6] Leesport was described in 1876 as "a flourishing village", with a station of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.[6]
In 1957, West Leesport, a borough located directly across the Schuylkill River, was incorporated into Leesport.[7]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2), of which 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (4.00%) is water.
As of the 2010 census,[9] there were 1,918 people, 747 households, and 523 families living in the borough. The population density was 2,740 inhabitants per square mile (1,060/km2). There were 790 housing units at an average density of 1,128.6 per square mile (435.8/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.8% White, 1.5% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.2% of the population.
There were 747 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the borough, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 28% from 45 to 64, and 11% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.7 years. Females made up 50.4% of the population and males made up 49.6%.
The median income for a household in the borough was $47,067, and the median income for a family was $51,761. Males had a median income of $36,453 versus $25,833 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $20,148. About 2.2% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2010, there were 9.55 miles (15.37 km) of public roads in Leesport, of which 2.33 miles (3.75 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 7.22 miles (11.62 km) were maintained by the borough.[11]
SEPTA's Pottsville Line once provided passenger rail service to Leesport, with service to Pottsville, Reading, and Philadelphia. The service ceased in 1981 after all diesel services were cancelled. Freight service in Leesport is provided by the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, which operates a branch line between Hamburg and Temple through Leesport and its Reading Division mainline through West Leesport.[13]
Emergency services
Emergency services are provided by the Northern Berks Regional Police Department, Union Fire Company of Leesport, and Schuylkill Valley EMS all of which are dispatched by the Berks County Communications Center.
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