Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. 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.
Modern-day Pottstown is on land originally deeded to William Penn.[3] Germans, Swedes and English were among the area's first European settlers. After establishment of the first iron forge in 1714, Pottstown's fortunes became tied to the iron industry, and blast furnaces for production of iron and later steel eventually opened in the area.
Iron and steel production attracted the Potts family, iron masters by trade. They established a forge 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. It is the home of the nation's oldest mill, Pottstown Roller Mill.[citation needed]
Pottsgrove grew, and in 1815 it was incorporated under the name Pottstown, becoming the second borough in Pennsylvania, after Norristown.
The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad mainline reached Pottstown in 1838. The extension of the railroad to Mount Carbon in 1842 facilitated the movement of raw materials and finished goods that helped Pottstown's economy grow. In a few years after the extension of the railroad, the population grew from 600 to 1,850. Pottstown's metal production grew; steel from the borough was used in the Panama Canal and Golden Gate Bridge.[4]
In 1944, the borough adopted a city manager form of government. By 1964, the borough saw the need to reorganize 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.
Pottstown has a city manager form of government with a mayor and a seven-member borough council. The mayor is Stephanie A. Henrick and the borough manager is Justin Keller.
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Pottstown, Pennsylvania has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated Cfa on climate maps.[7] Using the freezing mark as a boundary (as is more common in the US), the climate was hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) with January averaging below freezing until the most recent temperature numbers. The hardiness zone is 7a. Heavy snowfall remains occasionally possible.
Pottstown lacks an official weather station as administered from the regional National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey. Temperatures average a little higher than the closest official weather station in Reading due to the difference in latitude and elevation.
Climate data for Pottstown, Pennsylvania (Heritage Field Airport) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1999–present
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.[15]
As of the census[11] 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 (1,747.6 people/km2). There were 9,973 housing units at an average density of 2,065.1 per square mile (797.3/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
PA 100 northbound in Pottstown
As of 2018 there were 74.33 miles (119.62 km) of public roads in Pottstown, of which 12.85 miles (20.68 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 61.48 miles (98.94 km) were maintained by the borough.[17]
Passenger train service between Reading/Pottstown and Philadelphia was operated by Conrail under the auspices of SEPTA until July 29, 1981, when all non-electrified routes were terminated. Efforts to reinstitute commuter trains, such as the Schuylkill Valley Metro, have so far been unsuccessful. The station still exists and is currently home to a district justice office. Norfolk Southern Railway provides freight rail service to Pottstown along the Harrisburg Line. The Colebrookdale Railroad is a heritage railway running from Pottstown to Boyertown.
The Mercury is the smallest-circulation newspaper in the U.S. to have won two Pulitzer Prizes. The first came in 1979 in the Spot News Photography category by staff photographer Tom Kelly. The second came in 1990 for Editorial Writing by Tom Hylton.
Television
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 produces programming on three local Cable Channels: 22, 27 and 98.[22]
PCTV also covers local high school sports such as football, basketball, swimming or baseball.
Radio
WPAZ operates at 1370AM and serves the Greater Philadelphia Area. Originally WPAZ, the station changed its call letters to WBZH on October 28, 2011, and back to WPAZ on January 25, 2013. On November 1, 2013, the station began a traditional Christian music format of religious hymns and songs.
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