Pottstown, Pennsylvania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Politics and government 4 Notables 4.1 Education 5 Colleges 6 Public Schools 7 Private Schools 8 Points of interest 9 External links

[edit] Geography

Pottstown is located at 40°14′59″N, 75°38′25″W (40.249690, -75.640262)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 12.7 km² (4.9 mi²). 12.5 km² (4.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.83%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 21,859 people, 9,146 households, and 5,533 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,747.4/km² (4,526.3/mi²). There were 9,973 housing units at an average density of 797.2/km² (2,065.1/mi²). 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] 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] Notables

• Jacob Albright, one of the founders of the United Methodist Church, was born in Pottstown in 1759^[1]
• John Backus, computer scientist and inventor of the FORTRAN computer programming language, graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown in 1942.
• Tim Bausher, current Major League Baseball pitcher.
• Benjamin Boyer, U.S. Congressman.
• Daryl Hall, musician (Hall & Oates) - attended Owen J. Roberts High School.
• Todd Hallowell, Film producer, August 29, 1952.
• Bobby Shantz, Major League Baseball pitcher and the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player.
• Don Strock, former professional American football quarterback and coach.
• Earl Strom, NBA referee and Basketball Hall of Fame.
• 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.

[edit] Education

[edit] Colleges

• Mongomery County Community College West Campus ([1])

[edit] Public Schools

• Pottstown School District ([2])
• Pottsgrove School District ([3])

[edit] Private Schools

• St. Pius X High School
• The Hill School ([4])
• Wyndcroft School ([5])
• Saint Aloysius School

[edit] Points of interest

• Welkinweir

[edit] External links

• Borough of Pottstown homepage
• Pottstown School District Homepage
• Chamber of Commerce
• The Hill School - (Website)
• Coventry Christian Schools - (Website)
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.24969° -75.640262°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA