Pottstown

Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States about 40 miles (55 km) northwest of Philadelphia and 20mi 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.HistoryModern-day Pottstown is established on land originally deeded to William Penn. Germans, Swedes and English were among the first European 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 995acre that he owned. It is the home of the nations oldest mills, Pottstown Roller Mill.