page_title: Pottstown, Pennsylvania
section_title: Storia
hierarchical_section_title: Pottstown, Pennsylvania / Storia
caption_attribution_description: English: Pottstown Roller Mill on the NRHP since October 10, 1974. Located at South (college) and Hanover Streets, in Pottstown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. First built 1724, rebuilt several times including 1849 and 1856.
context_page_description: Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia and 20 miles 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.
  Pottstown's iron and steel interests were once 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. The population was 22,377 at the 2010 census.
context_section_description: Modern-day Pottstown is on land originally deeded to William Penn. 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.
  Eventually, blast furnaces for production of iron and later steel 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.
  Over time, 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.
  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.
  The High Street Historic District, Old Pottstown Historic District, Pottsgrove Mansion, Grubb Mansion, Jefferson Elementary School, Pottstown Roller Mill, Reading Railroad Pottstown Station, and Henry Antes House are on the National Register of Historic Places.
caption: Pottstown Roller Mill, 1725.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "COOLPIX S6000", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.6.6", "Image DateTime": "2011:03:07 22:16:27", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.6.6", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "288", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3252", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5380", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "49/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:03:07 13:50:06", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:03:07 13:50:06", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "19/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "48/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4320", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3240", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "54", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}