Category: Community

Sinking Spring Area Historical Society and Heritage Park

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If you arrived in Sinking Spring 60+ years ago by rail you would have rolled up to Sinking Spring Passenger Station.  It was a stop along the Reading Railroad’s Lebanon Valley Line, which began passenger service in 1857 and was discontinued in 1965. If some of these dates sound familiar, it is because it shares this history with the Wernersville Train Station which was the subject of a previous article, and is the next stop after Sinky heading west.… Read Full Article

Centennial 4th of July in the Reading Eagle

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The July 4th, 1876 Reading Eagle ran a few interesting articles on its front page about Independence Day observations and celebrations. The first article was titled, “A Peep at Reading 100 Years Ago” which described the town at the time of our country’s founding. Reading was already nearly three decades old at the onset of the Revolutionary War. Berks County was only slightly younger being founded in 1752.… Read Full Article

History of R.M. Palmer and the Buildings Affected by the Explosion

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4:50 P.M. on Friday, March 24th, 2023

Despite being less than two miles away at the Shillington Farmers Market when the explosion occurred; I felt and heard nothing. It wasn’t until I got home after 5:00 that I found out the way I assume the majority of you did; from social media. Particularly an update at the top of my Facebook feed which was trending from Fire Alerts of Berks County.… Read Full Article

Wernersville Train Station

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Wernersville’s passenger rail history began in June of 1857 when the Lebanon Valley Railroad initiated service from Reading to Lebanon. Service was extended all the way to Harrisburg the following year when the Lebanon Valley Railroad was bought out by the Philadelphia and Reading Company (later became Reading Railroad). 

The first Wernersville train station was built on this site in 1881 and was replaced by this current structure in 1927. … Read Full Article

Berks Nostalgia