Category: History
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Sinking Spring Speedway
Read more: Sinking Spring SpeedwaySinking Spring Speedway was located along Fritztown Road, between Old Fritztown and Montello Roads. It opened in August of 1948 and was a quarter-mile semi-banked dirt racetrack about a half-mile southwest of Sinking Spring. It was ran by Harry D. Weil. They hosted afternoon and night races under lighting over the summer months. The twice-deffered…
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Josiah Dives & the Ghosts of Folly Farm
Read more: Josiah Dives & the Ghosts of Folly FarmJosiah Dives was born in 1851 in Canterbury, England. He started his business career after moving to London at the age of 13 following his Father’s death. When coming to America in 1872, his first residence was Hartford, CT. This is where he met George Pomeroy and John Stewart. Together they came to Reading and…
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Fleetwood Fire Company – Then & Now
Read more: Fleetwood Fire Company – Then & NowThe building pictured above at Franklin and Washington Streets in Fleetwood in 1966 served as the Fleetwood Fire Company’s station and social quarters since it was erected in 1928. It was built at the cost of $65,000. The auditorium was used as a theatre, at least in the 60s and showed films for the community.…
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Van Reed Paper Mill & Covered Bridge
Read more: Van Reed Paper Mill & Covered BridgeThe Van Reed Covered Bridge The area around the mouth of the Cacoosing Creek into the Tulpehocken Creek was settled and industrialized by the Van Reed Family. They were dutch immigrants who came to America around 1750 and settled around this creek in the early 1800s. Over the course of the 19th century the family…
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Defunct High Schools Series – The Comprehensive Conclusion
Read more: Defunct High Schools Series – The Comprehensive ConclusionI hope you have enjoyed the last several weeks as we have gone on a journey of the high school education system here in Berks County. This idea came to me when I considered that the senior class of 2020 has a less than ideal end to their high school career. Nothing exactly like this…
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Pensupreme
Read more: PensupremePensupreme was the trade name of Penn Dairy; which originated in Lancaster County. The dairy had restaurants referred to as “Pensupreme Shoppes” which served food and ice cream. They also branched into “Grocerettes” which were basically convenience stores in various places around eastern PA. The main milk processing plant was in York, PA. In Berks…
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Muhlenberg Township High
Read more: Muhlenberg Township HighIn 1830, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania enacted a law requiring all municipalities to have separate school districts. Muhlenberg Township became a municipality in 1851. At this time the Muhlenberg School District was officially established with a one-room school called Schlottman School which was located on Kutztown Road. Muhlenberg Township High School was built in 1924-1925…
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Perry Township High School
Read more: Perry Township High SchoolAs early as 1821, citizens accepted the “public school” for their children in Shoemakersville. In 1854 Perry Township had nine school buildings with a total enrollment of 417 pupils. In 1865 the school board was established. Today several of the original school houses still remain. The first class to graduate from an established Perry Township…
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Penn Street Bridge History
Read more: Penn Street Bridge HistoryThis photograph of Reading, Pennsylvania was taken around the turn of the 20th century from Leinbach’s Hill in West Reading. Pictured in the foreground is the third Penn Street Bridge crossing the Schuylkill River. Across the bridge and to the left is the Pennsylvania Railroad station. A large big portion of Leinbach’s Hill, including the…
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Old Hamburg High School
Read more: Old Hamburg High SchoolHamburg became a borough in 1837 and in 1838 accepted the Free School Act, which declared each municipality an independent entity with the power to levy school taxes. There were several schools in the borough during that period. The first graduating class of 12 students graduated in 1887, and a three-story brick school was constructed…
