PRINTER'S NO. 4097
No. 618 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY DAILEY, LEH, HENNESSEY, ADOLPH, ARGALL, M. BAKER, BARRAR, BEBKO-JONES, BENNINGHOFF, BROWNE, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CIVERA, L. I. COHEN, COLEMAN, COSTA, CREIGHTON, CURRY, DALEY, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, J. EVANS, FEESE, FICHTER, FORCIER, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GEORGE, GODSHALL, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HARPER, HERMAN, HERSHEY, LAUGHLIN, LEDERER, LESCOVITZ, LEWIS, McGILL, MELIO, NAILOR, PISTELLA, READSHAW, ROHRER, ROSS, RUBLEY, SATHER, SCAVELLO, SCHRODER, SHANER, B. SMITH, SOLOBAY, STABACK, SURRA, TANGRETTI, E. Z. TAYLOR, TIGUE, WALKO, WASHINGTON, WOJNAROSKI, G. WRIGHT AND YOUNGBLOOD, JUNE 25, 2002
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, JUNE 25, 2002
A RESOLUTION 1 Congratulating the Borough of Pottstown, Montgomery County, on 2 the 250th anniversary of its founding. 3 WHEREAS, In November 1751, John Potts, Sr., a wealthy 4 businessman residing near present-day Boyertown, agreed to 5 purchase from Samuel McCall, Jr., of Philadelphia 996 acres of 6 land around the confluence of the Manatawny Creek and the 7 Schuylkill River; and 8 WHEREAS, In 1752 John Potts constructed a working forge on 9 the east bank of the Manatawny Creek adjacent to a gristmill 10 constructed in 1725, known as the Roller Mills, and began 11 construction on his new home, Pottsgrove, on the west bank of 12 the creek; and 13 WHEREAS, This manor house, designed in the early Georgian
1 style, overlooked the Great Road that connected Philadelphia 2 with Reading and allowed an unobstructed view of the Schuylkill 3 River; and 4 WHEREAS, Within nine years John Potts hired a surveyor, 5 Benjamin Lightfoot, to lay out plans for a town to make his 6 investment more valuable; and 7 WHEREAS, The town of Pottsgrove, which later became known as 8 Pottstown, was designed in the Philadelphia style, with streets 9 laid out in a grid pattern and some streets named for the 10 British royal family: King and Hanover Streets were named for 11 King George II of the House of Hanover, Queen and Charlotte 12 Streets were named for Queen Charlotte Sophia, York Street was 13 named for Prince Frederick, Duke of York, and, as in England, 14 the main street was called High Street; and 15 WHEREAS, In 1777, during the Revolutionary War, General 16 George Washington established Camp Pottsgrove, an encampment 17 near the town, to protect Reading from British attack; and 18 WHEREAS, Montgomery County was created by an act of the 19 General Assembly in 1784; and 20 WHEREAS, In 1793 the Federal Government authorized the 21 opening in Pottstown of the first Montgomery County post office; 22 and 23 WHEREAS, By the close of the 18th century, Pottstown had 24 grown from the vision of a wealthy ironmaster into an important 25 community in this Commonwealth; and 26 WHEREAS, Pottstown was incorporated as a borough on February 27 6, 1815; and 28 WHEREAS, Pottstown's history is inextricably tied to the iron 29 industry as the needed resources, iron ore, water and charcoal, 30 were abundant in the area; and 20020H0618R4097 - 2 -
1 WHEREAS, Pottstown's industrial potential blossomed in 1839, 2 when the first steam locomotive linked Pottstown to Reading and 3 Philadelphia; and 4 WHEREAS, The growth of the railroad led to the need for 5 locomotive repair shops, followed by the construction in 1862 of 6 a railroad car manufacturing company; and 7 WHEREAS, In the 1880s the iron factories attracted hundreds 8 of workers from Philadelphia and beyond; and 9 WHEREAS, As Pottstown grew, its industrial base diversified, 10 causing the population to more than double from 5,305 in 1880 to 11 13,285 in 1890; and 12 WHEREAS, The growth of Pottstown in the 19th and 20th 13 centuries attracted many entrepreneurs, including the Gudebrod 14 brothers, who established a silk mill which became the nation's 15 first manufacturer of dental floss; and 16 WHEREAS, In 1864 Abraham Weitzenkorn founded a men's clothier 17 business which remains one of the oldest family-owned men's 18 specialty clothing stores in the nation; and 19 WHEREAS, Amanda Smith, a Pottstown homemaker, founded Mrs. 20 Smith's Bakeries, which became known as Mrs. Smith's, the 21 greatest name in pies; and 22 WHEREAS, Near the turn of the 20th century, large 23 manufacturers were attracted to Pottstown: the Light Cycle 24 Company, a bicycle manufacturer, was purchased by Doehler-Jarvis 25 and retooled to manufacture die castings and auto parts, and 26 several iron fabricating businesses evolved into a part of the 27 McClintic Marshall Steel Company, which was purchased by 28 Bethlehem Steel Company in the 1930s; and 29 WHEREAS, Steel for the George Washington Bridge and the 30 Golden Gate Bridge was fabricated in Pottstown along with 20020H0618R4097 - 3 -
1 girders for many early 20th century skyscrapers and landmarks 2 such as the second Madison Square Garden; and 3 WHEREAS, The Chadwick Car Company, maker of luxury cars from 4 1905 to 1916, has become part of the present-day Dana 5 Corporation, a manufacturer of car and truck parts; and 6 WHEREAS, Pottstown has weathered the transition from heavy 7 industrial manufacturing to smaller, more competitive forms of 8 business that contribute to the economy of the region, the 9 nation and the world; and 10 WHEREAS, Throughout its history Pottstown has attracted a 11 diverse population, and it continues to be a core community in 12 the tricounty region of Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties; 13 and 14 WHEREAS, On September 8, 2002, the Borough of Pottstown 15 celebrates its 250th anniversary; therefore be it 16 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives congratulate the 17 Borough of Pottstown, Montgomery County, on the 250th 18 anniversary of its founding. F21L82SFL/20020H0618R4097 - 4 -