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
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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
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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.
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