Call Number:

01

Repository:

Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area

Extent:

53.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

circa 1850-2013

Creator:

Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area

Abstract:

Phoenixville, which was incorporated as a borough in 1849 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, evolved from an early 18th century village. The history of the town largely mirrored the history of the Phoenix Iron Company which became hugely successful in the mid-19th century with the advent of the railroad. The Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area subject files, circa 1850-2013, consist primarily of photocopied primary-source documents, newspaper clippings, and research articles that relate to numerous aspects of Phoenixville's history. It also contains a fair amount of original documents, principally pamphlets, small printed works, and ephemera, as well as some photographs, deeds, and manuscript pages. The collection is organized into series and subseries by subject; the largest series are Genealogy and Phoenix Iron Company / Phoenix Steel Company.

Phoenixville in Chester County, Pennsylvania evolved from an early 18th century village called Manavon. Long the home of the Lenni Lenape Indians, who farmed, hunted, and fished in the Schuylkill River, the area was first settled by Europeans in 1713.

A century later in 1813, Lewis Wernwag (1769-1843), a pioneer bridge builder in the United States, invested in a small nail works mill (the first in the U.S.) founded by Benjamin Longstreth, renaming it Phoenix Iron Works (which is presumably how Phoenixville got its name). By 1830, Phoenix Iron Works became one of the largest nail factories in the U.S. largely due to the investment of brothers David and Benjamin Reeves and James and Joseph Whitaker. The company grew tremendously with the advent of the railroad. Railroad construction, and thus demand for iron railroad rails, soared over the next several decades, particularly with the construction of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. In 1855, the iron company was reorganized and incorporated as the Phoenix Iron Company with David Reeves, founder, as president and his son Samuel as vice president and treasurer.

As Phoenix Iron Company grew, so too did the town of Phoenixville, which was incorporated as a borough in 1849. Following the success of the Iron Company, the town continued to grow and expand during the rest of the 19th and into the 20th century. By the end of World War I, Phoenixville was experiencing growth in other manufacturing businesses as well.

After World War II, Phoenix Iron Company, renamed Phoenix Steel Corporation, began to decline due to increased domestic and foreign steel competition and from competition from aluminum and reinforced concrete products. The Company closed its doors in 1987. Other smaller manufacturing firms closed around the same time, resulting in difficult economic times for Phoenixville. Philadelphia's suburban growth beginning around the turn of the 21st century has assisted with the town's recent revitalization.

Bibliography:

Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area. "A Brief History of Phoenixville." Accessed September 24, 2013. http://www.phoenixvillehistoricalsociety.org/

This collection consists primarily of photocopied primary-source documents, newspaper clippings, and research articles that relate to numerous aspects of Phoenixville's history. Some of the photocopies are access copies of original documents stored separately for preservation purposes. It also contains a fair amount of original documents, principally pamphlets, small printed works, and ephemera, as well as some photographs, deeds, and manuscript pages. The collection is organized into series and subseries by subject.

The largest series is Genealogy. Organized alphabetically, the files contain newspaper clippings and obituaries, photocopies and transcripts of family documents, original photographs, and ephemera. Some larger binders of family genealogies are stored separately. Another large series is Phoenix Iron Company / Phoenix Steel Company. This series includes a large number of company catalogs and some business documents dating from the 19th century, as well as articles about company history and photocopied documents. Other significant series include Organizations, Businesses, and Schools.

Remaining series include: Advertising, Advertising Medium, Animal Husbandry, Art (Original), Art (Reproduction), Artifacts, Borough Management, Chester County, Clothing, Churches, Commercial Products, Documentary Artifacts, Historic Sites, Military History, Montgomery County, Music, Pennsylvania, Phoenixville Area General History, Pictures, Postcards, Politics, Property Transfers, Sports, Spring City, Telecommunication, Theatrical (Amateur), Tools and Equipment, Townships, Transportation, United States, and Valley Forge.

There are binders of photocopied information about some additional topics stored elsewhere, including Morris Cemetery tombstone information, 1867-1998.

Searching the collection is facilitated by a computer database and card catalog, both available on-site.