Call Number:

01

Repository:

Spring-Ford Area Historical Society

Extent:

45.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

circa 1880s-2012

Creator:

Spring-Ford Area Historical Society

Abstract:

Previously a sparsely-settled farming area, early development in Spring City (Chester County, Pennsylvania) and adjacent Royersford (Montgomery County, Pennsylvania) coincided with the opening of the Schuylkill Navigation Canal in 1824. Industry in the two towns continued to grow during the 19th century, especially with the construction of major rail lines through both. By the early 20th century, Spring City and Royersford were booming industrial towns with extensive stove factories, glass and bottle works, and embroidery, hosiery, and knitting mills, among other businesses. The Spring-Ford Area Historical Society subject files, circa 1880s-2012, document various topics of local interest. The collection mostly contains photocopies, with some original materials, such as newspaper clippings, photographs, research notes, narrative histories, cemetery records and indexes, obituaries, and family histories. Major categories include: burial records, church histories and sacramental records, family histories and genealogies, obituaries, and newspaper articles and ads.

Previously a sparsely-settled farming area, early development in Spring City (Chester County, Pennsylvania) and adjacent Royersford (Montgomery County, Pennsylvania) coincided with the opening of the Schuylkill Navigation Canal in 1824. Canal-related industries such as the American Paper Company and the Spring City Stove Company were operating as early as the 1850s.

The history and development of Spring City and Royersford began to overlap in 1840 with the construction of the first bridge across the Schuylkill that connected the two towns. Their relationship was cemented more recently with the establishment of the Spring-Ford Area School District in 1955.

Industry in the two towns continued to grow during the 19th century, especially with the construction of major railroad lines. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad opened in Royersford in 1839; the Pennsylvania Railroad opened in Spring City in 1884 and connected to Royersford in 1892. (Although the Pennsylvania Railroad stopped in 1955, the Philadelphia and Reading lines continue to run as the the Norfolk Southern Railroad as of 2013.) By the early 20th century, Spring City and Royersford were booming industrial towns with extensive stove factories, glass and bottle works, and embroidery, hosiery, and knitting mills, among other businesses.

Besides serving as base for multiple industries, Spring City was also home to the Pennhurst State School and Hospital, an institution for the mentally handicapped that opened in 1908. A community separated from the rest of the town, the sprawling complex included a dairy farm, power house, green houses, and a movie theater amongst many other facilities. At one point, the hospital had more than 3,000 patients.

Bibliography:

Brunner, William C. "Spring City History." Spring City, PA Community Website. Accessed December 3, 2012. http://www.springcitypa.net/history.htm

Royersford Borough. Home page. Accessed December 3, 2012. http://www.royersfordborough.org/

This collection consists of subject files on various topics of local interest. It mostly contains photocopies, with some original materials, such as newspaper clippings, photographs, research notes, narrative histories, cemetery records and indexes, obituaries, and family histories. There is a small amount of primary documents, including postcards, death certificates, and Lewin family papers. Major categories include: burial records, church histories and sacramental records, family histories and genealogies, obituaries, and newspaper articles and ads. There are also general subject files on local history topics such as Pennhurst State School and Hospital, the Floyd-Wells Company, and the 1967 Spring City Centennial.

Of special interest are three original Justice of the Peace court docket record books, 1853-1953. The Justices represented are William Albright, Jacob R. Weikel, and Joseph A. Coulston.

The following families are documented in the family histories and genealogies:

Amster

Bard

Bauer

Bauman

Berkenstock

Brower

Brunner

Buckwalter

Bush

Campbell

Cobb

Corrigan

Crater

Custer

Davis

Diehm

Egolf

Eisenberg

Finkbiner

Floyd

Francis

Freed

Gennaria

Grander

Guss

Halteman

Heckel

Hilborn

Hollenbach

Ibach

Jones

Keeley

Kern

Kinsey

Kirkpatrick

Kline

Latshaw

Lewin

Lewis

Linsenbigler

Littlefield

Luks

Marshall

Mewhinney

Mowrey

Mull

Newborn

Oehlert

Otterstetter

Plattenberger

Ralston

Randall

Rogers

Royer

Schubert

Shakespeare

Shaner

Smoyer

Spielman

Stauffer

Stover

Taylor

Thomas

Towers

Turner

Tyson

Urner

Walters

Watkins

Weikel

Wells

Woodland

Yerger

Young