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Berks County, Pennsylvania

County in Pennsylvania, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Berks County, Pennsylvaniamap
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"Berks County" redirects here. For the county of England, see Berkshire.
Not to be confused with Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Berks County (Pennsylvania German: Barricks Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849.[2] The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state.[3] The county is part of the South Central region of the commonwealth.[a]

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The county borders Lehigh County to its north, Schuylkill County to its north, Lebanon and Lancaster counties to its west, Chester County to its south, and Montgomery County to its east. The county is approximately 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Allentown, the state's third-largest city, and 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Philadelphia, the state's largest city.

The Schuylkill River, a 135-mile-long (217 km) tributary of the Delaware River, flows through Berks County. The county is part of the Reading, PA metropolitan statistical area (MSA), which in turn is part of the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area known as the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area (CSA).

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History

Reading developed during the 1740s when inhabitants of northern Lancaster County sent several petitions requesting that a separate county be established. With the help of German immigrant Conrad Weiser, the county was formed on March 11, 1752, from parts of Chester County, Lancaster County, and Philadelphia County.[4]

It was named after Berkshire the English county in which William Penn's family home lay, of which the original town of Reading is the county town and which is traditionally abbreviated "Berks". Berks County began much larger than it is today. The northwestern parts of the county went to the founding of Northumberland County in 1772 and Schuylkill County in 1811, when it reached its current size.

In 2005, Berks County was added to the Delaware Valley Planning Area due to a fast-growing population and close proximity to the other communities.

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Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 866 square miles (2,240 km2), 857 square miles (2,220 km2) of which is land and 9.2 square miles (24 km2) (1.1%) of which is water.[5]

Most of the county is drained by the Schuylkill River, but an area in the northeast is drained by the Lehigh River via the Little Lehigh Creek and areas are drained by the Susquehanna River via the Swatara Creek in the northwest and the Conestoga River, which starts in Berks County between Morgantown and Elverson in the county's extreme south. It has a humid continental climate (Dfa except for some Dfb on Blue Mountain at the northern boundary.) The hardiness zone is mostly 7a with 6b in some higher northern and eastern areas.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

State protected area

Major roads and highways

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I-78/US Route 22 eastbound in Berks County
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Demographics

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As of the 2010 census, the county was 76.9% white non-Hispanic, 4.9% black, 0.3% Indian, 1.3% Asian, and 2.5% were two or more races. 16.4% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.[10] Historically there is a large Pennsylvania Dutch population. It is known as part of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. More recently there is a large Puerto Rican population centered in the city of Reading. There were 411,442 people, 154,356 households, and 106,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 479 inhabitants per square mile (185/km2). There were 164,827 housing units at an average density of 191.9 per square mile (74.1/km2).

According to Muninet Guide's 2010 analysis, the median household income for Berks County is $54,105.

There were 154,356 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.1 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.

Berks County is home to an Old Order Mennonite community consisting of about 160 families, located in the East Penn Valley near Kutztown and Fleetwood.[11] The Old Order Mennonites first bought land in the area in 1949.[12] In 2012, Old Order Mennonites bought two large farms in the Oley Valley. The Old Order Mennonites in the area belong to the Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church and use the horse and buggy as transportation. There are several farms in the area belonging to the Old Order Mennonite community and meetinghouses are located near Kutztown and Fleetwood.[13]

2020 census

More information Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic), Pop 2000 ...
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Metropolitan and Combined Statistical Area

See also: List of Metropolitan Statistical Areas and List of Combined Statistical Areas
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Location of Berks County in the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA

The Office of Management and Budget[17] has designated Berks County as the Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 U.S. census[18] the metropolitan area is the 10th-most populous in Pennsylvania and the 128th-most populous in the U.S. with a population of 413,491.

Berks County is part of the larger Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the largest in Pennsylvania and eighth-most populous in the nation with a population of 7,067,807.

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Government

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Berks County Courthouse in Reading

State Senate

State House of Representatives

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

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Politics

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As of September 21, 2023, there were 253,186 registered voters in Berks County.[20]

Berks County is strongly Republican, but is still competitive. As of 2023, the Republican Party maintained a total registration edge over Democrats in Berks County. At the top of the Pennsylvania ticket in November 2022, Berks County split its votes, supporting Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor and Republican Mehmet Oz for U.S. Senate. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the county was Barack Obama in 2008.

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The first time since 1964 that a Democrat carried Berks in a Presidential election occurred in 2008, with Barack Obama receiving 53.9% of the vote to John McCain's 44.7%. The other three statewide winners (Rob McCord for treasurer, Jack Wagner for auditor general, and Tom Corbett for attorney general) also carried it.[23] While Republicans have controlled the commissioner majority most of the time and continue to control most county row offices, Democrats have become more competitive in Berks in recent years. In the 2012 Presidential election, Mitt Romney carried the county by approximately a one-percent margin, 49.6% to 48.6%, however, in 2016, Donald Trump carried Berks by a much larger margin of 52.9% to 42.7%.[24]

Chart of Voter Registration
  1. Republican (42.5%)
  2. Democratic (41.4%)
  3. Independent (11.8%)
  4. Other Parties (4.32%)
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Education

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Colleges and universities

Public school districts

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Map of Berks County's public school districts

School districts include:[25]

Private high schools

Technical and trade schools

  • Berks Technical Institute
  • Pace Institute
  • Reading Hospital School of Nursing
  • Berks Career and Technology Center (east campus in Oley, west campus in Leesport)

Libraries

In July of 1985, after a year long study, a 97-page report titled Public Library Service for Berks County was released, recommending a "county-wide system of federated libraries...and to operate a center supportive of all the libraries in the system." Following this report, the Berks County Public Library System was officially established by the Berks County Board of Commissioners in 1986.[26]

The Berks County Public Library (BCPL) system consists of 19 member libraries and 4 branches:[27]

  • Bernville Area Community Library
  • Bethel-Tulpehocken Public Library
  • Boone Area Library
  • Boyertown Community Library
  • Brandywine Community Library
  • Exeter Community Library
  • Fleetwood Area Public Library
  • Hamburg Public Library
  • Kutztown Community Library
  • Mifflin Community Library
  • Muhlenberg Community Library
  • Reading Public Library - Main Branch
  • Reading Public Library - Northeast Branch
  • Reading Public Library - Northwest Branch
  • Reading Public Library - Southeast Branch
  • Robesonia Community Library
  • Schuylkill Valley Community Library
  • Sinking Spring Public Library
  • Spring Township Library
  • Village Library
  • Wernersville Public Library
  • West Lawn-Wyomissing Hills Library
  • Womelsdorf Community Library

During the first year, the 12 libraries that were founding charter members served 45,000 registered borrowers and circulated over 470,000 items. Two branches in the county (Hamburg Public Library and the main branch of the Reading Public Library) were funded by grants from Andrew Carnegie. At this time, county funding for the library system totaled just $125,000.

As the system grew with 4 more libraries joining, the funding from the county grew to $325,000 in the year 1990. In 1990, the first public access computers were installed in System member libraries. One year later, the system took over control of a county bookmobile.

Several significant things for the library system took place in the year 1996 for its 10 year anniversary. During this year, the library system began van deliveries between branches and initiated involvement in the first ever state-wide Summer Reading program, Pennsylvania Patchwork. The system also began to offer access to the Internet. The following year, the first library automation network was installed across the system to connect the branch's collections.

In the year 2000, the number of member libraries totaled 19. The BCPL system was awarded a $225,500 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. These funds were used to expand the internet access points available in the libraries and create a training lab at Reading Public Library. E-books and e-book readers were added to the system in this year as well. In 2002, after a year of development, a children's bookmobile called the Bookasaurus began to visit local preschool programs. In 2008, the system added an Early Literacy Station (ELS) to every branch in the system, which is a specific pre-loaded computer tailored to younger patrons' needs and interests. The following year, due to state-subsidized funding cuts, the county bookmobile ceased operations after more than 30 years. During this year, however, the library hosted its most successful Summer Reading yet, with over half a million books read over the course of the program.

The library system began to participate in the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten initiative in 2014.

As of 2020, the system has over 130,000 registered cardholders with a collection size of just under 950,000 items.[26][28]

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Arts and culture

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Reading Public Museum in Reading is an art, science, and history museum.

The Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps are an all-age drum corps based in Berks County. Founded in 1957, the corps is a charter member Drum Corps Associates and an 11-time DCA World Champion.

Reading is home to Berks Opera Company, founded in 2007 as Berks Opera Workshop.

There are two Pennsylvania state parks and one natural area in Berks County.

There are two Pennsylvania Historic Sites in Berks County.

The Old Morlatton Village in Douglassville is maintained by the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County. The village is composed of four historic structures: White Horse Inn, George Douglass Mansion, Bridge keeper's House, and the Mouns Jones House, constructed in 1716, which is the oldest recorded building in the county.[30]

West Reading in home to the annual Art on the Avenue, which reached its 25th year in 2019.[31]

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Media

Berks County is home to several media outlets, including:

  • Berks Community Television (BCTV)[32]
  • Reading Eagle, the daily newspaper, based in Reading and founded in 1867
  • WEEU (830 AM), a radio station broadcasting news and conservative talk shows
  • WFMZ-TV, an Allentown-based news channel that covers the region
  • WRFY-FM (102.5 FM "Y102"), a commercial radio station licensed to serve Reading

Communities

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Map of Berks County with municipal labels showing cities and boroughs (in red), townships (in white), and census-designated places (in blue)

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Berks County:

City

Boroughs

Townships

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A farm in Windsor Township in January 2008

Census-designated places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Berks County.[18]

† county seat

CDP=census designated population

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Notable people

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See also

Footnotes

Further reading

External links

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