Editing Bernville, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
Before European settlers arrived in the [[Tulpehocken Creek (Pennsylvania)|Tulpehocken Creek]] valley, the area was inhabited by the [[Lenape]] people.<ref name="HSTCSA">{{cite web |url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/rivers/riversconservation/registry/31historicalsummary.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030831000954/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/rivers/riversconservation/registry/31historicalsummary.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 31, 2003 |title=Historical Summary of the Tulpehocken Creek Study Area |access-date=2008-11-17 |date=1996-10-26 |work=Rivers Registry, Tulpehocken Creek |publisher=PA Dept of Conservation & National Resources |location=Harrisburg, PA }}</ref> In 1723, thirty-three [[German Palatines|Palatine]] families from [[Schoharie Valley|Schoharie, New York]], moved to the confluences of the Tulpehocken and Northkill Creeks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.friedensbernvillepa.com/HTML/History.html |title=History of The Northkill Church / Evangelical Lutheran Friedens Church, Bernville, PA |access-date=2008-11-14 |publisher=Friedens Lutheran Church |location=Bernville, PA |quote=Around the year 1723 Lutheran immigrants were found along the Tulpehocken and the twin Northkill Creeks. As early as 1729 Rev. John Casper Stoever gathered them into a congregation. The services were held in homes and in barns. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124053737/http://friedensbernvillepa.com/HTML/History.html |archive-date=November 24, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = J. W. | last = Early | contribution = The Oldest Churches of Berks County | title = Transactions of the Historical Society of Berks County | volume = I | year = 1904 | page = 4 | place = Reading, PA | publisher = B. F. Owen & Co | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RScUAAAAYAAJ | access-date=May 7, 2013 | quote=In the spring of 1723, thirty-three families of Germans, having been sorely oppressed and wronged, first by the Dutch and then by the English, and finally deprived of their lands and other possessions in the Schoharie, New York, came to Pennsylvania via the Susquehanna and Swatara, and settled near the Tulpehocken, about 15 miles west of the Schuylkill.}}  These settlers established the Zion or Reed's Lutheran church.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Boehm |first=J. P. |editor=W. J. Hinke |title=Life and Letters of the Rev. John Philip Boehm |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mlFMAAAAMAAJ |access-date=2008-11-17 |year=1916 |publisher=Berger Bros. |location=Philadelphia |pages=66 |quote=Another congregation, which Boehm organized in 1727, was Tulpehocken.  It had been settled by Palatines coming from the State of New York in 1723.  Conrad Weiser describes its origin as follows: 'The people got news of the land on the Swatara and Tulpehocken in Pennsylvania.  Many of them united and cut a road from Schoharie [N. Y.] to the Susquehanna River, carried their goods there, made canoes and floated them down the river to the mouth of the Swatara creek [where Middletown is situated at present], and drove their cattle over land.  This happened in the spring of the year 1723.  From there they came to Tulpehocken, and this was the beginning of the Tulpehocken settlement'.}}</ref> By 1735, a saw and grist mill was located three and a half miles up the Tulpehocken river from Bernville.<ref>{{cite book |last=Elliott |first=E Z |title=Blue Book of Schuylkill County |url=https://archive.org/details/bluebookofschuylk1916elli |access-date=2008-11-14 |year=1916 |publisher=J. H. Zerbey |location=Pottsville, PA |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bluebookofschuylk1916elli/page/n308 269] }}</ref>

In 1737, Stephanus Umbenhauer immigrated from [[Bern]], [[Switzerland]], and purchased {{convert|220|acre|km2}} from [[Thomas Penn]].  In 1819, Stephanus' grandson, Johann Thomas Umbenhauer, set aside {{convert|46|acre|m2}} to be divided into 62 lots. On 24 August 1819, Peter Bennethum bought the first six lots. In January 1820, the town was named Bernville after Stephanus' birthplace.<ref name="Walking Tour">{{Citation |mode=cs1 |year=2007 |publisher=Bernville Heritage & Cultural Society | title = Self-Guided Walking Tour of Main Street, Borough of Bernville, Pennsylvania | place =Bernville, PA}}</ref> The first house was built by Philip Filbert in 1820.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Barr Ferree |title=Year Book of The Pennsylvania Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBcUAAAAYAAJ |access-date=2008-11-14 |year=1908 |publisher=The Pennsylvania Society |location=New York |pages=109–111}}</ref> In 1828, the [[Union Canal (Pennsylvania)|Union Canal]] was completed, connecting the [[Susquehanna River|Susquehanna]] and [[Schuylkill River|Schuylkill]] rivers. Union Canal guard lock #36 and Lock #36 with a lift of {{convert|5.0|ft}} is located at the southwest corner of Bernville, near where Northkill Creek empties into Tulpehocken Creek. An historic marker on [[Pennsylvania Route 183|Route 183]] states: "The canal, at this point, followed the north bank of the Tulpehocken. A dam, two locks, and a mule bridge made it possible for boats to cross Northkill Creek. Nearby were grist mills, a lime kiln, and a tannery."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/DOH/markerresults.asp?secid=31&namesearch=Union+canal&Submit=Search+by+Marker+Title |title=Search for Historical Markers |publisher=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |access-date=2020-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060403191822/http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/DOH/markerresults.asp?secid=31 |archive-date=2006-04-03}}</ref> Due to the proximity of the Bernville Locks and the town's location on the canal, Bernville was a primary and prospering canal port.<ref name="Penn History">{{cite web |url=http://www.co.berks.pa.us/penn/cwp/view.asp?a=2379&Q=493888 |title=History Of Penn Township |access-date=2008-11-09 |year=2008 |publisher=[[Penn Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania]] }}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wagner |first=A. E. |author2=F. W. Balthaser|author3=D. K. Hoch |title=The Story of Berks County |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVQVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA213 |access-date=2008-11-09 |year=1913 |publisher=Eagle Book and Job Press |location=Reading, PA |pages=213–214 }}</ref>

In 1851, the village of Bernville, discontented with Penn Township's road maintenance and community services, incorporated as a borough.<ref name ="Penn History" /> The borough included the original 62 lots, most of which measured {{convert|60|by|260|ft}}. In 1884, the Union Canal closed.<ref name="HSTCSA" /> With no canal or railroad access, Bernville withered. In 1950, Bernville Borough annexed property from Penn Township at both ends of Main Street.<ref name="Walking Tour" />