Editing Pottstown, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
[[Image:PottsgroveManor Pottstown PA.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Pottsgrove Mansion]], located on the west end of town, was the home of [[John Potts (Pennsylvanian)|John Potts.]]]]
[[Image:Pottstown Roller Mill.JPG|thumb|upright|left|[[Pottstown Roller Mill]], 1725]]

Modern-day Pottstown is on land originally deeded to [[William Penn]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.montcopa.org/DocumentCenter/View/2341| title= Pottsgrove Manor History| access-date= 22 Nov 2014| website= MontcoPA.org}}</ref> Germans, Swedes and English were among the area's first European settlers. After establishment of the first iron forge in 1714, Pottstown's fortunes became tied to the iron industry, and blast furnaces for production of iron and later steel eventually opened in the area.

Iron and steel production attracted the Potts family, iron masters by trade. They established a forge and built a large home just west of the Manatawny Creek. John Potts founded a town in 1761 on part of the {{convert|995|acre|km2}} that he owned. It is the home of the nation's oldest mill, [[Pottstown Roller Mill]].{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

Pottsgrove grew, and in 1815 it was incorporated under the name Pottstown, becoming the second borough in Pennsylvania, after [[Norristown, Pennsylvania|Norristown]].

The [[Reading Company|Philadelphia & Reading Railroad]] mainline reached Pottstown in 1838. The extension of the railroad to [[Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania|Mount Carbon]] in 1842 facilitated the movement of raw materials and finished goods that helped Pottstown's economy grow. In a few years after the extension of the railroad, the population grew from 600 to 1,850. Pottstown's metal production grew; steel from the borough was used in the [[Panama Canal]] and [[Golden Gate Bridge]].<ref>[http://www.pottstown.org/history.htm Pottstown History from Official City Website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080808120901/http://pottstown.org/history.htm |date=2008-08-08 }}</ref>

In 1944, the borough adopted a [[city manager]] form of government. By 1964, the borough saw the need to reorganize the municipal government. At the time, it had one of the largest borough councils in the state, with 20 members. This was reduced to seven members in redrawn wards.

The [[High Street Historic District (Pottstown, Pennsylvania)|High Street Historic District]], [[Old Pottstown Historic District]], [[Pottsgrove Mansion]], [[Grubb Mansion]], [[Jefferson Elementary School (Pottstown, Pennsylvania)|Jefferson Elementary School]], [[Pottstown Roller Mill]], [[Reading Railroad Pottstown Station]], and [[Henry Antes House]] are on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>