Editing Reading, Pennsylvania (section)

===18th century===
{{Further|Pennsylvania in the American Revolution}}
[[File:Reading Pennsylvania.jpg|thumb|The 500-block of Court Street in Downtown Reading with [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks County]] courthouse on the left]]
[[File:Reading, Pennsylvania and its suburbs 1955.jpg|thumb|Part of Reading's urbanized area in 1950]]
[[File:Reading Downtown.jpg|right|thumb|Downtown Reading from Penn and 2nd streets]]
[[Lenape]] people, also known as Delaware Indians, inhabited the Reading area prior to European settlement of the region in the 17th century. The Colony of Pennsylvania was a 1680 land grant from King [[Charles II of England]] to [[William Penn]]. Comprising more than {{Convert|45,000|sqmi}}, it was named for his father, [[William Penn (Royal Navy officer)| William Penn]].

In 1743, Richard and Thomas Penn, both sons of William Penn, mapped out the town of Reading with [[Conrad Weiser]]. Taking its name from [[Reading, Berkshire]], England, the town was established in 1748. Upon the creation of Berks County in 1752, Reading became the county seat. The region was settled by emigrants from southern and western Germany, who bought land from the Penns. The first [[Amish]] community in the [[New World]] was established in Greater Reading, Berks County.<ref name="Readingberkspa.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.readingberkspa.com/content.asp?page=funfacts |title=content.aspGreater Reading's destination hub : Greater Reading Convention and Visitors Bureau |publisher=Readingberkspa.com |access-date=May 7, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323093905/http://www.readingberkspa.com/content.asp?page=funfacts |archive-date=March 23, 2012  }}</ref> The Pennsylvanian German dialect was spoken in the area well into the 1950s.

During the [[French and Indian War]], Reading was a military base for a chain of forts along the [[Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania)|Blue Mountain]].

[[James Wilson (Founding Father)|James Wilson]] practiced law in Reading from 1767 until 1775.

By the time of the [[American Revolution]], the area's iron industry had a total production exceeding England's. There were several prominent Ironmasters like [[Samuel Van Leer]] who helped supply [[George Washington]]'s troops with cannons, rifles, and ammunition in the Revolutionary War.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vanleerarchives.org/home/van-leer-american-line/samuel-van-leer/|title=Samuel Van Leer|access-date=November 24, 2021|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110022047/https://vanleerarchives.org/home/van-leer-american-line/samuel-van-leer/|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the early period of the conflict, Reading was again a depot for military supply. [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessian]] prisoners from the [[Battle of Trenton]] were also detained here.

[[Philadelphia]] was the nation's capital at the time of the [[1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic]].<ref>Washington, D.C. became the national capital in 1800.</ref> President [[George Washington]] traveled to Reading, and considered making it the emergency national capital, but chose [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]] instead.