Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania

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Shoemakersville is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,360 at the 2020 census,<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref> a decline from the figure of 1,378 tabulated in 2010.

History

Shoemakersville was named for the first settlers, Henry and Charles Shoemaker.<ref>The Shoemaker family of Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania, 1682-1909.</ref> It was a thriving apparel manufacturing town.

The Merit Underwear Company factory was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.<ref name="nris">Template:NRISref</ref>

Geography

Shoemakersville is located in northern Berks County at Template:Coord (40.500042, -75.969047),<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> on the east bank of the Schuylkill River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert, or 3.96%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

Demographics

Template:US Census population

As of the census<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 2,124 people, 605 households, and 402 families residing in the borough. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 638 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the borough was 92.84% White, 2.97% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 2.87% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.73% of the population.

There were 604 households, out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 16.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 25.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.2 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $37,981, and the median income for a family was $47,917. Males had a median income of $30,833 versus $24,083 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $15,756. About 4.0% of families and 17.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

Commerce

In 2018, there were 306 businesses located in Shoemakersville. The Glen-Gery Brick Corporation, which began in Wyomissing, PA, in the 1890s moved their main manufacturing plant to its Pottsville Pike location in the early 20th century. It remains a major employment provider.<ref>Freyman, A. (2018, April 27). Glen Gery Brick Plant - Wyomissing. Berks Nostalgia | Reading Berks Americana. Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://berksnostalgia.com/glen-gery-brick-plant-wyomissing/</ref>

Education

Perry Elementary is located on Fourth Street in Shoemakersville, and it is one of two elementary schools in the Hamburg Area School District. Perry has a student to teacher ratio of 22:1,<ref name="student to teacher ratio of 22:1">Template:Cite web</ref> serving 380<ref name="student to teacher ratio of 22:1"/> students in grades kindergarten through fifth.

Police force

Currently, Shoemakersville is served by the Pennsylvania State Police - Hamburg Barracks. The borough had its own independent police force from 1924 until June 2006, when it was disbanded by the borough council due to funding issues.

Transportation

Template:Stack As of 2007, there were Template:Convert of public roads in Shoemakersville, of which Template:Convert were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Template:Convert were maintained by the borough.<ref name=PennDOTmap>Template:Cite web</ref>

Pennsylvania Route 61 passes through the borough, leading south Template:Convert to Reading, and north Template:Convert to Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 in Hamburg. Pennsylvania Route 662 begins at PA 61 on the eastern border of Shoemakersville and heads southeast to an intersection with U.S. Route 222 in Moselem Springs and Fleetwood.

Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority (BARTA) provides bus service to Shoemakersville along Route 20, which follows PA 61 on its route between Hamburg to the north and the BARTA Transportation Center in Reading to the south.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

SEPTA's Pottsville Line once provided passenger rail service to Shoemakersville, with service to Pottsville, Reading, and Philadelphia. The service ceased in 1981 after all diesel services were cancelled. Freight service in Shoemakersville is provided by the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, which operates a branch line between Hamburg and Temple through Shoemakersville and its Reading Division mainline through West Shoemakersville.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref>