Below: Historic rail and road
equipment in the collection of the Reading Company Technical and
Historical Society stand along Wall Street in Leesport.
Below: The borough hall of
Leesport is home of the borough's government.
Below: The "Lock
House" of the former Schuylkill Canal has been restored and
serves as a museum of Leesport's proud past.
Below: The Schuylkill Valley
Community Library in Leesport is a source of civic pride.
THE FACTS: Leesport
was settled around 1840 along what was the old Centre Turnpike, the
main toll road from Reading to Pottsville. Its initial spurt of
growth came when the Schuylkill Canal passed through the village and
then when the railroad literally cut the town in two sections.
THE FIGURES: Leesport's
land area is 7/10ths of a square mile, in which an estimated 2,000
residents dwell.
THE FUN STUFF: Originally
called "Althouse's," Lee's Port became Leesport in honor
of Samuel Lee, who plotted the original plan of the town.
The earliest
industries in town included knitting, and there were once many large
grain warehouses along the canal, especially near Althouse's Locks.
A large iron furnace operated in Leesport from 1853 to 1914, and
several small factories and mills were grouped along the highways,
railways, and canal that fueled a modest but steady growth. More
recently, further highway development on land once reserved for
agriculture has spawned new growth in and around Leesport.
The Althouse
Covered Bridge once connected West Leesport and Wall Street, and was
a toll bridge until 1886.
The first Post
Office in town was established in 1872, and was actually in and
called West Leesport. It wasn't until 1901 that the town was
consolidation as a borough.
For many miles
around, Leesport is best known for its banking interests and its
Farmer's Market and cattle auction. Over the years, it was also
known for its Cornet Band and championship fast-pitched softball
team.
One of the first
residents in Leesport was that of one Dr. Strawbridge, who lived
there only briefly. His sons moved to Philadelphia where they whet
into retailing and became the Strawbridges of Strawbridge &
Clothier department store fame.
Thanks to WEEU's Charles J. Adams III for help
in compiling this material.
34 North Fourth Street, Reading, PA 19601
Phone: 610-376-7335 Fax: 610-376-7756
E-mail: weeu@weeu.com
