Leesport is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Berks County Berks County (Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware River, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The population was 1,918 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Leesport is located at (40.443893, -75.968137). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and (4.00%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,918 people, 747 households, and 523 families living in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 2,740 people per square mile (1,059.7/km²). There were 790 housing units at an average density of 1128.6 per square mile (436.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 1.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.4% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.4% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

people of any race were 4.2% of the population. There were 747 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.03. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 28% from 45 to 64, and 11% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.7 years. Females made up 50.4% of the population and males made up 49.6%. The median income for a household in the borough was $47,067, and the median income for a family was $51,761. Males had a median income of $36,453 versus $25,833 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $20,148. About 2.2% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over. When used as a mailing address, Leesport ( ZIP Code 19533) also includes Ontelaunee Township and portions of Bern

Township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

Government

The area is served by the Schuylkill Valley School District. Emergency services are provided by the Northern Berks Regional Police Department, Union Fire Company of Leesport, and Schuylkill Valley EMS all of which are dispatched by the Berks County Communications Center.

Transportation

Pennsylvania Route 61 Pennsylvania Route 61 (PA 61) is an state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route is signed on a north–south direction, running from U.S. Route 222 Business (US 222 Bus.) in Reading northwest to US 11/ US 15 ...

runs northwest-southeast through Leesport on Centre Avenue, heading south to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

and north to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and Pottsville.

Pennsylvania Route 73 Pennsylvania Route 73 (PA 73) is a long east–west state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. It runs from PA 61 near Leesport southeast to the New Jersey state line on the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge over the Delaware River in ...

begins at PA 61 in Leesport and heads southeast to Blandon and eventually

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority (BARTA) provides bus service to Leesport 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. There is a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...

lot at the Redner's in Leesport that is served by BARTA.

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...

's Pottsville Line once provided passenger rail service to Leesport, with service to Pottsville, Reading, and Philadelphia. The service ceased in 1981 after all diesel services were cancelled. Freight service in Leesport is provided by the

Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad , sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. The RBMN provides freight service on of track. Its mainl ...

, which operates a branch line between Hamburg and

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

through Leesport and its Reading Division mainline through West Leesport.

Points of interest

* Leesport Lock House * Leesport Farmers Market

Notable people

Sheila Butler Sheila Butler (born 1938) is an American-Canadian visual artist and retired professor, now based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She is a founding member of Mentoring Artists for Women's Art in Winnipeg, Manitoba and the Sanavik Inuit Cooperative ...

, visual artist *

Doug Clemens Douglas Horace Clemens (born June 9, 1939), is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from – for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals. During Clemens’ playin ...

, professional athlete

References

External links

* {{authority control 1842 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Berks County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1842 Populated places on the Schuylkill River