Shoemakersville 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, ...

, United States. The population was 1,378 at the 2010 census, a decline from the figure of 2,124 tabulated in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

History

Shoemakersville was named for the first settlers, Henry and Charles Shoemaker. It was a thriving apparel manufacturing town. The Merit Underwear Company factory was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1996. The borough is home of the "Shoey Green Sox" Little League baseball team.

Geography

Shoemakersville is located in northern Berks County at (40.500042, -75.969047), on the east bank of the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the borough has a total area of , of which , or 3.96%, is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 2,124 people, 605 households, and 402 families residing 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 4,272.8 people per square mile (1,640.2/km²). There were 638 housing units at an average density of 1,283.5 per square mile (492.7/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 92.84%

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 ...

, 2.97%

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 ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 2.87% 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 0.52% 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 ...

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 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 $15,756. About 4.0% of families and 17.3% 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 7.5% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

Commerce

In 2018, there wer
306 businesses
located in Shoemakersville. Th
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.

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, serving 380 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

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 ...

passes through the borough, leading 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

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...

U.S. Route 22 U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 in the Newark Airport Intercha ...

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

. Pennsylvania Route 662 begins at PA 61 on the eastern border of Shoemakersville and heads southeast to an intersection with

U.S. Route 222 U.S. Route 222 (US 222) is a U.S. Highway that is a spur of US 22 in the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. It runs for from US 1 in Conowingo, Maryland, north to Interstate 78 (I-78)/Pennsylvania Route 309 (PA 309) in Dorneyville, Pennsylv ...

in Moselem Springs and

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal lando ...

. 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.

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 Shoemakersville, with service to Pottsville, Reading, and

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 ...

. 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 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 Shoemakersville and its Reading Division mainline through West Shoemakersville.

Gallery

File:Merit Underwear 2 Shoemakersville BerksCo PA.JPG, Merit Underwear Company. File:Ollie's Tavern, Shoemakersville BerksCo PA.JPG, Ollie's Tavern on Main St. File:Salem UMC, Shoemakersville BerksCo PA.JPG, Salem UMC.

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places established in 1921 Boroughs in Berks County, Pennsylvania Populated places on the Schuylkill River 1921 establishments in Pennsylvania