Douglassville is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Amity Township in Berks County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. Douglassville is situated along U.S. Route 422 and Pennsylvania Route 724. Developments include the Amity Gardens

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

, the West Ridge subdivision, the Briarwood subdivision, and the High Meadow subdivision. Douglassville also includes Cider Mill and the Woods Edge subdivision along Pennsylvania Route 562. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 518 residents.

History

Swedish pioneers were the first European settlers in present Berks County on land granted by

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

. Swedish Lutheran Minister Andreas Rudman secured an order from William Penn on October 21, 1701, setting aside up the Schuylkill, near Manatawny Creek, for members of his congregation. The boundaries of Amity Township are almost identical to the boundaries of the original area known as the Swedes' tract. Morlatton Village, an early settlement which became part of what is now Douglassville, was Berks County's first settlement site along the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

. The settlement later became the location of Old St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church or Old Swedes, founded in 1720 as the oldest church in Berks County. The site also included the Mouns Jones House, built by Swedish settlers in 1716. The house is the oldest documented dwelling in Berks County.

Geography

Douglassville is located on the

and mainly upon its left bank. The CDP has a hot-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfa'') and average monthly temperatures range from 30.7 °F in January to 75.5 °F in July

The

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 7a bordering upon 6b

Demographics

Parks and recreation

Lake Drive Park and Recreation Area is in the Amity Gardens subdivision. Facilities include basketball and tennis courts, a skateboard park, a pavilion, and a picnic area. Hill Road Park is located in the West Ridge subdivision, and includes a baseball field and a pavilion. Monocacy Hill Preserve is an undeveloped park used for hiking and environmental education outside Douglassville. The park has trails going around the mountain.

Infrastructure

Klein Transportation provides bus service from Douglassville to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, Kutztown, Wescosville, Hellertown, and

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

in New York City. Old Swedes Dville.JPG, Old Swede's House, built 1716 Douglass Mansion.JPG, Douglass House

Notable people

* Lucy L. Flippin – actress * Mark Forrest (born 1996) – professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

* Chris Guiliano (born 2003) – Olympic swimmer *

Carmelo Marrero Carmelo Marrero (born January 26, 1981) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions. He has competed for the UFC, WEC, Bellator Fighting Championships, the IFL, and ...

(born 1981) – professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

James W. McCord James Walter McCord Jr. (January 26, 1924 – June 15, 2017) was an American CIA officer, later head of security for President Richard Nixon's 1972 reelection campaign. He was involved as an electronics expert in the burglaries which precipitate ...

(1924–2017) –

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

officer who participated in the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

* Jacob K. McKenty (1827–1866) – attorney and politician * Natalie Wojcik (born 1999) – college

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Berks County, Pennsylvania Swedish-American culture in Pennsylvania New Sweden