Graterford is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Perkiomen Township,

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

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. Founded in 1756 by Jacob Kreator, a textile weaver, Graterford was originally named Grater's Ford until abbreviated to Graterford by the postal service in the mid-1950s. A state

penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state, usually ...

is located there, which was originally a prison farm. Located along the

Perkiomen Creek Perkiomen Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Berks, Lehigh, and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania.Gertler ...

, Graterford was a vital summer resort community during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Baptisms were held on a small island in the middle of the Perkiomen. A non-denominational church is located there. Railroad service to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

was provided until 1955. A post office operated there until the early 1960s. At various times, principal enterprises have included a general store, hardware store, delicatessen, bakery, auto service stations, hair salons, an antique furniture dealer, three hotels and resort lodging. Primarily an agricultural area through the mid-20th century, it is located 25 miles northwest of

. It is at the center of Perkiomen Township, of which it is a part. The Perkiomen Valley School District High School is also located here. Scenic appeal is provided by the Perkiomen Creek and two tributaries, Lodal Creek and Landis Run. The Graterford name continues to fade as newer residents adopt the nearby Collegeville name, whose postal zip code Graterford shares. Other places of interest are the

Perkiomen Trail The Perkiomen Trail is a multi-use rail trail along the Perkiomen Creek in Pennsylvania. It begins at the junction with the Schuylkill River Trail near the mouth of the Perkiomen and Valley Forge National Historical Park and ends in Green L ...

and Central Perkiomen Valley Park. Graterford is a community separate from Collegeville. There has been an increase in population in the last 10 years as farmers have sold land to companies who build houses.

Education

Perkiomen Township is a part of the

Perkiomen Valley School District The Perkiomen Valley School District (PVSD) is a school district based in central Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It serves the boroughs of Collegeville, Trappe, and Schwenksville, and the townships of Lower Frederick, Perk ...

. All residents are zoned to Perkiomen Valley High School.

Government and infrastructure

The

Pennsylvania Department of Corrections The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PADOC) is the Pennsylvania state agency that is responsible for the confinement, care, and rehabilitation of approximately 37,000 inmates at state correctional facilities funded by the Commonwealth of ...

State Correctional Institution - Graterford State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

was in nearby Skippack Township. It closed in July 2018 and was replaced by

State Correctional Institution – Phoenix The State Correctional Institution – Phoenix is a state prison in Skippack Township, Pennsylvania, Skippack Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with a Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Collegeville postal addres ...

.Moving from Graterford to Phoenix
"

. Retrieved on September 26, 2018.

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1756 Unincorporated communities in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania