Shoemakersville is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the coun ...

, United States. The population was 1,360 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 1,378 tabulated in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1996.

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 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 ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

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

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,124 people, 605 households, and 402 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 638 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 92.84%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.97%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 2.87% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 ...

, 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 The Hamburg Area School District is a small, rural/suburban public school district serving parts of Berks County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses the communities of Shoemakersville, Perry Twp, Windsor Twp, Hamburg, Tilden Twp, Upper Bern Tw ...

. 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 The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police, state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both ...

- 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

As of 2007, there were of public roads in Shoemakersville, of which were maintained by the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

(PennDOT) and were maintained by the borough.

Pennsylvania Route 61 Pennsylvania Route 61 (PA 61) is an state highway that is located in Pennsylvania in the United States. The route is signed north-south despite running in a northwest-southeast direction from U.S. Route 222 Business (Reading, Pennsylvania), U ...

passes through the borough, leading south 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 ...

, and north to

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States that runs from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and North Jersey, terminating at the Holland Tunnel entra ...

U.S. Route 22 U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a major east–west route and one of the original United States Numbered Highways, founded in 1926. It runs from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jer ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Pennsylvania Route 662 Pennsylvania Route 662 (PA 662) is a state highway located in Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 422 (US 422) in Douglassville and its northern terminus is at PA 61 in Shoemakersville. The route is ...

begins at PA 61 on the eastern border of Shoemakersville and heads southeast to an intersection with U.S. Route 222 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 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority (BARTA), previously Berks Area Reading Transportation Authority, is a public transportation system serving the city of Reading and its surrounding area of Berks County, Pennsylvania. The South Central ...

(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 Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority (BARTA), previously Berks Area Reading Transportation Authority, is a public transportation system serving the city of Reading and its surrounding area of Berks County, Pennsylvania. The South Central ...

in Reading to the south.

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

Pottsville Line The Pottsville Line was a commuter rail service in the Delaware Valley, connecting Pottsville, Reading, and Pottstown with Philadelphia. It was the last vestige of passenger service on the former Reading main line. The service lasted into the ...

once provided passenger rail service to Shoemakersville, with service to Pottsville, Reading, and

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 ...

. 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. With a headquarters in Port Clinton, the RBMN provides freight service on over of track. Its ...

, which operates a branch line between Hamburg and

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

through Shoemakersville and its

Reading Division The Reading Division is a rail line owned and operated by the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Reading, Pennsylvania north and east to Packerton, Pennsylvania along former Reading Com ...

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