Wyomissing, Pennsylvania

Geobox Borough
name = Borough of Wyomissing
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =
category =


image_size =
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flag_size =
symbol =
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nickname =
motto =
country = United States
state = Pennsylvania
region = Berks
region_type = County
district =
area_imperial = 3.8
area_land_imperial = 3.8
area_water_imperial = 0.04
area_water_percentage = auto
area_percentage_round = 2
area_round = 1
location =
lat_d = 40
lat_m = 19
lat_s = 58
lat_NS = N
long_d = 75
long_m = 57
long_s = 53
long_EW = W
elevation_imperial = 338
elevation_round = 1
population_as_of = 2000
population = 11,155
population_density_imperial = 2246.0
population_density_round = 1
established_type = Incorporated
established = July 2 1907
mayor =
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
postal_code_type = ZIP Code
postal_code = 19610
area_code = 610
area_code_type =
code2_type =
code2 =
free_type =
free =
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map_caption = Location of Wyomissing in Berks County
map1 = Pennsylvania Locator Map.png map1_caption = Location of Wyomissing in Pennsylvania
map1_locator = Pennsylvania
map2 = Map of USA PA.svg
map2_caption = Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
website = http://www.co.berks.pa.us/wyomissing

Wyomissing is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, established on July 2, 1906. The population was 8,587 at the 2000 census, but after the January, 2002 merger with neighboring Wyomissing Hills [ [http://www.co.berks.pa.us/planning/cwp/view.asp?a=1182&q=460589 Berks County Data Book Chapter 1] ] , the combined 2000 Census estimate was 11,155 making it the most populous borough in Berks CountyFact|date=September 2007. The borough is recognized as a Tree City USA [http://www.arborday.org/programs/treecities.cfm?chosenstate=Pennsylvania Tree City USA (PA)] ] and selected as a "Contender" for the best places to live in Pennsylvania by "Money" magazine. [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL4286880.html Money magazine's Best Places Wyomissing Profile] ]

Geography

Wyomissing is located at coor dms|40|19|58|N|75|57|53|W|city (40.332742, -75.964603).GR|1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.9 km²), of which, 3.8 square miles (9.9 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.

Early History 1685 to 1906

The original inhabitants of Wyomissing were Indians from the Lenni Lenape tribe who lived along the banks of the Wyomissing Creek. The word Wyomissing is a phonetically derived the Indian name for the area whose exact meaning is unknown, but most likely means "a place of flats" which makes much sense considering how flat Wyomissing is compared to nearby surrounding areas. Much of Berks County was transferred from the Indians to William Penn in 1685. Title to the land that much of Wyomissing is built upon was in two parcels, an eastern tract and a western tract, which were divided by a northwesterly line in the vicinity of Lake Avenue. One of the earliest industries in the area was the Evans Grist Mill. This building still stands at the corner of Old Mill Road and Old Wyomissing Road. In 1896 present day Wyomissing began to take form when Thomas P. Merritt (a Reading lumber dealer) acquired six hundred acres. Albert Thalheimer, David H. Keiser, Marthias Mengel, and Levi W. Mengel joined Thomas R. Merrit in organizing the Reading Suburban Real Estate Company. Shortly afterwords Wyomissing Industries, manufacturer of textile machinery, was established by the firm of Thun & Janssen along the Reading Railroad just west of Van Reed Road (today named Park Road). This spured development and soon there were many developers working to build Wyomissing. In 1904 and 1905, Thun and Janssen called town meetings to discuss setting up a Borough government. Eventually petitions were filed with the courts for the establishment of a Borough, signed by 61 resident property owners and 39 non-resident property owners. On July 2, 1906, the court issued the final decree of the incorporation of the Borough of Wyomissing.

History 1907 to 2007

Between 1906 and the 1940's several additional tracts of land were annexed to the Borough from both Spring and Cumru Townships. However 1949-1950 saw the largest annexation, in the addition of the area north of the railroad tracts known as Berkshire Heights. This drastically changed the Borough map. From that point forward, the Borough has changed from farmland to a large residential and commercial community. The last farmland worked in the Borough was part of the Hartman Farm along VanReed Road. This land was sold into commercial development in the early 1990's. This includes the area now called "Woodmill Commons," where Borders Books, Old Navy and other businesses now are located.

Economy

Wyomissing is a thriving commercial office and retail center, in large part due to its proximity to Reading, PA. As crime soared in Reading throughout the 1990's, companies and corporations relocated from the city to newer, Class A office space in the borough. In addition to a suburban layout, the greater Wyomissing area is at the crossroads of U.S. Routes 422 and 222, providing immediate highway access to the rest of the greater Philadelphia and Berks County Region. Several large corporations are headquartered in Wyomissing, including, Penn National Gaming, the second largest gaming company in the U.S., Boscov's Inc., currently the largest family-owned department store chain in the U.S., Carpenter Technology Corp., and Sovereign Bank. UGI Corp. and VF Corp. have major operations in the borough. Wyomissing continues to outpace the rest of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Region in job growth, registering an average job growth of 13.3% per year between 2000-2006. Financial giants Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Citibank are developing data backup centers using the region's close proximity to major fiber optic lines running down the Eastern Coast of the U.S.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 8,587 people, 3,359 households, and 2,096 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,246.0 people per square mile (867.9/km²). There were 3,539 housing units at an average density of 925.7/sq mi (357.7/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.76% White, 1.50% African American, 0.07% Native American, 1.90% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.89% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.83% of the population.

There were 3,359 households out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the borough the population was spread out with 18.2% under the age of 18, 12.6% from 18 to 24, 17.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 28.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $54,681, and the median income for a family was $78,112. Males had a median income of $54,167 versus $34,815 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $37,313. About 1.4% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Public education

The Borough is served by the Wyomissing Area School District, which includes Wyomissing Hills Elementary Center, serving grades K-4, West Reading Elementary Center, serving grades 5-6, and Wyomissing Area Jr. and Sr. High School, serving grades 7-12. Newsweek Magazine has ranked Wyomissing Area High School among the nation's top public high school programs for the last several years. The Berkshire Heights portion of the Borough is served by the Wilson School District.

Notable natives

*Taylor Swift
*Jillian Murray
*Ross Tucker
*Jon Gosselin
*Kate Gosselin
*Douglas Carter Beane
*Chad Henne
*Bryan Deemer Co-Founder of Comic Geek Speak Podcast

References

External links

* [http://www.co.berks.pa.us/wyomissing/site/default.asp Borough of Wyomissing]