Henry A. Muhlenberg

West Reading, PA · est. 1948

Marked from the west bank of the Schuylkill, Reading was laid out in 1748 at the direction of Thomas Penn and made the seat of Berks County in 1752. German-speaking settlers gave the town its lasting Pennsylvania-Dutch character, and after incorporation as a borough in 1783 it grew into a thriving industrial community. Ironworks and manufacturing would define its economy for generations.

Reading, PA · est. 1951

In the mid-18th century, Reading was a young town laid out on the frontier of the Penn family's proprietary colony. In 1748 the Penns set aside this ground as a common — land held for the shared use of the townspeople in the English tradition of a public green. Such commons anchored colonial towns as places for markets, militia musters, and gatherings, and this parcel has served the citizens of Reading ever since.

Reading, PA · est. 1999

Solomon Boscov arrived from Russia in 1911 and built his American life the hard way — walking a peddler's route around Reading before opening a single storefront after World War I. From that modest beginning grew one of Pennsylvania's most enduring family-owned department store chains, expanding steadily through the mid-20th century. By the close of the century, three decades after his death, Boscov's had grown into a 34-store regional institution across five states.

Reading, PA · est. 1948

Reading was laid out in 1748 by direction of Thomas Penn, son of the colony's founder, and became the seat of the newly formed Berks County in 1752. Settled largely by German immigrants, it grew into a heartland of the Pennsylvania-Dutch culture and, after its incorporation as a borough in 1783, into a bustling industrial town. Its forges, mills, and later factories made it one of the enduring manufacturing centers of the region.