John Pritiskutch Reproductions

History of Berks County - Spring Township

The following is reproduced from the 1876 Atlas of Berks County, Pennsylvania

Spring township was formerly embraced within the limits of Cumru. It was separated from the latter in 1851, and erected into a township by itself.

The, territory embraces one of the best agricultural regions of the county. The soil is of limestone formation, well cultivated, and yielding abundant harvests. The inhabitants are engaged principally in thriving. Owing to the proximity of the City of Reading, an abundant market is furnished for their surplus productions.

The principal village is Sinking Spring, on the Lebanon Valley Railroad, a few miles from Reading. It derives its name from a spring, a short distance from the village, where the water alternately rises and falls. This curiosity, in common with others in the neighborhood, attracts the attention of strangers, and very many visit the village every year. Sinking Spring has a population of about 400 inhabitants. Two churches, one occupied by the Lutheran and Reformed denominations, and the other owned by the Methodists, are well supported. Three stores, three grist mills, a tannery and a grain warehouse contribute to the business and industry of the village. Besides these, there are two large limestone quarries, whose products are carried away for the use of the neighboring furnaces, and one ore bank. Three hotels are doing a profitable business and another is projected.

Other places in Spring township are known as Weitzelsville in the centre, and Fritztown. The township contains fourteen school houses, of which three are at Sinking Spring, and eight hotels. Five grist mills are kept in constant motion by the streams of the township. A large hill opposite the city of Reading, near the Harrisburg bridge, has been almost entirely demolished within the last few years, and the stone taken from it used for building purposes in the city.

The population of Spring in 1870 was 2,253.