Birdsboro dates to 1740, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #116 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listing is the St. Michael's Protestant Episcopal Church, Parish House and Rectory. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Birdsboro’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Birdsboro is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #116 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Birdsboro’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Birdsboro’s 3.9 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1740.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Birdsboro’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Birdsboro was named for ironmaker William Bird, who established a forge on Hay Creek about 1740. His son Marcus founded Hopewell Furnace in 1771, which was the largest domestic producer of iron by the time of the American Revolution. The Schuylkill Canal, running parallel to the river, was completed in 1827. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, constructed to haul anthracite coal, was completed in 1843. Edward and George Brooke, descendants of the Birds, established the Birdsboro Iron Foundry Company (1867), which became Birdsboro Steel Company (1905). The principal employer for 120 years, the steel plant closed in 1988, following a lengthy strike.
Passages that mention Birdsboro, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, comp. by Morton L. Montgomery ..1909 · page 39Read the page →
Read the text
Schuylkill & Lehigh. — In March, 1871, a company was incorporated for the purpose of constructing a railroad from a point on the Wilmington & Northern railroad, at or near Birdsboro, through Reading, to connect with any railroad or railroads in the county of Lehigh; commissioners were appointed and a company was created by the name of "Berks County Railroad Company," and it was con-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Berks county in Pennsylvania1886 · page 460Read the page →
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Josiah Lewis and William Everhart. The road was authorized to extend from a point on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, at or near. Birdsboro', by the most available route, to any railroad built in Chester County, and the incorporated body was named Berks and Chester Railroad Company ; and the company was authorized to construct branch railroads
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Berks county in Pennsylvania1886 · page 438Read the page →
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Birdsboro' Bridge. — A covered wooden bridge was erected across the Schuylkill at Birdsboro' during the years 1844—45. The nearest bridge to this point across the Schuylkill was at Douglassville, three miles down the river, and at Poplar Neck, six miles up the river. A company was incorporated for this purpose by act of Assembly passed March 16, 1844, and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, comp. by Morton L. Montgomery ..1909 · page 277Read the page →
Read the text
Railroads. — The Philadelphia & Reading railroad was constructed along the northerly bank of the Schuylkill river opposite Birdsboro in 1838; the Wilmington & Northern, through the central section of the town and thence southward along Hay creek, in 1874; the, Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley, also through the central section, extending east and west, in 1884; and a trolley line of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Birdsboro, 1740 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1740, according to Wikidata. Birdsboro’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1880 counted 1,705 people here.
How does Birdsboro rank for history?
Birdsboro is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #116 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Birdsboro?
One place: the St. Michael's Protestant Episcopal Church, Parish House and Rectory (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Birdsboro?
38% of Birdsboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1965.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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