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History · Centerport

Centerport dates to 1818, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1890.

1818founded
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Centerport’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Centerport began

When was Centerport founded?

1818

Centerport dates its founding to 1818 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 133 in 18902020 census: 314208 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1868.

What stands out about Centerport’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of Centerport’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsEstablished in 1818: 208 years of Centerport.
★ What stands out · The story so far

Centerport, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Centerport yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Centerport is a borough in north central Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 314 at the 2020 census. The borough is in the Schuylkill Valley School District.

Centerport was established in 1818. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 387 to 314 (-19%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Centerport, 1818 to 1955

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818
    FoundingCenterport is established
  3. 1868Post officeThe Centreport post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1933In the archiveFRAMING DETAIL - Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)
  6. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Centerport, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s4 items
FRAMING DETAIL - Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)1933FRAMING DETAIL - Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)GENERAL VIEW. OVERHANG PAINTED RED. - Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)1933GENERAL VIEW. OVERHANG PAINTED RED. - Reber Barn (177…REAR AND SIDE ELEVATIONS. NOTE VERTICAL SIDING ON BARN. - Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)1933REAR AND SIDE ELEVATIONS. NOTE VERTICAL SIDING ON BAR…REAR ELEVATION - Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)1933REAR ELEVATION - Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)Date?Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)
Today12 recent
Manure fire2025Manure fireCenterport, Penna’s “Fork in Road”2025Centerport, Penna’s “Fork in Road”Centerport2018CenterportWreckers Barr, Centerport BerksCo PA2015Wreckers Barr, Centerport BerksCo PAMain St, Centerport BerksCo PA 022015Main St, Centerport BerksCo PA 02Central Berks Lions Den, Centerport BerksCo PA2015Central Berks Lions Den, Centerport BerksCo PACenterport Milk Hauling Coop Trucks, Centerport PA 022015Centerport Milk Hauling Coop Trucks, Centerport PA 02Centerport Milk Hauling Coop Trucks, Centerport PA 012015Centerport Milk Hauling Coop Trucks, Centerport PA 01Centerport Borough Recreation Area, BerksCo PA2015Centerport Borough Recreation Area, BerksCo PACenterport Borough Hall, BerksCo PA2015Centerport Borough Hall, BerksCo PACenterport Borough Bldg, BerksCo PA2015Centerport Borough Bldg, BerksCo PAAmato's Pizza, Centerport BerksCo PA2015Amato's Pizza, Centerport BerksCo PA
On the map

Centerport on the map, 1955 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Centerport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Centerport on the 1955 USGS mapCenterport on the 1969 USGS mapCenterport on the 1974 USGS mapCenterport on the 1987 USGS mapCenterport on the 1992 USGS map1955Bernville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Centerport.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

FRAMING DETAIL - Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township)
Retake this viewFRAMING DETAIL - Reber Barn (1770), (Centre Township), 1933

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Centerport’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Centerport, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 387

Between 111 and 387 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Centerport’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Start Centerport’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Centerport’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFRAMING DETAIL - Reber Barn (1770), (Ce…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Centerport’s history

What year was Centerport founded?

In 1818, according to Wikidata. Centerport’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1890 counted 133 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (16), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.