The story
Read it all →How Fleetwood came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Fleetwood.
The First National Bank in Fleetwood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Fleetwood
Fleetwood dates to 1868, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #307 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 11 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.
1868founded
2on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
5famous people
Quick answers
How Fleetwood began
When was Fleetwood founded?
1868
Fleetwood dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 802 in 18802020 census: 4,049158 years
How historic is Fleetwood?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fleetwood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fleetwood is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #307 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fleetwood’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194035.3% of homes (±6.8) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 12 historic buildings, 29.5 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 70%
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 Fleetwood’s 29.5 sits above most of its state (84% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.8 points). Two sources give 1868.
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 Fleetwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Fleetwood’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fleetwood’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Fleetwood on the map, 1894 to 1999
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fleetwood. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Reading sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fleetwood.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Fleetwood, 1886–1909
Passages that mention Fleetwood, 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 259Read the page →
Read the text
FLEETWOOD The borough of Fleetwood is situated along the East Penn railroad, in Richmond township, twelve miles northeast from Reading. The settlement was first known as Coxtown, having been so called from a time anterior to, 1800 until the establishment of the railroad in 1859, when the increasing settlement took the name of Fleetwood, after a promi-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
School history of Berks County in Pennsylvania1889 · page 184Read the page →
Read the text
Fleetwood. — Fleetwood was laid out in 1868. It was known as " Coxtown " for over 70 years before; but it was given the name of Fleetwood when the East Penn Railroad was finished in 1859, after a prominent party in that enterprise. It became a borough in 1873.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Berks county in Pennsylvania1886 · page 919Read the page →
Read the text
The borough of Fleetwood is situated on the East Pennsylvania Railroad, in the southeastern part of Richmond township. It is located principally on the old Wanner, Schlegel and Ely farms, and the town here, prior to the building of the railroad, in 1857, was known by the name of Coxtown, which also was Ihe name of the post-office until the railroad station
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Berks county in Pennsylvania1886 · page 920Read the page →
Read the text
Incorporation op Borough. — Fleetwood was incorporated as a borough by a decree of the court October 4, 1873. The first election was fixed for October 31, 1873, and George D.
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
Fleetwood, 1789 to 1974
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1789
BuiltChristian Schlegel Farm is built - 19th century
- 1852Post officeThe Coxtown post office opens
- 1868FoundingFleetwood is established
- 1869Post officeThe Coxtown post office closes
- 1870
Born hereBobby Rothermel is born here - 1883
Born hereGeorge S. Messersmith is born here - 1893
In the archiveFleetwood, Berks County, Pennsylvania - 1894
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1910
In the archiveD. H. O'Donnel 28721 - Fleetwood Silk Mill, Fleetwood, Pa back - 1926Born hereRichard S. Becker is born here
- 1974
Born hereManan Trivedi is born here
By decade
Fleetwood, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1890s–1910s3 items
1910s1920s–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
2018
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2012Then & 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.
Retake this viewFleetwood, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1893
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fleetwood’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
2 listings protect 12 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Christian Schlegel Farm
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Vernacular House1
Pennsylvania Bank Barn1
Renaissance1
Late Victorian1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Fleetwood, census by census
Between 802 and 4,085 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fleetwood’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →5 famous people were born in Fleetwood
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Coxtown, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gone or out of use
Fleetwood Tannerylocale
1cemetery inside Fleetwood
Fleetwood
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Fleetwood’s history
What year was Fleetwood founded?
In 1868, according to Wikidata. Fleetwood’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1880 counted 802 people here.
How does Fleetwood rank for history?
Fleetwood is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #307 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 Fleetwood?
Two places: the Christian Schlegel Farm (listed 1992) and the First National Bank in Fleetwood (2005).
How old are the homes in Fleetwood?
35% of Fleetwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1967.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 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.