Founding year: the first Wernersville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1914.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wernersville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wernersville is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #514 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wernersville’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 Wernersville’s 7.2 sits above most of its state (72% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±11.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1914.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Wernersville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Wernersville was a noted resort community. City dwellers (especially from Philadelphia and New York City) traveled out to Wernersville, a stop on the Reading Railroad to rest and partake of the cool mountain air of South Mountain. A number of large resort hotels were erected for this purpose including Galen Hall, Bynden Wood, Grand View and the Highland Hotel. Some were advertised as sanatoriums, specializing in rest cures for illnesses such as tuberculosis. The most famous of these was Dr. Robert Walter's Mountain Park (aka Walters Park). Most of these resort hotels have since disappeared due to fire, demolition, or have been transformed into buildings for institutional purposes. Some cottages once associated with the resorts are now private homes.
Passages that mention Wernersville, 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 307Read the page →
Read the text
Wernersville State Asylum, established in 1894, in Lower Heidelberg, west of Wernersville. This is a very large and successful institution. [See Chapter VII.] House of Good Shepherd, first established at Fourth and Pine streets, Reading, in 1889, by the Roman Catholic Church, for the care of young girls ; and transferred to Glenside in Bern town-
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 306Read the page →
Read the text
Shartlesville (1860) 50 Stouchsburg (1833) 83 Strausstolwn (1840) 84 Wernersville (1855) 200 West Hamburg (1860) 12 First Settlers. — The first settlers in this section were Germans from the Palatinate, who entered by way of the western boundary in 1723, nine
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
Wernersville, 1850 to 1905
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Wernersville post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1914.
How does Wernersville rank for history?
Wernersville is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #514 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 Wernersville?
Two places: the Lerch Tavern (listed 1979) and the Wertz Mill (1990).
How old are the homes in Wernersville?
24% of Wernersville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), 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, 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.
![Wernersville State Asylum, established in 1894, in Lower Heidelberg, west of Wernersville. This is a very large and successful institution. [See Chapter VII.] House of Good Shepherd, first established at Fourth and Pine streets, Reading, in 1889, by the Roman Catholic Church, for the care of young …](https://images.townratings.com/story/15014/bk-c39b063502110406-l.jpg)
1898
1905
