Municipal offices are located at 76 West 6th Street, Pennsburg PA 18073.
Phone: 215-679-4546.
Neighborhoods
Beginnings [†]
In the eighteenth century Henry Helig and his sons owned nearly all of the 305-acre portion of the Upper Perkiomen Valley now known as Pennsburg Borough. Mr. Helig's original home, built around 1750, still stands at Fourth and Seminary Streets. By around 1840, as the Heligs sold land, the area grew into a village of approximately ten homes, a store, carpenter's shop, and blacksmith's shop.
The Goshenhoppen and Green Lane Turnpike (now Route 29) opened in 1851, providing the Borough with regional connections and allowing for its continued growth. Nearly two decades later Pennsburg entered the cigar industry. Shortly after, in 1874 a railroad was established through Pennsburg. The railroad ran along Perkiomen Creek, linking Pennsburg to Philadelphia and Allentown. The railroad opened the door for additional industry, commerce, and travel, further encouraging the town's growing economy. The Perkiomen Seminary opened in 1875 and later became the Perkiomen Preparatory School for Boys. The school, today, is a regionally renowned coeducational elementary through high school day and boarding school.
Continued growth led to Pennsburg's incorporation as a Borough in 1887. In 1899 Pennsburg Borough's first English-language newspaper, Town&Country, joined the area's existing German language papers. Fire, water, and electric companies existed in the Borough by 1910. The Borough's primary industries—railroad and cigar—propelled growth in Pennsburg through the mid-1900s.
The Philadelphia Water Company's damming of the Perkiomen Creek in 1954 created the Green Lane Reservoir, adding to area recreational amenities. During the same year, Pennsburg Borough, Red Hill Borough, East Greenville Borough, and Upper Hanover Township made an agreement with Green Lane Borough, Marlboro Township, and Hereford Township which created the Upper Perkiomen School District to better serve the educational and schooling needs of the area's residents.
† Pennsburg Open Space Plan, 2007, www.montcopa.org, accessed August, 2020.
Nearby Towns: Bally Boro • Douglass Twp • East Greenville Boro • Green Lane Boro • Hereford Twp • Marlborough Twp • Milford Twp • New Hanover Twp • Red Hill Boro • Upper Frederick Twp • Upper Hanover Twp • Upper Salford Twp • Upper Saucon Twp •