Borough Hall is located at 300 Main Street, Schwenksville, PA 19473.
Phone: 610-287-7442.
Neighborhoods
The borough is part of the Perkiomen Valley School District.
A Brief History [1]
Long before the first settlers came to the area now known as Schwenksville, the Lenni Lenape Indians, a branch of the Delaware Tribe, made their home here. In 1684, the land of the Perkiomen Valley was ceded to William Penn by the Indians.
The name Perkiomen is of Indian origin, the earliest mention of which appears in the deed of 1684 as Pahkehoma. Home's map of 1704 lists the name as Perquamink, and in 1749, it appears as Perkiomy. Two interpretations of the name Perkiomen have been given, one being, "where the cranberries grow." and the other, "cloudy waters." In years past it was not unusual for farmers and local residents to find arrowheads and other Indian artifacts on their property. Legend also has it that the rock formation known as Kettle Rock, located on Spring Mountain, was used by the Indians for the purpose of grinding corn or heating water.
Schwenksville, which was once a part of Perkiomen-Skippack Township, dates its early history to 1718 when 600 acres of land on the east bank of the Perkiomen Creek were conveyed by Joseph Kirkbride and Thomas Stevenson of Bucks County to Hans Yost Heijt (Heyt). Stevenson had purchased this land from the Penningtons, who had secured it in 1681 from William Penn, for the purpose of allocating it to other settlers. Heijt sold the property on January 9, 1730 to John Pawling, at which time a grist-mill is mentioned in the deed. His heirs sold it in 1747 to Peter Pennypacker (Pennebecker Pennybecker), who added a fulling-mill in 1755. The Skippack Road, which was laid out in 1713 by Hendrick Pennypacker, had by this time been extended from Whitemarsh to Pennypacker Mills.
In 1770, Peter Pennypacker died, leaving the property on the East Side of the Perkiomen to his son, Samuel, including the mill, which is now the site of "The Red Fox Inn." The land on the West Side of the creek, where Schwenksville later developed, was left to his son, William.
It is interesting to note at this point that in 1884, in conjunction with the Montgomery County Centennial, there was an exhibit of antiquities, with people from all over the County exhibiting family pieces. A descendant of this early Solomon Grimley, he was also a Schwenksville resident.
Nearby Towns: Collegeville Boro • Green Lane Boro • Limerick Twp • Lower Frederick Twp • Lower Salford Twp • New Hanover Twp • Perkiomen Twp • Salford Twp • Skippack Twp • Spring City Boro • Trappe Boro • Upper Frederick Twp • Upper Salford Twp •