Shillington, Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|
 Shillington Town Hall | |
| Nickname: "The Town Beautiful" | |
 Location of Shillington inBerks County, Pennsylvania | |
  Shillington Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Shillington Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:40°18′16″N75°58′01″W / 40.30444°N 75.96694°W /40.30444; -75.96694 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Berks |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.00 sq mi (2.60 km2) |
| • Land | 1.00 sq mi (2.59 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0039 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 354 ft (108 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,475 |
• Estimate (2019)[2] | 5,319 |
| • Density | 5,323.1/sq mi (2,055.27/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Code | 19607 |
| Area codes | 610 and 484 |
| FIPS code | 42-70248 |
| Website | www |
Shillington is aborough inBerks County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 5,475 at the time of the2020 census[3] the borough is nestled amongst other suburbs outsideReading. It is perhaps best known for being the location of the homestead to Pennsylvania's first governor,Thomas Mifflin,[4] and as thechildhood home of American authorJohn Updike. Many of Updike's stories take place in the fictional town of Olinger, a lightly-disguised version of Shillington, and in its environs.
Shillington began in 1860 as part ofCumru Township, when local landowner and borough namesake Samuel Shilling sold some of his lots for residences. The area had an inn, originally built in 1762, called the Three Mile House because it was 3 miles (5 km) from Reading on theLancaster Pike. The inn was a popular stop for farmers going to the city's markets, and later it sat near a horse racing track built by Aaron Einstein in 1868.Apost office opened in Shillington in 1884. On August 18, 1908, the Quarter Session Court officially incorporated theborough of Shillington as a separate municipality fromCumru Township with a population of 450.[5] Later that year Shillington elected its first official, Adam Rollman, as chiefburgess. Borough council meetings were held in various locations over the years until the presenttown hall was completed in 1932 by order of town election commissioner Steven Myers.[5]
Much of the borough's present land was occupied by Angelica Farm which would be established as an almshouse, orpoorhouse, in 1824. The alms house was replaced byBern Township's Berks Heim in 1952. The buildings of theGovernor Mifflin School District now occupy most of land that was once part of the almshouse. The most notable current visible remnant of the poorhouse is a stone wall that is within short walking distance down the road fromJohn Updike's old home. Updike's first novel,The Poorhouse Fair, is set in a fictional building based on Shillington's poorhouse. Many of Updike's earliest stories were set in the fictional version of Shillington named Olinger, and some of them were collected in the volumeOlinger Stories.[6][7]
Angelica Farm was also the historical home ofThomas Mifflin, the first governor of Pennsylvania and 11thPresident of the Continental Congress.
Shillington borough is home to theGovernor Mifflin School District. Within Shillington Borough there are two schools:Governor Mifflin Senior High School and the Governor Mifflin Middle School. GMSD also has other elementary schools in Cumru Township andBrecknock Township.
Shillington is located at40°18′16″N75°58′1″W / 40.30444°N 75.96694°W /40.30444; -75.96694 (40.304342, -75.966855).[8] It is situated in southeasternPennsylvania, adjacent toReading, the county seat, and about 60 miles (97 km) northwest ofPhiladelphia.Wyomissing Creek, a tributary of theSchuylkill River, runs along the western border of Shillington.Cumru Township largely surrounds Shillington, except for the border withWyomissing in the northwest.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.97 square miles (2.5 km2), of which 0.004 square miles (0.01 km2), or 0.57%, is water.[3]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 136 | — | |
| 1910 | 1,427 | — | |
| 1920 | 2,175 | 52.4% | |
| 1930 | 4,401 | 102.3% | |
| 1940 | 4,932 | 12.1% | |
| 1950 | 5,059 | 2.6% | |
| 1960 | 5,639 | 11.5% | |
| 1970 | 6,249 | 10.8% | |
| 1980 | 5,601 | −10.4% | |
| 1990 | 5,062 | −9.6% | |
| 2000 | 5,059 | −0.1% | |
| 2010 | 5,273 | 4.2% | |
| 2020 | 5,475 | 3.8% | |
| 2019 (est.) | 5,319 | [2] | 0.9% |
| Sources:[9][10][11] | |||
As of thecensus[10] of 2000, there were 5,059 people, 2,238 households, and 1,405 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,964.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,916.8/km2). There were 2,321 housing units at an average density of 2,277.6 per square mile (879.4/km2). The racial makeup of theborough was 97.11%White, 0.49%African American, 0.10%Native American, 0.53%Asian, 0.75% fromother races, and 1.01% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 2.10% of the population.
There were 2,238households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% weremarried couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $43,833, and the median income for a family was $52,500. Males had a median income of $35,318 versus $27,179 for females. Theper capita income for the borough was $22,322. About 2.2% of families and 3.7% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
_at_Wyomissing_Avenue_in_Shillington%2c_Berks_County%2c_Pennsylvania.jpg)
As of 2007, there were 19.67 miles (31.66 km) of public roads in Shillington, of which 2.15 miles (3.46 km) were maintained by thePennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 17.52 miles (28.20 km) were maintained by the borough.[12]
U.S. Route 222 Business andPennsylvania Route 724 are the numbered highways serving Shillington. US 222 Business follows Lancaster Avenue along a southwest-northeast alignment through the borough. PA 724 follows Lancaster Avenue and Philadelphia Avenue along a northwest-southeast alignment through the borough, with a short concurrency with US 222 Business.[citation needed]
in my first novel,The Poorhouse Fair, I set characters roaming the corridors of an immense imaginary mansion I had based upon an institutional building for the poor and homeless, which had stood at the end of the street where my family had lived in Pennsylvania
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