Country United States Counties Berks, Lancaster Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) Elevation 183 m Area code Area codes 610 and 484 | State Pennsylvania Townships Caernarvon, Caernarvon ZIP code 19543 Population 826 (2010) Local time Saturday 7:40 PM | |
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Weather 1°C, Wind NE at 14 km/h, 100% Humidity | ||
Morgantown is a census-designated place in Caernarvon Township in extreme southern Berks County, Pennsylvania, as well as partially in Caernarvon Township in Lancaster County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 826 residents.
Contents
Map of Morgantown, PA 19543, USA
History
Morgantown was named after Colonel Jacob Morgan, who laid out the town around 1770. His father, Thomas, had been a native of Wales, a captain in the French and Indian War, and owner of a large tract of choice land in Caernarvon Township. Jacob Morgan settled in this area around 1765, building a large stone house, which still stands on Hartz Road between Mineview Drive and Shiloh Road. It is rumored to have housed George Washington during a brief overnight visit. The house has been restored by its owners.
Morgantown was, until the arrival of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a mostly agriculture-based settlement. Now it is much larger and busier with the settlement of several manufacturing companies, including Timet, Morgan Corp. Stoltzfus Spreaders, Viwinco Windows and McNeilus cement mixers. Other aspects of the town have grown too, especially the roads. In the 1970s the Morgantown Expressway Interstate 176 was built to interstate highway standards, providing a link between Morgantown and PA 23 and Reading and US 422.
Conestoga Christian School and High Point Baptist Academy are based in the area. Also, although not actually in Morgantown but part of its neighboring town, Elverson, Twin Valley High School overlooks parts of Morgantown and is where most of the town's resident's children attend school.
In 1987 an entrepreneur named Raymond Carr laid out plans for New Morgan which was incorporated into a borough in 1988. The borough currently has 35 residents, and it seems that the actual town has yet to be built.
Airport
Morgantown has a small single hangar airport located off of route 23.