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Some 300 years ago, the territory which now forms Montgomery County, covered with forests, was the home of the Lenni Lenape Indians, a branch of the Delaware Tribe. About the time William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1682, the first settlements were made by English and Welsh, who gave names of their native countryside to the townships and villages they helped found.
Penn created two manors for members of his family in this territory. One, for his wife, was the Manor of Springfield, now Springfield Township; and the other, known as Williamstadt, for his son William who later sold it to Isaac Norris and William Trent. Norris, long active in public affairs in the province, bought out Trent's interest and founded Norriton Township.
During the American Revolution, the countryside was the scene of several skirmishes and encampments, but is noted chiefly as the scene of the encampment at Valley Forge from December, 1777, to June, 1778.1t was here that Washington's sorely-tried men were reorganized, disciplined and strengthened for the successful campaigns which followed.
Valley Forge National Historical Park, two-thirds of which are within the boundaries of Montgomery County, is maintained by the National Park Service.
Montgomery County was created by an Act of the Pennsylvania Assembly on September 10, 1784, out of part of Philadelphia County. Norristown became the County seat. In 1785, a "county lot" was recorded and comprised the present Court House tract and Public Square in the Borough of Norristown. It extended from Main to Airy Streets, east of Swede Street, previously known as Jail Lane. Penn Street, then an alley, went from DeKalb Street to the "county lot."
Industrially, The county has played an important role ever since the discovery of a great limestone belt. As early as the 1690's, kilns were built to make lime, an industry still operating in the County. Later, marble was quarried in large quantities along this limestone belt and for many years the marble quarries in the County were the principal ones in Pennsylvania. The first copper mine in the State was opened before 1720 near Schwenksville. Lead mines were also prevalent, particularly in the area that at the present time is now the site of the Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary in Lower Providence Township.
Further industrial development of the County centered along the Schuylkill River where steel mills and heavy manufacturing industries are located. The latter part of the 19th Century saw the beginning of a population movement from Philadelphia to the suburban sections located in Montgomery County, along the Main Line and the Old York Road section.
The county was the scene of the first canal construction in the United States when work was started at Norristown in 1792 on the building of a canal to connect the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers. Several miles of canal were constructed, but it never was completed.
The County also was The site of the first turnpike constructed in Pennsylvania, the Lancaster Pike, four and one-half miles of which pass through Lower Merion Township. Here, in 1792-1793, the road-building method of Scotchman John L. McAdam, called macadamizing, was used for the first time in America.
With a rich historical heritage, Montgomery County has developed into a vital County, the third most populated in the Commonwealth. The U.S. Census in 1990 showed a population of 678,111. Within the County's 483 square miles are fine residential areas, thriving multimillion dollar industries, huge modern shopping centers, and beautiful farm and woodlands. Adjoining Philadelphia on the northwest, the County is served by a modern highway network and an extensive mass transportation system.
County Links
Official Website for Montgomery County
State of Pennsylvania Website
County of Montgomery, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County Parks & Historical and Cultural Sites
Municipal Fact Sheets
Montgomery County Chambers of Commerce
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
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