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Birdsboro is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located along the Schuylkill River, it is southeast of Reading. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 5,163.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Birdsboro borough, Pennsylvania )〕 In the past, Birdsboro was noted for its large foundries and machine shops, none of which remain in operation today. ==History== Birdsboro was named for ironmaker William Bird, who established a forge on Hay Creek about 1740. His son Marcus founded Hopewell Furnace in 1771, which was the largest domestic producer of iron by the time of the American Revolution. The Schuylkill Canal, running parallel to the river, was completed in 1827. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, constructed to haul anthracite coal, was completed in 1843. Edward and George Brooke, descendants of the Birds, established the Birdsboro Iron Foundry Company (1867), which became Birdsboro Steel Company (1905). The principal employer for 120 years, the steel plant closed in 1988, following a lengthy strike.〔"Forging a Future: A Birdsboro Steel Timeline," ''Reading Eagle'', August 9, 2007 ()〕 The borough was created in 1872, from sections of Union and Robeson townships. Its population increased slowly from 2,261 in 1890, to 2,264 in 1900, to 2,930 in 1910. The population was 5,064 at the 2000 census.〔(Birdsboro History ) from Birdsboro Borough Website.〕 Armorcast Corporation built a plant in the borough in 1944, which manufactured tanks for World War II and the Korean War.〔(Armorcast factory ) from Dave Thomas.〕 The plant closed in 1988. Suburban housing developments such as Mansion Heights, built on the hills overlooking the valley in the 1980s and 1990s, increased the borough's population markedly. Still, the local Episcopal church closed in 2002, and the Roman Catholic parish built a new church and school outside the borough, in Douglassville, in 2005.〔(Immaculate Conception B. V. M. Church )〕 In 1987, torrential rains over a period of several days caused Hay Creek to flood Pennsylvania Route 82, which ran through the borough, and washed out several bridges. After many years of discussion between local and state officials, the decision was finally made in 2004 that the bridges should not be rebuilt. Instead, the former road connecting Birdsboro to Robeson Township would be used formally as a nature trail, as it had been informally used since the time of the flood. In December 2008, the PA 82 designation was removed from this stretch of road.〔(Elimination of PA 82 north of PA 23 in Chester County and in Berks Co. )〕 St. Michael's Protestant Episcopal Church, Parish House and Rectory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Birdsboro, Pennsylvania」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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