Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area

Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area Preserving the history of the Phoenixville Area since 1977 - http://www.hspa-pa.org/

Founded in 1977, the mission of the Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area (Chester County, Pennsylvania) is "to identify, collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate materials and information pertaining to Phoenixville area history in order to assist and educate the public in understanding and appreciating their Phoenixville area heritage and how it relates to their lives." The Society's archival holdings consist of over 175 linear feet of materials covering more than 200 years (from about 1800 to the present, with the bulk of materials dating from 1850 or later). Subject files, photographs, genealogical materials, business and organizational records, scrapbooks, family papers, and other materials document the residents, organizations, businesses, and buildings of the Phoenixville area. Significant holdings include funeral home registers, school attendance lists, church records, Phoenix Iron Company records, Phoenixville Borough records, and records from several local fraternal organizations.

George F. Vanderslice: Carriage Builder362 Church Street, Phoenixville Rubber tires put on and repaired.Horse shoeing an...
09/13/2026

George F. Vanderslice: Carriage Builder
362 Church Street, Phoenixville
Rubber tires put on and repaired.
Horse shoeing and jobbing.
All work done promptly and guaranteed.
c. 1890

By 1890, solid rubber carriage tires became increasingly practical. They were particularly attractive because they reduced the noise and vibration produced by iron/steel-rimmed wheels. Horse shoeing and jobbing was a traditional term for a blacksmith or farrier’s business that involved shoeing horses and doing general repair work (“jobbing”).

Then and Now: The Gay Street Bridge The Gay Street Bridge has been an important north-south crossing of French Creek in ...
09/12/2026

Then and Now: The Gay Street Bridge

The Gay Street Bridge has been an important north-south crossing of French Creek in Phoenixville since the town’s great industrial expansion of the late 19th century. The first bridge was built in 1883 by the Phoenix Iron Company, using the company’s distinctive patented Phoenix columns, and was part of an elevated roadway designed to carry Gay Street over the French Creek valley and above portions of the iron works. As the original structure deteriorated, a much larger 12-span reinforced-concrete bridge was constructed between 1924 and 1926, opening on September 4, 1926; at the time, it was the longest reinforced-concrete bridge in Chester County, spanning the creek, several rail lines, and Phoenix Iron Company buildings. That bridge served Phoenixville for more than 80 years before deteriorating concrete led to its closure and demolition in 2008. The third and present Gay Street Bridge, a nine-span steel structure, was constructed in 2008–09 and opened on October 16, 2009, continuing the bridge's long role as a major Route 113 connection through the borough.

Then and Now: Bridge Street Bridge Street has been one of the principal thoroughfares of Phoenixville since the borough’...
09/12/2026

Then and Now: Bridge Street

Bridge Street has been one of the principal thoroughfares of Phoenixville since the borough’s early development in the 19th century. It was formally established in 1849, and by 1856 its width and alignment had been defined from the Fountain Inn westward toward the Schuylkill River, reflecting its importance as a transportation route connecting Phoenixville with surrounding communities and the river crossings. As Phoenixville grew into an industrial center, Bridge Street became the heart of its commercial district, lined with shops, businesses, restaurants, and important civic and industrial buildings. Today, the roughly six-block historic commercial corridor is essentially Phoenixville's traditional “Main Street,” running from Prospect Street to Ashland Street and forming the core of the borough's revitalized downtown. Interestingly, the street was once known in part as Charlestown Avenue; in 1890 the portion from the Fountain Inn to the borough line was officially renamed Bridge Street.

On May 10, 1926, the Daily Republican reported a tragic automobile-train collision at the Ironsides railroad crossing ne...
09/11/2026

On May 10, 1926, the Daily Republican reported a tragic automobile-train collision at the Ironsides railroad crossing near Phoenixville that left four people dead and three injured, two critically. The automobile, only a few weeks old, was struck by a Reading Railroad train traveling from Phoenixville toward Byers after the train crew repeatedly sounded its whistle and warning signals. The wrecked car was demolished, and thousands of curious onlookers gathered at the scene, even picking through the wreckage for clothing and money belonging to the victims.

Note: Ironsides Station, also called French Creek Station, was located near the present-day intersection of Schuylkill Road (Rt 23) and Township Line Road (think Redner's parking lot and you are very close).

"Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name." The Hotel Chester was one of Phoenixville's most recognized ...
09/10/2026

"Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name." The Hotel Chester was one of Phoenixville's most recognized hotels during the town's industrial and railroad heyday, serving travelers, businessmen, and visitors. This advertisement for the hotel ran in 1915. At that time they could accommodate about 50 guests and charged roughly $6 per night.

HSPA's Take-me-back Tuesday (yeah yeah, I know, today is Wednesday) takes you back 50 years to glance through the pages ...
09/09/2026

HSPA's Take-me-back Tuesday (yeah yeah, I know, today is Wednesday) takes you back 50 years to glance through the pages of the Phoenix from the week of September 8th, 1976!

Andre “Thunder” Thornton is one of Phoenixville’s most accomplished athletes. His family moved to Phoenixville when he w...
09/09/2026

Andre “Thunder” Thornton is one of Phoenixville’s most accomplished athletes. His family moved to Phoenixville when he was six, and he became a standout three-sport athlete at Phoenixville High School, excelling in baseball, football and basketball. After graduating, he was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies and eventually reached the major leagues in 1973. Thornton went on to play 14 seasons in MLB, becoming best known for his years with the Cleveland Indians, where he was a two-time All-Star and one of the American League’s prominent power hitters. He finished with 253 home runs and 895 RBIs and received the 1979 Roberto Clemente Award for his character and community service. In 2010, the Phoenixville borough commemorated him by dedicating Andre Thornton Park located at 55 N. Main Street.

Williams Corner is the name of the crossroads at what is now South Whitehorse Road, Creek Road, and Valley Park Road, ro...
09/08/2026

Williams Corner is the name of the crossroads at what is now South Whitehorse Road, Creek Road, and Valley Park Road, roughly two miles southeast of downtown Phoenixville. The name dates from 1885 when Benjamin F. Williams opened a general store there. Before that, the locality was known as Rapp's Corner. The Williams Corner lead mine was part of a network of small 19th-century lead, zinc, copper and silver mines located southwest of Phoenixville. They exploited quartz veins containing galena and other metallic minerals, operated most actively in the middle decades of the 1800s, and produced some noteworthy mineral specimens. When mining was taking place, the landscape around Williams Corner was dotted with small shafts and pits, waste-rock piles, crude roads, and facilities for processing the ore scattered through what is today largely wooded or residential countryside. These were largely abandoned by about 1870. One of the last tangible reminders of this largely forgotten chapter of Phoenixville history were the remains of an old lead-smelting shack southwest of Williams Corner that was once used to process galena-rich ore, separating the metallic lead from the rock and other minerals.

A Griffen Gun on the lawn of the Phoenix Iron Company's main office in 1915.
09/07/2026

A Griffen Gun on the lawn of the Phoenix Iron Company's main office in 1915.

Address

204 Church Street
Phoenixville, PA
19460

Opening Hours

Wednesday 9am - 3pm
Friday 9am - 3pm

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