Schools of Reading, PA and Berks County
George Bornemann was born October 5, 1838, at Lingen, Province of Hanover, Germany. His father was a rope-maker; his mother, Louisa (born, Rolfs) died when he was six years old. The schools of his native town provided his elementary education, and he early [...]
Built as a Girls' High School in 1896, this handsome structure at the northeast corner of Fourth and Court was once considered by many the most impressive public building in the city. Following completion of "unified Reading High School" in 1927, at which [...]
The Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute, founded by Ferdinand Thun and Henry Janssen, was originally organized as the Educational Department of the Textile Machine Works. Below: Ferdinand Thun. Below: Henry Janssen. Textile Machine Works, the world's largest manufacturer of full-fashioned hosiery machinery, [...]
Tyson-Schoener Elementary School was built in 1928 and was named for Benjamin Tyson and Adam Schoener, local legislators who supported the establishment of free public schools in 1834. This Art Deco building features a series of terra-cotta panels depicting nursery rhymes and other [...]
In 1920, St. Joseph's Church, 8th and Spring Streets, was the only Catholic Church in Reading north of Walnut Street. To accommodate the growing population in the northwest section of the city, Archbishop (later Cardinal) Dennis Dougherty, established St. Margaret's Parish on February [...]
In the early 1900’s only a few Italian families were to be found scattered throughout the City of Reading. But their number increased so rapidly that it soon became necessary to look after their spiritual needs and organize them into a congregation. In [...]
On June 10, 1874; the Reverend A.D. Filan of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Reading, bought from the Reading Railroad Company the property on which St. Joseph's Church is situated today. The lot was 100 feet front by 115 feet deep, and on [...]
Around 1880, the first Slovaks came to Reading from Saris, Spis and Zemplin, areas in Czechoslovakia, and later from Trencin, Orava and Nitra, also in Czechoslovakia. During their first years in Reading, they attended Mass at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, and then [...]
A skyline landmark in the southern section of the city, the steeples of St. Mary's Catholic Church rise above Twelfth and Spruce streets. Polish immigrants began arriving in Reading around 1850, seeking work and livelihood in the iron foundries here. The majority [...]
Catholic education was in its prime in the early 1960s. Overcrowding at Central Catholic High School and St. Peter’s High School necessitated the need for another High School. In 1961, Bishop Joseph McShea, of the newly created Allentown Diocese, inaugurated a massive building [...]
