Morgantown is a populated place in Caernarvon Township

Caernarvon Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania

Caernarvon Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,312 at the 2000 census. It is often referred to as Morgantown, the township's largest village.-History:...

, Berks County

Berks County, Pennsylvania

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 with a zip code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 of 19543. It is at an elevation of 597 ft (182 m) at 40° 9' 18"N and 75°53' 23"W.

General 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.

Mogantown was, until the arrival of the Turnpike, a mostly agriculture-based settlement. Now it is much larger and busier with the settlement of several manufacturing companies, including Timet, Tursack Incorporated, 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

Interstate 176

Interstate 176 is a spur route of eastern Interstate 76 in Pennsylvania. I-176, known locally as the "Morgantown Expressway", travels from Morgantown, Pennsylvania to Reading, Pennsylvania; the entire length of the highway is just over...

 was built to interstate highway standards, providing a link between Morgantown and PA 23 and Reading and US 422.

Aside from the development and industry, Morgantown remains a small community at heart.

In 1987 an entrepreneur named Raymond Carr laid out plans for New Morgan

New Morgan, Pennsylvania

New Morgan is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 35 at the 2000 census.-Geography:New Morgan is located at ....

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.