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Collegeville, Pennsylvania

Population: 4,227
Located in Montgomery County

Collegeville has experienced tremendous growth in the recent years. Visit the Regal Cinema with 24 Theatres, Gold's Gym for fitness, Philadelphia Rock Gym for the avid rock climber, Arnold's Go-Carts for all ages, Center Ice for Ice Skaters or join the Ice Hockey Team! Have a picnic lunch and take a tour of Valley Forge Park! There is plenty to do and see. We love our community and it shows.

Collegeville is a beautiful place to live, the topographic nature of the area adds to its beauty and makes every trip through town scenic. A portion of Main Street is zoned Village Commercial which adds to the quaintness of the town. There are homes which are Circa 1750's to Modern New Homes. Overall this is a wonderful community to be apart of.

Many shops and businesses are located along main streets in Collegeville, Limerick, Lower Frederick, Lower Providence, Perkiomen, Schwenksville, Skippack, Trappe and Upper Providence.

Large malls are nearby and include The Court and The Plaza in King of Prussia whose combined stores offer the largest shopping opportunity on the East Coast. The area also offers Coventry Mall in Pottstown, Plymouth Meeting Mall in Plymouth Meeting, and Montgomery Mall in Montgomeryville.

Collegeville (formerly called "Perkiomen Bridge" and "Freeland") and Trappe were incorporated in 1896 from land that had been part of Upper Providence Township. Freeland Seminary was founded in 1848 by Abraham Hunsicker in what is now Collegeville. Ursinus College purchased it in 1869. Pennsylvania Female College was founded in 1851 and closed in 1880, at which time Ursinus began to admit women.

Until the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the more recently opened 422 Expressway, Collegeville and Trappe had a strategic position at the midpoint of the Philadelphia-Reading Pike. The Perkiomen Bridge Hotel, built in Collegeville in the 1700s, is one surviving example of the taverns and inns built to service this travel trade.

Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, whose restored home is on Main Street in Trappe, founded the Lutheran Church in America. His eldest son, John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, became a major general in the Continental Army, was a vice-president of Pennsylvania and a U.S. representative. Another son, Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg, served various Lutheran congregations until he was elected to the Continental Congress in 1779. A member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he was its first Speaker. A grandson, Henry Augustus Philip Muhlenberg, was the first U.S. minister to Austria.

Today, the valley continues to grow and prosper while preserving its history, culture and unique, small-town sensibility.

Growth is a key word in this area. In the most recent census (1990), the Perkiomen Valley had a population of 58,778. The largest growth is expected in Limerick, Perkiomen Township, and Trappe Borough.

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