Reading PA History
Reading PA is located in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Currently having a population of around 90,000 people, Reading is the 5th largest city in all Pennsylvania. Reading is included in the ‘Greater Reading Area’, which has more than 400,000 residents. At one point, Reading was considered the ‘poorest small city in the nation’, but has improved over the past several years.
In the early 19th century, the Reading Railroad was built, which was a major infrastructure project that resulted in an easy way to transport coal between Eastern PA and the Port of Philadelphia. No longer in operation, the Reading Railroad is one of the railroad properties in the Monopoly board game.
Today, Reading has many great adventures, industries, and sports. Reading is a cycling hot spot, with many miles of trails across the area. The Reading Fightin’ Phils is their minor league team, who play at FirstEngery Stadium. The largest employer is Reading Hospital, followed by East Penn Manufacturing Company (Deka), who is the largest single site lead battery manufacturing facility in the world!