Pottstown, borough (town), Montgomery county, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S., on the Schuylkill River, 37 miles (59 km) northwest of Philadelphia. The region’s first iron forge (known as Pool) was erected there (1716) by Thomas Rutter, and the Coventry forge produced the first commercial steel in Pennsylvania in 1732. The town, laid out in 1753 by John Potts (an ironmaster whose father, Thomas, had been associated with Rutter), was known as Pottsgrove until 1815, when it was incorporated as a borough and the present name adopted. Arthur St. Clair lived there when he was elected president of the Continental Congress (1787). The iron industry had produced an economic boom by the 1880s.

Pottstown is now the trading centre for a farm, dairy, and industrial region with manufactures including auto parts, plastic products, and dies; food processing is also important. Pottsgrove Manor (1752) was used briefly as headquarters by George Washington during the winter of 1777–78. The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, which has a collection of antique automobiles, and a campus of Montgomery County Community College are also in Pottstown. To the southwest, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (established 1938) preserves a restored 19th-century iron-making plantation. French Creek State Park (adjacent to Hopewell Furnace), Augustus Lutheran Church (1743), and Ringing Rocks Park are also nearby. Pop. (2000) 21,859; (2010) 22,377.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.

Montgomery, county, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S., consisting of a gently hilly piedmont region located northwest of Philadelphia and bounded to the southwest by the Schuylkill River. Other waterways include Green Lane Reservoir and Perkiomen, Swamp, Wissahickon, Tacony, and Pennypack creeks. Recreational areas include Evansburg and Fort Washington state parks.

Notable historic buildings include Graeme Park (1722) in Horsham, Hope Lodge (c. 1750) in Fort Washington, and Pottsgrove Manor (1754) in Pottstown. The county was created in 1784 and named for Richard Montgomery, a general in the American Revolution. Audubon was named for nearby resident John James Audubon, the ornithologist and artist. Haverford College was established in Haverford in 1833, and Bryn Mawr College was founded in 1885 in Bryn Mawr. Other communities include Lansdale, Conshohocken, Hatboro, and Norristown, which is the county seat.

The economy is based on health care and business services, tourism, and technological industries such as research and development and the manufacture of drugs, semiconductors, and process control instruments. Area 483 square miles (1,251 square km). Pop. (2000) 750,097; (2010) 799,874.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.