In , she travelled to Calcutta, India, to take her vows as a nun. She taught at local schools and eventually founded her own charity school for the children of the slum neighborhoods. In , she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her charitable work. The Missionaries of Charity spread in the following decades and in , they were invited by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to open a branch in Norristown. Initially some community members opposed believing it would draw homeless into the city, but opinions were swayed when Mother Teresa personally visited in October of that year and spoke to a crowd of over a thousand.
In , the Missionaries of Charity still operated a shelter for women and children and a soup kitchen in the town, with the help of local volunteers. Mother Teresa died in , but the order she founded continues to grow.
Today over five hundred branches operate across the globe. After a long period of decline, Norristown's downtown began to see a resurgence and diversification in the last decade of the twentieth century. Legal offices serving the Municipal Courthouse line the Main Street area, and smaller businesses serving the lawyers, hospitals, and their clientele have thrived in recent years.
Beginning in the s, arts and theater companies also established successful ventures in downtown Norristown. Despite its continued high poverty levels, Norristown's unemployment rate was below the state average in Join the discussion at a Greater Philadelphia Roundtable or add your nomination online.
Founded in as the county seat of Montgomery County, Norristown sits on three hills that slope down to the Schuylkill River fifteen miles northwest of Center City Philadelphia. Its riverfront location and abundant waterpower helped the town prosper throughout the nineteenth century and much of the twentieth.
Pennsylvania proprietor William Penn bought the land that became Norristown from the native Lenni Lenape. Just five days later, the younger Penn sold Williamstadt to merchants Isaac Norris and Willam Trent for pounds. Trent sold his share to Norris in January for pounds. Library of Congress. The new settlement was well-situated for success.
Stony Creek and Saw Mill Run, two tributaries of the Schuylkill, offered an abundant source of water power for mills of all sorts.
Norriton, which was part of Philadelphia County, grew quickly, increasing from just twenty landholders and tenants in to by Norris, who never lived in the area that bears his name, died in The tract then passed through several owners, and in the College and Academy of Philadelphia purchased The General Assembly, fearful that the Academy had Loyalist leanings, transferred the land in to a new institution, the University of the State of Pennsylvania.
The academy and the university merged in to become the University of Pennsylvania. As the outlying reaches of Philadelphia County grew steadily in population, residents began to complain to the General Assembly that the courts in the city of Philadelphia were too far away and petitioned for a new county, with a more conveniently located county seat.
Some petitioners wanted the new county to be created solely from land within Philadelphia County, while others wanted it carved out of parts of Philadelphia, Chester and Berks Counties, with a county seat at Pottstown. On Sept. The school also agreed to lay out a twenty-eight-acre county seat, to be called the Town of Norris, with sixty-four building lots for sale. The Town of Norris had only twenty houses by , but the residents had big ambitions.
In , they asked Gov. Simon Snyder for permission to incorporate as a borough—the first in Montgomery County. Snyder agreed, and the Town of Norris, expanded to acres, became the Borough of Norristown on March 31, , governed by a burgess and borough council.
In , the borough added another two thousand acres, bringing Norristown to its modern area of 3. Looking for a symbol that would tell the world what Norristown was all about, borough officials commissioned William Kneass , chief engraver of the U. Mint in Philadelphia, to come up with an official seal. It was one of the earliest steam locomotives in the United States. Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
For much of its history, the work did, indeed, boil as Norristown bustled with industry and retail trade. Textile mills, sawmills, and grist mills all flourished through the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. Loading Close. Do Not Show Again Close. Sign In. Becker, — Maryann Rickenback, — Elizabeth M. Asko, Jr. Bucher, — 13 July John S.
Magill, — William J. Boden, — John E. Marshall, — William G. History Located 15 miles northwest of Philadelphia, along the scenic banks of the Schuylkill River, Norristown's history is a story of hard-work, economic prosperity, and the endeavor to adapt to changing times. Our Founding The land from which Norristown was founded was acquired by the family of Isaac Norris, a prominent Quaker merchant and former mayor of Philadelphia during the early s.
Industrial Boomtown Throughout the s and early s, Norristown developed into a thriving industrial and retail center. The following industries called Norristown home and provided ample employment for skilled laborers and artisans including: Factories Foundries Icehouses Lumber yards Textile mills Our downtown also featured a bustling shopping district filled with department stores, several theaters, and restaurants that attracted visitors from throughout the region. Famous Norristonians.
Not long after, the Herald and Times were merged. The family-owned Strassburger era lasted until the death of J. Peter Strassburger on April 20, In December The Times Herald began publishing as a morning edition and a new offset press was installed to replace the letterpress that had printed the newspaper since the s. On July 18, , a major storm hit the area, causing a power outage at the printing plant. In The Times Herald won 22 industry awards in seven contests, topping previous records set in and For decades the top spellers from around the area participated in a popular annual competition sponsored by The Times Herald, but that tradition came to an end in with the 66 th Annual Times Herald Spelling Bee.
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