Sinking Spring is a
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle ...
in
Berks County
Berks County (Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading.
The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware River ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
, United States. The population was 4,008 at the
2010 census. Sinking Spring was given its name for a spring located in the center of town. The water in this spring would sink into the ground from time to time, giving the illusion that it had disappeared. The Sinking Spring area is served by the
Wilson School District
The Wilson School District serves students from the communities of Spring, West Lawn, Sinking Spring, Lower Heidelberg, and the Berkshire Heights section of Wyomissing, and is located in West Lawn, Pennsylvania. The district operates five elem ...
.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy
An economy is an area of th ...
, the borough has a total area of , all land.
The Indians who first inhabited this area were the Lenni
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
Indians (meaning the "original people"). The tribe in this immediate area was the Minsi or Wolf tribe. Indian inhabitants in the Sinking Spring area supposedly called the main spring as the sunken spring. White settlers later called it the "sinking spring."
Penn Avenue is the main thoroughfare of Sinking Spring. There is a stone monument in the 3800 block of Penn Avenue. It was placed to identify "The Spring," which is said to periodically appear and disappear. The Borough of Sinking Spring has a large number of underground streams that carve out limestone and form sinkholes; thus the name Sinking Spring.
The Borough of Sinking Spring was incorporated on March 13, 1913.
;Climate
The borough has a hot-summer
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
(''Dfa'') and average monthly temperatures range from 30.4 °F in January to 75.6 °F in July. The local
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 6b bordering 7a.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 2,639 people, 1,233 households, and 748 families residing in the borough. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 1,960.7 people per square mile (754.8/km
2). There were 1,269 housing units at an average density of 942.8 per square mile (362.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.76%
White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 1.06%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.15%
Native American, 0.80%
Asian, 1.21% from
other races, and 1.02% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 2.73% of the population.
There were 1,233 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.72.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 19.6% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $35,078, and the median income for a family was $50,064. Males had a median income of $36,875 versus $24,635 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the borough was $23,053. About 12.0% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.
Business and industry
Several oil and gas pipeline, terminal, and distribution companies are located in Sinking Spring near the village of
Montello.
The
Sunoco Logistics Montello Complex is the company's Eastern Pipeline System headquarters, as well as a local trucking terminal and a major midstream terminal for refined products, mostly originating from the Philadelphia and Marcus Hook refineries. Sunoco's pipelines out of Montello provide gasoline, diesel fuel, and heating oil to large markets in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Rochester, as well as smaller markets near Harrisburg, Altoona, Williamsport, Tamaqua, and Kingston in Pennsylvania and the
Elmira/Corning area in New York state.
Also located in Sinking Spring is "
Alcon
Alcon is an American Swiss medical company specializing in eye care products with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and incorporated in Fribourg, Switzerland. Alcon began as a US company and its US subsidiary’s headquarters remain in Fort ...
Precision Device" facility, used for the production of disposable, single and multi-use medical devices. The devices are manufactured for eye surgeries around the world, including cataract and vit surgerie, including the scalpels and sutures used for such surgeries. Alcon is a division of one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies,
Novartis
Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...
.
[Paraphrased from Alcon's website, ]
Transportation
US 422 and
PA 724 meet in Sinking Spring. The borough is served by
BARTA Barta may refer to:
*Barta (surname)
*Pen name of David Korner (1914–1976), Romanian and French communist militant, trade unionist, and journalist
*Barta, Bangladesh, a village in Barisal District in the Barisal Division of southern-central Bangl ...
bus Route 14.
Notable people
*
John H. Addams, was a politician and businessman
*
Kenny Brightbill
Kenny Brightbill (born January 20, 1948), nicknamed the " Shillington Slingshot" and "Mr. Excitement" is a former NASCAR and professional dirt modified driver from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. He has won 441 career professional races and is a mem ...
, former
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...
and professional dirt modified driver
*
Paul Specht, was an American dance
bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...
popular in the 1920s
*
Shane Stafford
Shane Stafford (born March 14, 1976) is a former arena football quarterback and coach. He was signed by the Tallahassee Thunder as a street free agent in 2000. He played college football at Connecticut.
Prior to signing with Orlando, he played ...
, former
arena football
Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ar ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
References
External links
Borough of Sinking Spring
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1913
Boroughs in Berks County, Pennsylvania
1913 establishments in Pennsylvania