Shillington, Pennsylvania Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Shillington, Pennsylvania
Borough
Shillington Town Hall
Nickname(s): "The Town Beautiful"
Location of Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Shillington, Pennsylvania Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Shillington, Pennsylvania Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Berks
Area
• Total	1.00 sq mi (2.60 km²)
• Land	1.00 sq mi (2.59 km²)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.01 km²)
Elevation	354 ft (108 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	5,475
• Estimate (2019)	5,319
• Density	5,324.32/sq mi (2,055.27/km²)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	19607
Area code(s)	610 and 484
FIPS code	42-70248

Shillington is a small town, also called a borough, located in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. In 2020, about 5,475 people lived here. This town is close to Reading and is known for a few cool things. It was once home to Thomas Mifflin, who was Pennsylvania's very first governor! It's also the childhood home of a famous American writer, John Updike. Many of his stories are set in a made-up town called Olinger, which is actually Shillington in disguise.

The Story of Shillington
- Early Days and Growth
- Angelica Farm and Its Legacy
Education in Shillington
- Local Schools
Famous People from Shillington
Shillington's Location and Surroundings
- Natural Features
Shillington's Population Over Time
Getting Around Shillington
Images for kids
See also

The Story of Shillington

Shillington started way back in 1860. A local landowner named Samuel Shilling began selling parts of his land for homes. That's how the town got its name!

Early Days and Growth

An old inn, built in 1762, was a popular spot in the area. It was called the Three Mile House because it was 3 miles from Reading. Farmers often stopped there on their way to the city markets. Later, a horse racing track was built nearby in 1868.

In 1884, Shillington got its own post office. This was a big step for the growing community. On August 18, 1908, Shillington officially became a separate town, or borough. It had about 450 people then. Later that year, Adam Rollman was elected as the first leader, called a chief burgess. The town's government meetings were held in different places until the current town hall was finished in 1932.

Angelica Farm and Its Legacy

A large part of Shillington used to be Angelica Farm. In 1824, this farm became an "almshouse" or "poorhouse." This was a place where people who couldn't support themselves could live and get help. In 1952, a new facility replaced it.

Today, the land where the almshouse once stood is mostly taken up by the Governor Mifflin School District. You can still see a stone wall from the old poorhouse near John Updike's childhood home. John Updike even wrote a book called The Poorhouse Fair, which was inspired by Shillington's poorhouse. Many of his early stories were set in a fictional version of Shillington called Olinger. These stories were collected in a book called Olinger Stories.

Angelica Farm was also the historic home of Thomas Mifflin. He was a very important person, as he was the first governor of Pennsylvania. He was also the 11th President of the Continental Congress.

Education in Shillington

Shillington is home to the Governor Mifflin School District. This district serves students from Shillington and nearby areas.

Local Schools

Within Shillington Borough, there are two main schools:

Governor Mifflin Senior High School
Governor Mifflin Middle School

The school district also has other elementary schools in nearby Cumru Township and Brecknock Township.

Famous People from Shillington

Many interesting people have connections to Shillington:

Kenny Brightbill: A well-known race car driver.
Chip Kidd: A famous book designer.
Thomas Mifflin: The first governor of Pennsylvania.
John Updike: A celebrated author.
Nicholas Singleton: A talented football player for Penn State.

Shillington's Location and Surroundings

Shillington is located in southeastern Pennsylvania. It's right next to Reading, which is the main city of the county. Shillington is about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Natural Features

Wyomissing Creek flows along the western edge of Shillington. This creek is a branch of the larger Schuylkill River. Most of Shillington is surrounded by Cumru Township. However, it also shares a border with Wyomissing to the northwest.

The United States Census Bureau says that Shillington covers about 1 square mile (2.5 square kilometers) in total. Only a very small part of this area, about 0.01 square miles, is water.

Shillington's Population Over Time

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	136	—
1910	1,427	—
1920	2,175	52.4%
1930	4,401	102.3%
1940	4,932	12.1%
1950	5,059	2.6%
1960	5,639	11.5%
1970	6,249	10.8%
1980	5,601	−10.4%
1990	5,062	−9.6%
2000	5,059	−0.1%
2010	5,273	4.2%
2020	5,475	3.8%
2019 (est.)	5,319	0.9%
Sources:

In 2000, there were 5,059 people living in Shillington. There were 2,238 households, which are groups of people living together. About 26.5% of these households had children under 18. The average household had 2.26 people.

The population was spread out by age. About 21.5% of the people were under 18. The median age, meaning the middle age of all residents, was 40 years old.

Getting Around Shillington

US 222 Business southbound and PA 724 westbound in Shillington

As of 2007, Shillington had about 19.67 miles of public roads. Some of these roads are kept up by the state's Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Most of the roads, about 17.52 miles, are taken care of by the borough itself.

Two important highways pass through Shillington. These are U.S. Route 222 Business and Pennsylvania Route 724. US 222 Business follows Lancaster Avenue, running from southwest to northeast. PA 724 also uses parts of Lancaster Avenue and Philadelphia Avenue. It runs from northwest to southeast, sometimes sharing the road with US 222 Business.