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King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

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King of Prussia is an unincorporated community in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was 18,511. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named "The King of Prussia Inn", which was named for Frederick II, King of Prussia. Like the rest of Montgomery County, King of Prussia continues to experience rapid development. Residents often refer to King of Prussia in print as "KoP", and in conversation as "K.O.P.". One of the largest shopping malls in the United States, the King of Prussia Mall, is located here.

History

The original inn was constructed initially as a cottage in 1719 by the Welsh Quakers William and Janet Rees, founders of nearby Reeseville. The cottage was converted to an inn 1769 and was important in colonial times as it was approximately a day’s travel by horse from Philadelphia. A number of settlers heading from there for Ohio would sleep at the inn for their first night on the road. In 1774 the Rees family hired James Barry (or Jimmy Berry) to run the inn, which henceforth became known as "Berry's Tavern". General George Washington first visited the tavern on Thanksgiving Day in 1777 while the Continental Army was encamped at Whitemarsh; a few weeks later Washington and the army bivouacked at nearby Valley Forge.[1]

Parker's spy map, created by a Tory sympathizer of Kingdom of Great Britain, listed the inn as "Berry's" in 1777, but a local petition in 1786 identified it as the "King of Prussia". It was possibly renamed to entice German (especially Prussian) soldiers to remain in and patronize the area; colonial generals such as Johann de Kalb and Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben had many Prussians as officers. At some point a wooden signboard of the inn depicted King Frederick the Great of Prussia. The inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

The inn was forced to move with the expansion of US Highway 202. US 202 is a major north-south highway that passes through the town from southwest to northeast. Its construction as a modern expressway would have caused the destruction of the King of Prussia Inn; however, historic preservationists managed to prevail upon the state of Pennsylvania to avoid this important structure by building north and southbound lanes on either side of it. For more than a quarter century the inn was marooned on an artificial island, with cars and trucks roaring past it on all sides. It was sealed up for years, surrounded by a high fence. The inn was successfully relocated in 2000 and opened to the public in October 2002.

The extensive suburban development that has taken place since the 1960s in King of Prussia has led urban planning scholars like Joel Garreau to label the area as an epitome of the edge city phenomenon, a situation where the most vibrant economic growth and prosperity in a metropolitan area (in this case, Philadelphia) no longer occurs in an urban center, but rather at its periphery. Before 1960, the Greater King of Prussia area was known for little more than being the place of Washington's winter respite in 1776-77 (see Valley Forge NHP).

Daniel Berrigan and his brother Philip Berrigan began their Plowshares Movement at the General Electric Weapons Plant in King of Prussia in 1980.

Geography

There is no incorporated city of King of Prussia, although the United States Postal Service office there still carries that name (since 1850[3]). King of Prussia's boundaries are not well defined but focus on the municipality of Upper Merion Township. The local fire department carries the King of Prussia name, whereas the police department and the school district carry the Upper Merion name. Therefore the geographical boundaries of King of Prussia are technically bound by the limits of Upper Merion Township — these borders include the Schuylkill River to the north, Valley Forge National Historical Park to the west, and Bridgeport to the east. However, the Greater King of Prussia Area is often cited to include Bridgeport, parts of Wayne and Radnor Township, King Manor, as well as most of Gulph Mills.

King of Prussia is located at 40°5′41″N 75°22′41″W / 40.09472°N 75.37806°W / 40.09472; -75.37806Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (40.094608, -75.378076)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 21.9 km² (8.5 mi²). 21.8 km² (8.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.83 % water.

This area is served by area codes 610 and 484. 484 is an overlay area code.

Infrastructure

King of Prussia has retained its role as an important crossroads throughout United States history; today four major highways meet in or near the center of King of Prussia. The Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) from Center City, Philadelphia ends in King of Prussia at the Pennsylvania Turnpike, an east-west toll road across the southern portion of the state. US 422 begins near the center of town and heads west to Reading, Pennsylvania; thanks to reconstruction in 2000, motorists can now travel directly from Reading to Philadelphia without passing onto US 202. US 202 is the only major highway that becomes a surface road through the area.

The construction of one of the nation's largest shopping malls, thousands of homes, various hotels and skyrises, strip malls, restaurants, freeways, a convention center, and much more has caused King of Prussia to become a highly developed community. However, homes and farmsteads older than 200 years still dot the rolling countryside, and much is being done to protect them. Valley Forge National Historical Park, preserving the site where General George Washington and his Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-1778, borders King of Prussia to the west.

Companies

King of Prussia is home to the King of Prussia Mall which is the largest east coast shopping mall, and second largest mall in the United States. Other prominent retail space includes stores such as Best Buy, and Costco Wholesale both of which are only a 1/4 mile from the massive shopping mall. These retail outlets employ 6,000 people in the area. Lockheed Martin has a large facility on a hill overlooking the mall as well. King of Prussia is also home to roughly to 200 or more companies who have headquarters or regional offices in the area, Cingular, Trane and General Electric are a few examples. The Theodore Presser Company, the United States's oldest music publisher, is also located in King of Prussia.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 18,511 people, 8,245 households, and 4,773 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 850.8/km² (2,202.4/mi²). There were 8,705 housing units at an average density of 400.1/km² (1,035.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.70 % White, 10.62 % Asian, 4.26 % Black or African American, 0.16 % Native American, 0.04 % Pacific Islander, 0.84 % from other races, and 1.39 % from two or more races. 1.91 % of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,245 households out of which 21.1 % have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2 % were married couples living together, 6.3 % had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1 % were non-families. 33.1 % of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1 % had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 17.6 % under the age of 18, 8.4 % from 18 to 24, 35.1 % from 25 to 44, 22.2 % from 45 to 64, and 16.7 % who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $62,012, and the median income for a family was $75,882. Males had a median income of $50,803 versus $37,347 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $32,070. 3.2 % of the population and 1.6 % of families were below the poverty line. 1.8 % of those under the age of 18 and 2.1 % of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Education

Public school students in the King of Prussia area attend schools in the Upper Merion Area School District. The schools include Caley Road, Roberts, Bridgeport, and Candlebrook Elementary, Upper Merion Area Middle School and Upper Merion Area High School.

References

  1. ^ Haley, Bill. '"A Home For The Inn," Berry’s Tavern in Merionethshire, and the "Other" Valley Forge'. Accessed June 23 2006.
  2. ^ Greater Valley Forge Chamber of Commerce. "King of Prussia's name". Accessed June 23 2006.
  3. ^ Historic Reeseville. "Early King of Prussia. Accessed June 23 2006.
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