Berks History Center

06/02/2026

Known as the “Reading Rifle,” Carl Furillo was one of Berks County’s greatest baseball legends. Born in Stoney Creek Mills outside Reading, Furillo went on to spend his entire Major League career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers.

After signing with the Reading Chicks in 1940, Furillo quickly rose through the ranks before his career was interrupted by World War II, where he served three years in the U.S. Army. Returning to baseball in 1945, he became a key player for the Dodgers, helping lead the team to multiple National League championships and two World Series titles.

Over his career, Furillo finished with a .299 batting average, 192 home runs, and 1,058 RBIs, cementing his place as one of Reading’s most accomplished athletes.

highlights the individuals, past and present, who shaped the culture, landscape, and economy of Berks County, Pennsylvania.

05/30/2026

ONE WEEK AWAY!

BHC Bus Trip: “Start Spreading the News…” Hoboken, NJ with Charlie Adams

Saturday, June 6, 2026

Join Charlie Adams for an unforgettable bus trip to Hoboken, New Jersey, filled with history, culture, and stunning views! Highlights of the day include:

A visit to the Hoboken History Center
Touring the beautiful and historic Erie & Lackawanna Railroad terminal
Exploring Elysian Fields, known as the birthplace of baseball
Taking in the sweeping views of Manhattan from the Hoboken Waterfront Walkway
Visiting Frank Sinatra Park, celebrating Hoboken’s most famous native
Enjoying a delicious lunch at the charming Blue Eyes Restaurant

Cost: $205 for BHC Members • $230 for Non-Members

Experience the rich history and vibrant culture of Hoboken on this guided day trip, perfect for history enthusiasts, music lovers, and baseball fans alike!

Register here! https://tinyurl.com/mr49eetk

05/29/2026

Beautiful day for a baseball game in Baseballtown! ⚾️ So honored to throw a first pitch!

05/29/2026

What a great evening for baseball at Reading Fightin Phils! Thank you to Experience Berks for the invite. So very honored to throw out a first pitch!

05/26/2026

Shikellamy was an influential Oneida leader and diplomat who served as an intermediary between the Iroquois Confederacy and the colonial government of Pennsylvania during the early 1700s. Known for his leadership, diplomacy, and efforts to maintain peace, he played a major role in shaping relations between Native nations and European settlers in Pennsylvania.

Shikellamy developed a close friendship with Conrad Weiser, the noted interpreter and diplomat who settled in what is now Berks County. Together, the two men helped negotiate treaties and maintain communication between cultures during a time of growing tension and expansion in colonial Pennsylvania. Their relationship became an important part of early Berks County history and the broader story of Pennsylvania’s frontier era.

One day Shickellamy said to Conrad Weiser, ‘I have had a dream. I dreamed that Tarachiawagon gave me a new rifle.’ Conrad, who owed much of his success to his strict observance of Indian etiquette (which believed all dreams would eventually come true), is said to have answered the dream with the rifle, and then to have spoken for himself. ‘I, too, have had a dream,’ he said. ‘I dreamed that Shickellamy gave me an island in the Susquehanna,’ and he indicated the Island of Que at the mouth of Penn’s Creek, on the site of what is now the town of Selinsgrove. The old chief, we are told, matched Weiser’s politeness, but, ‘Conrad,’ he said, ‘let us never dream again.’
(An old, oral tradition recorded in, Conrad Weiser, Friend of Colonist and Mohawk (p 52) by Paul A. W. Wallace.)

A statue of Shickellamy can be found in Conrad Weiser Park in Womelsdorf.

highlights the individuals, past and present, who shaped the culture, landscape, and economy of Berks County, Pennsylvania.

05/25/2026

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to our veterans and those currently serving for your service.

Founded in Reading in 1794 during the Whiskey Rebellion, the Reading Artillerists became one of Berks County’s longest-serving militia organizations. Over more than a century, the unit served in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War, while also responding to major events and unrest throughout Pennsylvania.

From serving as George Washington’s personal bodyguard during the Whiskey Rebellion to answering President Lincoln’s call at the start of the Civil War, the Reading Artillerists played an important role in both local and national history. The organization remained active into the early 1900s and left behind a lasting military legacy in Berks County.

The second photo is an artifact kept here at the Berks History Center Museum.

05/23/2026

TWO WEEKS AWAY!

BHC Bus Trip: “Start Spreading the News…” Hoboken, NJ with Charlie Adams

Saturday, June 6, 2026

Join Charlie Adams for an unforgettable bus trip to Hoboken, New Jersey, filled with history, culture, and stunning views! Highlights of the day include:

A visit to the Hoboken History Center
Touring the beautiful and historic Erie & Lackawanna Railroad terminal
Exploring Elysian Fields, known as the birthplace of baseball
Taking in the sweeping views of Manhattan from the Hoboken Waterfront Walkway
Visiting Frank Sinatra Park, celebrating Hoboken’s most famous native
Enjoying a delicious lunch at the charming Blue Eyes Restaurant

Cost: $205 for BHC Members • $230 for Non-Members

Experience the rich history and vibrant culture of Hoboken on this guided day trip, perfect for history enthusiasts, music lovers, and baseball fans alike!

Register here! https://tinyurl.com/mr49eetk

05/22/2026

05/21/2026

Here we have Reading Standard motorcycles, manufactured in Berks County from 1903 through the early 1920s near the Lancaster Avenue Bridge along the Schuylkill Canal. Reading Standard became one of the area’s most well-known early motorcycle manufacturers and remains an important part of Reading’s industrial history.

The first photo shows an unidentified man standing beside a new 1907 Reading Standard in Albany Township.

The second photo shows a 1909 Reading Standard that now resides at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa, where this piece of Reading’s industrial past has been preserved.

05/19/2026

🚣‍♂️ Schuylkill River appreciation post🚣‍♂️

Stretching 135 miles across southeastern Pennsylvania, the Schuylkill River has carried many names and stories through history. Native peoples referred to it as “Ganshowehanne,” meaning “tumbling,” “falling,” or “roaring river,” while Dutch settlers in the 1620s gave it the name “Schuylkill,” meaning “hidden river.”

Before European settlement, the river region was home to several Native American groups and played an important role in trade, hunting, and conflict. The Susquehannock Confederation controlled the area as hunting grounds during the early 1600s, while the Lenape people maintained villages along the river. The Schuylkill and its tributaries later became a key area during the Beaver Wars, a series of conflicts tied to the fur trade and territorial control.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Schuylkill became a major transportation route for Pennsylvania coal. Decades of industrial use left the river heavily polluted and filled with coal silt, though cleanup efforts began in the 1940s. A major turning point came in 1972 with the passage of the Clean Water Act signed by President Richard Nixon, helping restore the river for future generations.

Today, the Schuylkill remains one of Pennsylvania’s most important and recognizable waterways.