Norristown, borough, seat of Montgomery County, southeastern Pennsylvania, on the Schuylkill River; incorporated 1812. It is a manufacturing and commercial center. Major products include machinery, textiles, chemicals, metal goods, processed food, and printed materials. Financial, legal, and health care services are also important to the city's economy. The Montgomery County Historical Society Museum, containing a collection of folk art, is here, and Valley Forge State Park is nearby. The site was once a part of the Norris Plantation, a tract of land bought in 1704 by Isaac Norris (1671-1735), a Quaker merchant and a mayor of Philadelphia. Population 34,684 (1980); 30,749 (1990); 31,282 (2000).
