Pottstown, borough, Montgomery County, southeastern Pennsylvania, on the Schuylkill River; incorporated 1815. Manufactures include motor-vehicle parts, tires, metal goods, electronic and electric equipment, and processed food. The Hill School (a noted preparatory school) and a museum of antique cars are in Pottstown, and Valley Forge is nearby. One of the first ironworks in the U.S. was built here by Thomas Rutter in 1716 and, after his death, expanded by his associate Thomas Potts. An early iron-making village is preserved in Hopewell Village National Historic Site in nearby Elverson, Pennsylvania. A steel plant was opened here in 1732. The community was laid out in 1752 and was known as Pottsgrove until 1815. Population 22,729 (1980); 21,831 (1990); 21,859 (2000).
