Stump Grinding Wyomissing

The original inhabitants of Wyomissing are Lenape Native Americans, who lived along the banks of Wyomissing Creek. The name Wyomissing is from the Delaware language, meaning “peaceful/long fish/pike”. Much of Berks County was transferred from the Native Americans to William Penn in 1685. Title to the land that much of Wyomissing is built upon was in two parcels, an eastern tract and a western tract, which were divided by a northwesterly line in the vicinity of Lake Avenue. One of the earliest industries in the area was the Evans Grist Mill. This building still stands at the corner of Old Mill Road and Old Wyomissing Road.

In 1896, present-day Wyomissing began to take form when Reading lumber dealer Thomas P. Merritt acquired 600 acres (240 ha). Albert Thalheimer, David H. Keiser, Marthias Mengel, and Levi Walter Mengel joined Thomas R. Merrit in organizing the Reading Suburban Real Estate Company. Shortly afterwards Wyomissing Industries, manufacturer of textile machinery, was established by the firm of Thun and Janssen along the Reading Railroad just west of Van Reed Road (today named Park Road). Ferdinand Thun, Henry K Janssen, and Gustav Oberlaender became known as “The Big Three of Wyomissing Industries. Wyomissing Industries comprised Narrow Fabric Co., Textile Machine Works and Berkshire Knitting Mills. This spurred development, and soon there were many developers working to build Wyomissing.

In 1904 and 1905, Thun and Janssen called town meetings to discuss setting up a borough government. Eventually petitions were filed with the courts for the establishment of a borough, signed by 61 resident property owners and 39 non-resident property owners.