[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21403-21404]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 LIMERICK TOWNSHIP'S 125TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM GERLACH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 4, 2003

  Mr. GERLACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Limerick 
Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on its 125th Anniversary.
  In 1682, William Penn purchased the land that would become Limerick 
Township from the Lenni Lenape Indians of the Delaware Tribe. His 
purchase paved the way for the area's first settlers who, in the 
Township's infancy, were mostly Welsh, Germans, Holland Dutch and 
French Huguenots. An official petition to form ``Lymmerick Township'' 
was filed in Philadelphia in March of 1726 and the original document 
remains in City Hall, Philadelphia, to this day.
  Manatawny Road, which we know today as Ridge Road, was the name given 
to the main road through the Township from Trappe to Pottstown and was 
built in 1718. The area's first schools were started by parents and 
were usually part of the neighborhood churches with instruction 
focusing on religion, reading, writing and arithmetic. Limerick hired 
its very first

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law enforcement officer, a constable, in 1767, before organized police 
protection began in 1961. For the first 250 years of Limerick 
Township's history, all public records were kept in individual homes 
until the municipal building was erected in 1973, with a ceremony and 
dedication in 1974. In 1968, the Philadelphia Electric Company selected 
a site within the Township for construction of two nuclear power 
generating units and, by 1986, the plant was fully operational. Today 
there are four elementary schools that serve the Township's children, 
two fire companies, an airport and numerous churches--just a few more 
indications of how the community has grown through the years.
  Flourishing Limerick Township, however, saw an acceleration of growth 
particularly after the opening of the Pottstown Expressway (Rt. 422) in 
1985, which connects the Limerick area to King of Prussia as well as 
nearby Philadelphia. Since its completion, the Township has seen 
skyrocketing residential and commercial growth resulting in many new 
businesses and residents who call Limerick Township home. Today, 
Limerick Township, one of the oldest townships in Pennsylvania, is 
considered one of the most desirable and respected communities in the 
Philadelphia region.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing 
Limerick Township for 125 years of history, heritage and service. I 
also recognize the fine citizens and officials of Limerick Township, 
including Township Supervisors Thomas J. DiBello, Kenneth W. Sperring 
Jr., Francis T. Grant, Frederick L. Fidler and Joseph T. Greco, for 
making Limerick Township the wonderful community it is today.

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