RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Berks County >> Morgantown >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Pennsylvania

The Commemorative Quarter for Pennsylvania





Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Morgantown (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Morgantown. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Morgantown is located in Berks County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Berks County: Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery & Schuylkill.

Below are the counties that are near Morgantown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Morgantown:

  • Berks County     (The home county of Morgantown)
  • Bucks County
  • Chester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
    • Elverson
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Dampman
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Isabella
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Isabella. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
      • Isabella is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Isabella
      • From Morgantown to Isabella
    • Honey Brook
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Brook
      • Honey Brook is located in Chester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,756 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Honey Brook <3>
    • Suplee
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cupola
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cupola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
      • Cupola is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cupola
      • From Morgantown to Cupola
    • Loag
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Birdell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Birdell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdell
      • Birdell is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Birdell
      • From Morgantown to Birdell
    • Rockville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
      • Rockville is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rockville
      • From Morgantown to Rockville
    • Cambridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cambridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
      • Cambridge is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cambridge
      • From Morgantown to Cambridge
    • Knauertown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Knauertown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knauertown
      • Knauertown is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Knauertown
      • From Morgantown to Knauertown
    • Cornog
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cornog. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornog
      • Cornog is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cornog
      • From Morgantown to Cornog
    • Springton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Springton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springton
      • Springton is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Springton
      • From Morgantown to Springton
  • Delaware County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
    • Edgemont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Glen Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Countrie Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Countrie Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Countrie Village
      • Green Countrie Village is located in Delaware County
    • Ithan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Radnor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Radnor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radnor
      • Radnor is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Radnor <3>
    • Saint Davids
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Wayne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Chester Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chester Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Heights
      • Chester Heights is located in Delaware County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,751 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chester Heights <3>
    • Lima
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Chelsea
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Marple
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marple. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marple
      • Marple is located in Delaware County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Marple
      • From Morgantown to Marple
    • Aston Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Broomall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Indiana County
    • Ernest
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ernest. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernest
      • Ernest is located in Indiana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ernest
      • From Morgantown to Ernest
  • Lancaster County
  • Lebanon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
    • Newmanstown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newmanstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmanstown
      • Newmanstown is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newmanstown <3>
    • Stricklerstown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sheridan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sheridan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
      • Sheridan is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sheridan
      • From Morgantown to Sheridan
    • Richland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Schaefferstown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Johnstown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
      • Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
    • Myerstown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Prescott
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Miners Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miners Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
      • Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
    • Avon Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avon Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Heights
      • Avon Heights is located in Lebanon County
    • Burd Coleman Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burd Coleman Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burd Coleman Village
      • Burd Coleman Village is located in Lebanon County
    • Cornwall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
      • Cornwall is located in Lebanon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cornwall <3>
    • Avon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Avon is located in Lebanon County
  • Lehigh County
  • Montgomery County
  • Schuylkill County
    • Port Clinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Clinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Clinton
      • Port Clinton is located in Schuylkill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Clinton <3>
  • New Castle County (DE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
    • Yorklyn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hockessin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Southwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Southwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwood
      • Southwood is located in New Castle County (DE)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Southwood
      • From Morgantown to Southwood
    • Vintage Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vintage Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage Village
      • Vintage Village is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Ashland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ashland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Ashland is located in New Castle County (DE)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ashland
      • From Morgantown to Ashland
    • Centreville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • North Star
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Star have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Star
      • North Star is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • York Towne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for York Towne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York Towne
      • York Towne is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Cokesbury Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cokesbury Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury Village
      • Cokesbury Village is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Mount Cuba
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Cuba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cuba
      • Mount Cuba is located in New Castle County (DE)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Cuba
      • From Morgantown to Mount Cuba
    • Mendenhall Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mendenhall Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendenhall Village
      • Mendenhall Village is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Montchanin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montchanin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montchanin
      • Montchanin is located in New Castle County (DE)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montchanin <3>
    • Rockland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cecil County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
    • Blake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Blake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
      • Blake is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Blake
      • From Morgantown to Blake
    • Old Line Village of Fair Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Line Village of Fair Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Line Village of Fair Hill
      • Old Line Village of Fair Hill is located in Cecil County (MD)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Morgantown, see our County-by-County Page for Morgantown.

Cemeteries Near Morgantown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Morgantown.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Morgantown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Morgantown had a population of 212 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.

  • Joanna
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Fontaine
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fontaine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontaine
    • Fontaine is located in Chester County
  • Kenneys
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenneys have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneys
    • Kenneys is located in Berks County
  • Joanna Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joanna Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joanna Heights
    • Joanna Heights is located in Berks County
  • Dampman
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Isabella
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Isabella. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
    • Isabella is located in Chester County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Isabella
    • From Morgantown to Isabella
  • Conestoga
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conestoga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conestoga
    • Conestoga is located in Chester County
  • Churchtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Honey Brook
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Brook
    • Honey Brook is located in Chester County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,756 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Honey Brook <3>
  • Suplee
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Cupola
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cupola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
    • Cupola is located in Chester County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cupola
    • From Morgantown to Cupola
  • Wyebrooke
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wyebrooke have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyebrooke
    • Wyebrooke is located in Chester County
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Loag
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cold Run
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Run
      • Cold Run is located in Berks County
    • Geigertown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Morgantown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Morgantown.

Newspapers Published in Morgantown ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Morgantown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Morgantown, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Morgantown.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Morgantown:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Morgantown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Berks County: www.co.berks.pa.us/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Morgantown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Morgantown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1553, Longitude: -75.8899    
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Morgantown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025