Birdsboro was named for ironmaker William Bird, who established a
forge on
Hay Creek about 1740. His son Marcus founded
Hopewell Furnace in 1771, which was the largest domestic producer of iron by the time of the
American Revolution. The
Schuylkill Canal, running parallel to the river, was completed in 1827. The
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, constructed to haul
anthracite coal, was completed in 1843. Edward and George Brooke, descendants of the Birds, established the
Birdsboro Iron Foundry Company (1867), which became
Birdsboro Steel Company (1905). The principal employer for 120 years, the steel plant closed in 1988, following a lengthy strike. The borough was created in 1872, from sections of
Union and
Robeson townships. Its population increased slowly from 2,261 in 1890, to 2,264 in 1900, to 2,930 in 1910. The population was 5,064 at the
2000 census. Armorcast Corporation built a plant in the borough in 1944, which manufactured
tanks for
World War II and the
Korean War. The plant closed in 1988. Suburban housing developments such as Mansion Heights, built on the hills overlooking the valley in the 1980s and 1990s, increased the borough's population markedly. Still, the local
Episcopal church closed in 2002, and the
Roman Catholic parish built a new church and school outside the borough, in
Douglassville, in 2005. In 1987, torrential rains over a period of several days caused Hay Creek to flood parts of
Pennsylvania Route 82, which ran through the borough at the time, and damaged the five bridges between Rock Hollow Road and Douglas Street. The bridge upstream from Douglas Street was repaired. However, after many years of discussion between local and state officials, the decision was finally made in 2004 that the remaining upstream bridges should not be rebuilt. For years, the area had been used as an informal walking trail. The former road connecting Birdsboro to
Scarlet's Mill is now used formally as a nature trail. In December 2008, the PA 82 designation was removed from this stretch of road. This area is now part of
Hopewell Big Woods, which allows public access for hiking, fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities.
St. Michael's Protestant Episcopal Church, Parish House and Rectory was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1982. ==Geography==