Berks Places is a recurring feature that will focus on small towns and designated enumeration locations across the county. History, nostalgia and local voices will illuminate the picturesque nooks and crannies of our region. Additional historical photographs accompany the online version of the articles.
The village of Barto in Washington Township was developed in 1869 by Thomas Christman, guardian of Abraham H. Barto, according to Morton L. Montgomery’s “History of Berks County in Pennsylvania,” published in 1886. When it was first laid out, the town was known as Mount Pleasant in because of its proximity to Mount Pleasant Furnace once stood Montgomery wrote.
Its formation was a direct result of the installation of the Colebrookdale Railroad, a section of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad that ran from Pottstown to Boyertown. The 12.8 mile line opened in 1869 with eight stations along the route.
Adam Richter – Reading Eagle
Barto is an unincorporated village in Washington Township in southern Berks County. (Adam Richter – Reading Eagle)
“Barto’s post office was established as Barto’s on March 16, 1882,†Berks County historian George M. Meiser IX wrote in an email last week. “He was renamed Bartos on December 1, 1894 and on August 20, 1902 he was renamed Barto again. During the time of the three changes, Benjamin F. Sell was postmaster.
As inconstant as the story seems to be with the spelling, Montgomery also noted that Abram H. Barto was the son of Isaac Bartow, “as the name was first spelled”, and his second wife, Magdalena Huber.
Bartow and his first wife, Elizabeth Feger, had moved in 1813 from Oley to 150 acres in what was then Hereford Township and is now Washington Township, according to Montgomery. Abram, also known as Abraham in some deeds and references, inherited the property when he was only 10 years old after his father’s death on June 27, 1865.
According to the county deeds, Abraham’s guardian, Thomas Christman, sold two parcels totaling 4 acres of Barto’s land to the Colebrookdale Railroad for $ 1,286.30 on August 1, 1870. A station / depot was built on the site and was originally called Mount Pleasant because of its proximity to the old Mount Pleasant Furnace, Montgomery wrote.
“The name was changed to Barto in 1875 by the railway company, to distinguish it from other places of the same name,†says Montgomery’s book. “In 1881, it contained a store, a hotel, 13 apartments and 66 inhabitants. A large charcoal and lumber business is operated by William D. Schall. A large and valuable deposit of magnetic iron ore has been mined in the immediate vicinity. “
Mines continue to make their presence known today.
“You may remember the Eagle published several articles about a year ago regarding the opening of a huge chasm in Barto, â€Meiser said. “A few years ago a teenager fell into one of the old blastholes, which got a lot of attention. This whole area around Barto is mined.
Despite the propensity of old mines to grab the headlines, they cannot be visited.
“Barto’s most interesting site is Barto’s old train depot at the end of the Colebrookdale railway line,†Meiser said. “When I first visited the depot maybe 40 years ago, it was in wonderful and restored condition. After the death of this owner the following people did nothing to the structure, and the last time I visited it was in terrible shape which is a crime!
The old station is now a residence at 143 Barto Road, and the exterior appears to have been updated.
The original Barto Hotel is still located at 140 Barto Road and currently operates as the Whiskey Girl Saloon. The building has been owned by Atlantis Business Ventures Inc. since August 10, 2017.
Barto is also home to a world-famous spiritual destination that honors Catholic Saint Padre Pio, born Francesco Forgione in Pietrelcina, Italy on May 25, 1887.
Vera and Harry Calandra of Norristown founded the National Center for Padre Pio in 1971 to honor the man who would become a saint. The Calandras’ daughter, Vera Marie, was born in 1966 with a life-threatening birth defect. After an audience with Padre Pio in Italy in 1968, the little girl begins to heal.
Padre Pio is recognized as the first priest to bear the stigmata, the wounds that Jesus Christ suffered on the cross, according to the Saint Pio Foundation. The wounds manifested themselves on Pio’s body from September 20, 1918. Pope John Paul II declared Padre Pio as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina on June 16, 2002.
Three of the six Calandras children still work at the shelter at 111 Barto Road in Washington Township.
