Caernarvon Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Caernarvon Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,252 at the 2020 census.[2] It is often referred to as Morgantown, the township's largest village.
For other Pennsylvania townships with similar names, see Caernarvon Township, Pennsylvania (disambiguation).
History[edit]
Caernarvon was so named by Welsh settlers[3] after the town of Caernarfon in North Wales.
In 1718, William Davies and a band of Welsh settlers obtained land warrants stretching from the headwaters of the Conestoga River and reaching several miles downstream. When Lancaster County was established in 1729, this region was given the name Caernarvon Township in honor of its inhabitants.
When a portion of Lancaster County was transferred to the newly organized Berks County in 1752, the new boundary ran through existing Caernarvon Township as well as neighboring Brecknock Township.[4]
Morgantown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.[5]
On May 28, 2019, an EF2 tornado hit Caernarvon Township, causing substantial damage to the area. Several residents and businesses were displaced as a result of the storm.[6][7] It was the most powerful tornado to hit Berks County since the 1998 Lyons tornado.