A complete history of Earl Township is yet to be written. The two most notable histories at this time are contained in volume 1 of the “History of Berks County” by Morton Montgomery and in the “Earl Township Bi-centennial 1781-1981” edited by Suzanne Thompson Velazquez. Both are available at the Earl Township Historical Society.
Earl Township was erected in November of 1781 after a group of residents petitioned on August 14, 1781 the court in Reading to separate the “Western District” from the rest of Oley. They reasoned that Oley was too big and needed to be divided. In 1852, a section of Earl Township was ceded to Pike Township thus reducing its’ size.
The names of the taxables in 1782, among them Clowser, Brentzinger, Drumheller, Deiner, Eist, Imbody, Swable and Saul, are still names found in the Township today. People come to Earl Township and they stay.
The early industries of the Township included fulling mills, grist mills, powder mills, tanneries and forges. Only some of the buildings remain and have been converted to private residences. Today there are no large industries only several smaller commercial businesses. Most residents work outside of the Township.
Small clusters of buildings form the nuclei of the villages of Shanesville and Worman. At one time each of these villages had their own post office which tended to be the hub of the area. It was where people got the news of the day as well as the mail.
The people of Earl, for the most part, are descended from sturdy Scots, Irish, Swedes and Germans; many today identify as Pennsylvania Dutch. They are a hard-working bunch and, from stories that abound, a hard-drinking bunch.
For more on the history of Earl Township, please see the above referenced histories.