Congo, Pennsylvania

Unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, United States
40°21′03″N 75°35′02″W / 40.35083°N 75.58389°W / 40.35083; -75.58389CountryUnited StatesStatePennsylvaniaCountyMontgomeryTownshipDouglassElevation
427 ft (130 m)Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)ZIP Code
19504
Area code(s)610 and 484GNIS feature ID1172326[1]

Congo is a village in Douglass Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Congo is located at the intersection of Hoffmansville Road and Congo Road, northeast of Boyertown. It is drained by the Swamp Creek into the Perkiomen Creek and uses the Barto ZIP Code of 19504.

Name origin

The village was named Cedarville until the 1880s, when the US Post Office decided to rename it due to the existence of at least three other Pennsylvania post offices with "cedar" in their names. The Congo Basin was in the news at the time due to conflicting European claims and measures to settle them. While the Congo post office closed around 1925, the name has remained with the community ever since.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Congo". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ Douglass Township Bicentennial Historical Committee. "A History of Douglass Township: 1700 to 1976." 1976, p. 32.
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Municipalities and communities of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States
County seat: Norristown
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‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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