During the early colonization days of this part of our country most settlements were made along the sea or inlets. Then as land became scarcer and the settlers bolder they gradually moved farther into the interior. As they advanced they found land  that  was a trackless wilderness. Here  the  Indians  had possession of the country. The cries of the wild animals were heard instead of factory whistles or dinner bells. The streams pursued their seaward courses unmolested by the inventions and contrivances of men. Instead of factory  smokestacks  there  were  columns  of  smoke  rising  above  the wigwams. The fertility of the land and inexhaustible beds of limestone, iron, ore, sand, clay, and numerous animals, fowls, and fishes lured on the coming of a new civilization.
Soon after King Charles II ascended the English throne, he granted by patent, date 12th of March, 1664, all the territory between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers and the adjacent islands, including the possessions of the Dutch, to his brother James, the Duke of York and Albany. Colonel Nicholls was sent, accompanied by three commissioners, to take possession. They offered the most liberal regulations and the best security to the Dutch settlers if  they  would  change  their  allegiance  to  the  British  crown. They  were  successful, and remained under the English crown until 1667, when Colonel Lovelace was forced to surrender to the Dutch
William Penn was kind and considerate and wished to pay for all the land that he had received from the King. He began to negotiate with the Indians for the purchase of their lands. He regarded them as rightful owners by virtue 
of their  possession. Many  purchases  were  made  by  him. He  gave  in consideration many articles that the Indians regarded as useful.
There are two deeds for lands included in Berks County, which may be of some interest. One is dated the seventh of September 1732. It is from Sassoonan, alias Allummapis, sachem of the Schuylkill Indians, in the province of Pennsylvania, Elalapis, Ohopamen, Pesqueetomen, Mayeemoe, Partridge, and Tepakoaset, alias Joe, on behalf of themselves and all other Indians, unto John Penn, Thomas Penn, and Richard Penn. The territory involved was involved situated along the Schuylkill River or any of the branches or streams, fountains, or springs thereof, eastward or westward, and all the lands lying in or near any swamps, marshes or meadows, the waters or streams of which flow into or toward the said river Schulylkillsituate, lying and being between those hills called Lechay Hills and those called Keckachtanemin Hills, which cross the said river Schuylkill about thirty miles above the said Lechay Hills, and all land whatsoever lying within the said bounds: and between the branches of the Delaware River, on the eastern side of the said land, and branches or streams running into the river Susquehannan, on the western side of the said land, together with all mines, minerals, quarries, waters, rivers, creeks, woods, timber, and trees, with all and every appurtenances, etc.
The first ordinances dealt chiefly with the opening and widening of streets and the laying of sidewalks.
Interesting facts are exhibited in Ordinance No. 5 adopted by the borough council in 1878, among them the following:
"That any person found guilt of bathing(in the act) in any of the water courses within the limits of the Borough, or of indecently exposing their person in the day time, shall be liable to a fine of two dollars and costs for the use of the Borough.
"That any person or persons tying or hitching horses or mules to the trees along the footwalks or pavements within the limits of the Borough, shall be liable to a fine of two dollars and costs for the use of the Borough."