About the Borough

About
The Borough of Myerstown is part of a rich history of settlements established by German immigrants in Pennsylvania during the early 1700s.  It was settled on the banks of the Tulpehocken Creek in the heart of the fertile Lebanon Valley, and has provided its residents with a peaceful and productive lifestyle for nearly three centuries.

When it was incorporated as a Borough in 1912, the population was 2,335.  With the help of the Union Canal and the railroad running through the town, Myerstown became a thriving community even though it covers an area of less than one square mile.  Its history is written in the the architecture and the stories of the early immigrants who came to work the quarries, railroads, factories and other businesses along the canal.

Today, with a population of just over 3,000, Myerstown is the classic American small-town: walkable and community-oriented with familiar streets and friendly faces.  Within the borough or very close by is access to grocery stores, farmers’ markets, several banks, multiple health care providers, and a number of professional and personal service providers.  Also within driving distance is an assortment of family-owned restaurants and taverns with their own unique styles, offering everything from traditional Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine to award-winning Italian.  Additionally, its central location in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. makes for an easy day trip to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York. 

Myerstown has 26.64 acres of land devoted to recreation for its citizens and visitors.  These recreational areas are home to a community pool, tennis courts, a tot lot for children, three baseball diamonds, basketball and volleyball facilities, a stocked fish pond, and large shaded picnic areas with three pavilions.  With the Borough’s extensive network of sidewalks, these assets are all within walking distance of any neighborhood.

With a cost of living below the state and national average, an abundance of recreational opportunities, and a wide variety of housing options, Myerstown is the perfect place to raise a family.  This community allows its residents to enjoy all the features of a historic town while maintaining its rural charm.

About Boroughs
Myerstown is a borough in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.  In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, there are three primary types of municipal governments: boroughs, cities, and townships.  Boroughs can be likened to the common notion of a town in other states, in contrast to a city metropolis.

Strong Council, Weak Mayor
The present type of government for boroughs in Pennsylvania is the weak mayor form, typical of nineteenth-century municipalities.  Boroughs have a strong and dominant council, a weak executive, and other elected officers with powers independent of the council.  The governing body of the borough is an elected council. 

The mayor is elected to a four-year term; council members are elected to four-year overlapping terms.  In Pennsylvania boroughs divided into wards, one, two or three council members are elected from each ward; In Pennsylvania boroughs NOT divided into wards, three, five or seven council members are elected at large;  Myerstown Borough Council is composed of seven members elected at-large.  The powers of council are broad and extensive, covering virtually the whole range of municipal functions.  

Administration
The chief administrative officer in most boroughs is the manager, who is appointed by council and is responsible for carrying out the policies and enforcing the ordinances of council, relieving council members from routine daily administration.  

Prevalence of Boroughs
Boroughs are the second most common form of municipal government in Pennsylvania; their number is exceeded only by the number of second-class townships. Pennsylvania’s 955 boroughs represent 37.2 percent of all general purpose municipal governments in Pennsylvania. The median number of boroughs per county is 11. The number ranges from one in Forest County to 84 in Allegheny County.  Myerstown is one of 7 boroughs in Lebanon County. 

Populations of Boroughs
The populations of boroughs vary widely. The boroughs with the largest populations are: State College (Centre County), 42,034; Norristown (Montgomery County), 34,324; Bethel Park (Allegheny County), 32,313; Monroeville (Allegheny County), 28,386; and Plum (Allegheny County), 27,126. The boroughs with the smallest populations are: Centralia (Columbia County), 10; Valley-Hi (Fulton County), 15; S.N.P.J. (Lawrence County), 19; Seven Springs (Somerset County), 26; and Green Hills (Washington County), 29. The median population of a borough in Pennsylvania is 1,320. The population of Myerstown Borough is 3,062 based upon the 2010 federal census, and estimated to be 3,144 based upon the U.S. Census 2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Population Estimate.

Sizes of Boroughs
The disparity in the land area of boroughs is equally as great as population. The boroughs with the five largest land area in square miles are: Sugarcreek (Venango County), 37.4; Murrysville (Westmoreland County), 36.9; Plum (Allegheny County), 28.6; Ohioville (Beaver County) 23.3; and Nesquehoning (Carbon County), 21.2. Conversely, five boroughs are less than 0.1 of a square mile in land area; namely, Applewood (Armstrong County), Bear Creek Village (Luzerne County), Coaldale (Bedford County), Shade Gap (Huntingdon County), and Nesquehoning (Bedford County).  The land area of Myerstown Borough is 0.856 square miles according the the U.S. Census 2016 Gazateer files.

The Borough of Myerstown is located in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Lebanon Valley, in the center of eastern Lebanon County.  It lies just 7 miles east of the City of Lebanon, which serves as the seat of Lebanon County.

The Borough is strategically located between three major metropolitan areas, with the City of Reading located 20 miles to the east, the City of Lancaster located 25 miles to the south, and the State Capital of Harrisburg located 30 miles to the west.

Myerstown is centrally located within the Philadelphia-Harrisburg Metroplex, and has direct access to three of the world’s most powerful global cities, with Philadelphia located 78 miles to the south-east, Washington located 109 miles to the south, and New York located 125 miles to the east.

Transportation
U.S. route 422, which connects Hershey with King of Prussia, cuts through the northern portion of the Myerstown, transporting over 16,000 cars through the borough each day.  State route 501 passes north and south through the heart of the borough, transporting over 8,000 cars through the borough each day, and directly connects Myerstown to the City of Lancaster.

Three major interstate routes pass within 15 miles of the borough. Interstate 78, just 6 miles to the north, provides a direct route to New York City.  Interstate 81 is accessed via I78 and runs the length of the Appalachian Mountains providing the fastest route to Virginia, upstate New York and Canada.  Interstate 76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike) traverses the entire state from west to east, providing direct access to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Direct overseas travel can be easily accessed through Philadelphia International (PHL)Newark Liberty International (EWR), and Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International (BWI) Airports, all within a two-hour drive of Myerstown.  Scheduled passenger and air freight service is available through Harrisburg International Airport, which is less than an hour drive from Myerstown.  Corporate aircraft is served at Deck Airport, just outside the borough.

The nation’s busiest double track lines from Norfolk Southern Railway bisect the Borough providing shipping service anywhere in the world using its extensive intermodal network.  Likewise, more than 30 motor freight lines and LTL trucking services meet the demands of manufacturers in Myerstown.

Boundaries

Lebanon County Parcel Viewer
The Lebanon County Geographical Information Services (GIS) Department publishes the Lebanon County Parcel Viewer, which shows the approximate boundaries of taxable and non-taxable properties in the county.

The Parcel Viewer can be accessed at lebcogis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=dc37fec2f8044fc3a7f2898ed5d602ac.

Geographic information available with the Parcel Viewer includes property boundaries, municipal boundaries, waterways, and specific parcel information that includes owner information, acreage, and assessment information.

United States Census Bureau TIGERweb
Boundaries and other geographic information about the Borough can be viewed with TIGERweb, a web-based map viewer from the U.S. Census Bureau's Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing System (TIGER) database.

TIGERweb can be accessed at tigerweb.geo.census.gov.

Geographic information available with TIGERweb includes roads, railroads, rivers, lakes, census tracts, and more.

Lebanon County Floodplain Viewer
The Lebanon County Geographical Information Services (GIS) Department publishes the Lebanon County Floodplain Viewer, which utilizes FEMA's floodplain data to show where all floodplains and floodways are in Lebanon County.  The viewer also shows waterways and parcel boundaries.

The Floodplain Viewer can be accessed at lebcogis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=b7964eac3be74cafbf49798d8aa2a8f2.