Shillington began in 1860 as part of Cumru Township, PennsylvaniaCumru Township, when local landowner Samuel Shilling sold some of his lots for residences. The area had an inn, originally built in 1761, called the Three Mile House because it was 3 miles (5 km) from Reading on the Lancaster Pike. The inn was a popular stop for farmers going to the city's markets and later it sat near a horse racing track built by Aaron Einstein in 1868. A post office opened in Shillington in 1884. In August 1908, the Quarter Session Court officially incorporated the borough of Shillington as a separate municipality from Cumru Township. Later that year Shillington elected its first official, Adam Rollman, as chief burgess. Much of the borough's present land was occupied by Angelica Farm which would be established as an alms house, or poorhouse, in 1824. The alms house was replaced by Bern Township, PennsylvaniaBern Township's Berks Heim in 1952. The buildings of the Governor Mifflin School District now occupy most of land that was once part of the alms house. Today, the most notable visible remnant of the poorhouse is a stone wall that is within short walking distance down the road from John Updike's old home. Updike's first novel, The Poorhouse Fair, described Shillington's poorhouse. http://www.poorhousestory.com/PA_BERKS_Co.htm Angelica Farm was also the historical home of Thomas Mifflin, the first governor of Pennsylvania. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillington%2C_Pennsylvania