One Tank Trips: Exploring Berks County's rich pre-industrial history and rural charm

In tonight's one tank trips, we are exploring a place where wagons are still very much a part of farming and covered bridges dot the landscape. It's a slice of Burks County, which has a rich history in the pre-industrial age. The Burks County Heritage Center is located in Reading, and Action News photojournalist Todd Hos takes us there. The Heritage Center is one of eight parks managed by the Burks County Parks and Recreation Department. It is also one of five parks that sits along the Union Canal Top Path Trail in Burks County. The property began as farmland before the county of Burks acquired it to begin turning it into a historic park. My name is Jessica Chernick. I am the historic resource supervisor here at the Burks County Heritage Center. And right now we are in the blacksmith shop of the Guber Wagon Works. So this is a restored version of a box wagon. Uh probably almost exactly what it would look like when it rolled out of this shop. The wagon works is really kind of our pride and joy just because of how unique it is. This is the paint shop and it was located on the second floor. All of the cans and tins and things up here are again all original to the building. We also have the longest single span covered bridge in the state of Pennsylvania, meaning that there are no pillars holding it up. We are in the Seah Howard Hester Canal Museum. This museum pays tribute to the canals of this area, including the Skookul Navigation System, as well as the Union Canal, which actually runs right behind the Heritage Center. It also pays tribute to Charles Howard Hester, whose collection makes up a majority of this museum. This is a fantastic site to get to learn a little bit more and connect with some of that history um from a time pre-industrial and post-industrial. We're really tucked away right along the creek and that's one of the reasons a lot of people like coming here uh is just cuz it's quiet and you kind of don't feel like you're in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. That was Action News photojournalist Todd Hos reporting. If you're looking for a place to go and would like to see all of our one tank trips, we've created a page on our website. You can check it out. It's at 6abc.comanktrips or scan the QR code on your screen and it'll take you