Located along a ford on the Schuylkill River, Morlatton Village was established in the 18th century with the arrival of Mouns Jones and his family from modern Philadelphia. Others soon followed, becoming part of a diverse regional settlement encompassing the present-day townships of Amity, Union, Douglass, and Oley and the borough of Birdsboro. In addition to homes and plantations, newly arrived settlers established businesses and industries that supported the local economy and provided goods and services to residents. Iron forges and grist mills took advantage of the area's natural resources and rich farmland, while roads were built to connect them. Because all of these roads intersected at Morlatton, it became a crossroads from which travelers could easily reach Philadelphia, Reading, the Oley Valley, and other mills, forges, and settlements in northern Chester County. The region's diversity was reflected in the first Morlatton, or Molatton, Church, built by the earliest settlers, mostly of Swedish descent, on land donated by Mouns Jones in 1719. For a time it was one of the few churches in the area and drew attendance from people of varied national and religious backgrounds, including Anglicans, Lutherans, and Calvinists. Ministers often preached first in English and then in German so everyone could understand, and Henry Melchior Muhlenberg was among those who preached there. Morlatton Village remained a crossroads throughout the 18th century, but in the early 19th century the center of the neighborhood began to shift northward to the course of present-day U.S. Route 422. As Douglassville began to develop, Morlatton became the quiet, well-preserved hamlet it remains today.