Phoenixville is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough is situated at the junction of French Creek and the Schuylkill River. The population was 18,602 at the 2020 census.

For much of its history, Phoenixville was known for being home to the Phoenix Iron Works. Following the company's closure in the 1980s and the resulting economic downturn, the town has been noted in recent years for the economic revitalization that has since taken place.

The Phoenixville area was originally known as Manavon, after early-Chester County judge and politician David Lloyd bought a tract of land he named "Manavon" (believed to have come from Lloyd's home parish of Manafon in Wales) in 1713. The town was originally settled in 1732. In its early years, Manavon developed around a grist mill situated upon the banks of the French Creek. In 1790, the French Creek Nail Works (later the Phoenix Iron Works) opened as the first nail factory in the United States, and would become the economic center of the town for nearly the next two centuries, producing notable products such as the Griffen gun and the Phoenix column.

During the early 19th century, Manavon saw an influx of Irish immigrants, mainly from County Donegal, who would construct a neighborhood on the banks of the Schuylkill River named "Sceilp Level" (an Irish term meaning "water flowing over rock's edge"). These immigrants would help in the construction of the Schuylkill Canal in 1827 and the Black Rock Tunnel in 1838, which gave the north side of the town the name "Tunnel Hill". On March 6, 1849, despite public opposition, Manavon was incorporated as a borough and was renamed "Phoenixville", officially separating from Schuylkill Township.

In the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, Phoenixville experienced the arrival of a second wave of immigrants, this time mainly Poles, Italians, Ukrainians, and Slovaks. By the early 20th century, other manufacturing and retail industries would arrive in Phoenixville, joining with the Phoenix Iron Company (formerly the Phoenix Iron Works). One notable type of manufacturing in Phoenixville during this time was of the famous (and now highly collectible) Etruscan majolica pottery.

After World War II, the Phoenix Iron Company (now renamed the Phoenix Steel Corporation) began to fail, and by the mid-1980s, the company was no longer producing iron and steel. The company closed permanently in 1987. The closure of the long-time hub of the town's economy resulted in an economic downturn, but beginning in the early 21st century, a town revitalization plan was put into effect which resulted in the creation of new businesses such as breweries, restaurants, and other retail outlets. The accompanying growth in population gave rise to an increase in the construction of new housing such as townhomes and apartment buildings.

Much of this history was recognized in 1987 by the creation of the Phoenixville Historic District, the largest National Register of Historic Places site in Chester County. The Black Rock Bridge, Gay Street School, and Schuylkill Navigation Canal, Oakes Reach Section are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Phoenixville is named after the Phoenix Iron Works, the major employer in the town until its closure in 1987. Originally founded in 1790 as the French Creek Nail Works, in 1813, German engineer Lewis Wernwag bought the Nail Works and renamed it the Phoenix Iron Works after he described seeing a resemblance to the mythical phoenix bird in the heat from the factory furnaces. When the borough was incorporated in 1849, it took the name of the iron works.