| |
Chester County, PA
|
One of the three original counties formed by William
Penn in November 1682. It did not become an inland
county until 1789. Its name derives from Cheshire (i.e.,
Chester-shire), England, from which many of its early
settlers came. West Chester, the county seat since 1788,
was incorporated as a borough on March 28, 1799. It was
named for Chester, the older county seat (now in
Delaware County), which in turn derived its name from
the shire town of Cheshire.
 Quakers
were very influential in the early period, and an older
Swedish population that pre-dated William Penn’s charter
was absorbed. Chester shares with Montgomery County the
Valley Forge encampment and with Delaware County the
Brandywine Battlefield. Iron works began before the
Revolution, followed by production of paper, textiles,
and bricks. Accessibility increased with the Lancaster
Pike (1795), Schuylkill Navigation Canal (1825), and
Columbia Railroad (1840s). In the 1890s the county
became a residential location for commuting Philadelphia
workers. Chester was an early producer of a valuable
mushroom crop, and has long excelled in fruit growing,
dairying, livestock breeding, and raising flowers.
Thirty percent of the land is farmed. The Pierre du Pont
Arboretum and Gardens arose in the nineteenth century.
The institute that became Lincoln University was founded
in 1854 to educate African Americans, and there were
Underground Railroad stations at West Chester,
Phoenixville, Oxford, and Kennett Square. |
|
|
|
|
