Short History of Chester County PA
Chester County, popularly known as Chesco, is Pennsylvania state in the U.S. and had a population of approximately 498,886 according to a 2010 census for Chester County, PA. Named after Chester in England, it is one of three counties originally created in August of 1682 by William Penn. West Chester is the county seat of Pennsylvania and, according to the 2010 median household income, it is Pennsylvania’s highest income county and the 24th highest income county in the U.S.
Forming part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metropolitan statistical region, East Chester County communities encompasses part of Philadelphia’s mainline western suburbs while its southernmost part is regarded as suburban Wilmington, together with southwestern Delaware County. During 1682 the borders of Chester County were: to the north Philadelphia County; to the west the ill-defined border of the colony approximately up to the Susquehanna River; to the East the Delaware River; to the south Maryland and Delaware.
On March 4th, 1682, when Pennsylvania was chartered, the New York/New Netherland Upland portion was officially eliminated and replaced with Chester County. At that time the eastern part of Chester County consisted of a large contingent of the Welsh Tract where places were given Welsh names by the early settlers, and to this day continue to predominate in that area.
On May 10th 1792 Lancaster County, the 4th county in the state of Pennsylvania, was formed from Chester County; and on March 11th, 1752 Berks County was created from the northern segment of Chester County, as well as from parts of the Philadelphia and Lancaster counties.
Chester City situated at the eastern border of the county and a hub for naval shipbuilding was originally the Chester County seat, but was subsequently moved in 1788 to a more centralized location in order to accommodate the increase in population in the western county area. At that time the name of the village Turk’s Head was changed to West Chester in an effort to mollify the eastern area of the county. However, this was apparently not successful and the eastern part of the county became separated from Chester County and formed Delaware County on the 26th of September, 1789. Nevertheless, West Chester continued to be the seat of the diminished Chester County and remains as such to this day.
The Battle of Brandywine, during the American Revolution, was fought at what is today regarded as the south-eastern border of the county and at the north-eastern border was the Valley Forge military encampment.
A large portion of Chester County history revolves around its location between the Susquehanna River and Philadelphia. Lancaster County, the first road to the west passed through the heart of Chester County, Pennsylvania westward to follow the Great Valley. Due to certain realignments this road originally became the Lincoln Highway and was later known as U.S. Route 30. In most Chester County towns that the road runs through it still remains Lancaster Avenue. Coatesville is one of the largest city in the county. Coatesville population according to city data is 13,164. Coatesville is the home of many small businesses like SEO Chester County, Mr. E’s Tavern on Route 340, and Mattson HVAC on Atkins Drive.
The first railroad followed the same route which became the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Reading Railroad developed along the Schuylkill River and progressed up to Reading. Industry became concentrated along these rail lines as it provided easy transportation for workers to commute to urban areas which paved the way for the rise of suburbs that followed. To the present day, these developments form fingers that extend along the major transportation lines.
Today Chester County has become a hub for technology companies from Chester County SEO firms to software companies. Chester County also boasts of many pharmaceutical corporations and is the home of Vanguard mutual funds. Most of the major local companies belong to the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry group.