Chester County, Pennsylvania

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Chester County, Pennsylvania
Seal of Chester County, Pennsylvania
Map
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Chester County
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Map of the U.S. highlighting Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded November 1682
Seat West Chester
Largest city West Chester
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
760 sq mi (1,968 km²)
756 sq mi (1,958 km²)
4 sq mi (10 km²), 0.51%
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density
433,501
572/sq mi (221/km²)
Website: www.chesco.org

Chester County (known colloquially as "Chesco") is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2000, the population was 433,501. The county seat is West Chester. It is the highest-income county (measured per capita) in Pennsylvania.

Chester County is one of the three original counties of Pennsylvania created by William Penn in 1682. It is named for Cheshire, England. It is part of the Delaware Valley area.

Contents

[edit] History

Chester, Philadelphia, and Bucks were the three original Pennsylvania counties created by William Penn in 1682. At that time, Chester County's borders were Philadelphia County to the north, the western edge of the colony (approximately the Susquehanna River) to the west, the Delaware River to the east, and Delaware and Maryland to the south. Much of eastern Chester County was in the Welsh Tract, and Welsh place names continue to predominate there.

The fourth county in the state, Lancaster County, was formed from Chester County on May 10, 1729. On March 11, 1752 Berks County was formed from the northern section of Chester County, as well as parts of Lancaster and Philadelphia Counties.

The original Chester County seat was the naval shipbuilding city of Chester. However, it became part of Delaware County when that county was formed from the eastern portion of the Chester County on September 26, 1789. This took the county seat out of Chester County, so West Chester became the new county seat that year, and has remained so to the present.

Much of the history of Chester County arises from its location between Philadelphia and the Susquehanna River. The first road to "the West" (meaning Lancaster County) passed through the central part of Chester County; with some re-alignments, it became the Lincoln Highway and later U.S. Route 30. For much of its distance, the road is still known as Lancaster Avenue. The first railroad (which became the Pennsylvania Railroad) followed much the same route, and the Reading Railroad progressed up the Schuylkill River to Reading. Industry tended to concentrate along the rail lines. In time, easy transportation allowed workers to commute to urban jobs, and the rise of the suburbs followed. To this day, the built-up areas form "fingers" extending along lines of transportation.

The Battle of Brandywine was fought at what is now the southeastern fringe of the county, and the Valley Forge encampment was at the northeastern edge. The former Valley Forge Army Hospital, constructed during World War II, was one of the largest military hospitals in the United States.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 760 square miles (1,968 km²), of which, 756 square miles (1,958 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (10 km²) of it (0.51%) is water. The topography consists of rolling hills and valleys and it is part of the region known as the Piedmont.

Watersheds which service Chester County include the Octoraro Creek, the Brandywine Creek, the Chester Creek, and the Schuylkill River. Many of the soils are fertile, rich loam as much as twenty-four inches thick, resulting with its temperate climate in some of the finest farmland in the world. Nonetheless, because of its proximity to the Philadelphia metropolitan area and a fine transportation network, much of the land has been developed and built upon for commercial, industrial, or residential use that prevents agricultural use.[citation needed]

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] State parks

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1900 95,695
—
1910 109,213 14.1%
1920 115,120 5.4%
1930 126,629 10.0%
1940 135,626 7.1%
1950 159,141 17.3%
1960 210,608 32.3%
1970 278,311 32.1%
1980 316,660 13.8%
1990 376,396 18.9%
2000 433,501 15.2%
Est. 2005 482,112 11.2%

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 433,501 people, 157,905 households, and 113,375 families residing in the county. The population density was 573 people per square mile (221/km²). There were 163,773 housing units at an average density of 217 per square mile (84/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.21% White, 6.24% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 1.95% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.35% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. 3.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.0% were of Irish, 17.3% German, 13.1% Italian, 10.1% English and 5.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.4% spoke English and 3.7% Spanish as their first language.

There were 157,905 households out of which 35.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 11.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $65,295, and the median income for a family was $76,916. Males had a median income of $51,223 versus $34,854 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,627. About 3.10% of families and 5.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.10% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.

The region was originally occupied by the Lenni Lenape people who greeted European settlers in the seventeenth century with amity and kindness. British settlers were mostly English, Scotch-Irish and Welsh in ethnicity. As time passed, the region has had large influxes of Germans, Africans, Eastern Europeans, Italians, Puerto Ricans, and Mexicans.

[edit] Politics

Presidential elections results
Year GOP Dems
2004 52.0% 120,306 47.5% 109,708
2000 53.4% 100,080 43.7% 82,047
1996 48.7% 77,029 41.0% 64,783
1992 43.7% 74,002 35.2% 59,643
1988 67.0% 93,522 32.1% 44,853
1984 70.1% 92,221 29.6% 38,870
1980 60.9% 73,046 28.6% 34,307
1976 60.4% 67,686 38.1% 42,712
1972 68.4% 72,726 29.3% 31,118
1968 57.2% 56,073 33.3% 32,606
1964 45.5% 40,280 54.1% 47,940
1960 63.6% 53,059 36.2% 30,167

As of November 2007, there are 292,265 registered voters in Chester County[2].

In the past Chester County has been reliably Republican. In recent elections however it has been trending Democratic. In 2000 Gore lost it by almost 10 percent but in 2004 George Bush defeated John Kerry by a much smaller margin of only 4 percent.

[edit] Government

Chester County is administered by a three-person Board of Commissioners, who are elected for four-year terms, which take place in the year preceding US Presidential elections. The Commissioners have selective policy-making authority to provide certain local services and facilities on a county-wide basis. Accordingly, the commissioners are responsible for the management of the fiscal and administrative functions of the county.

[edit] Commissioners

  • Carol Aichele
  • Kathi Cozzone
  • Terence Farrell

[edit] Other elected officials

  • Teena Peters, Clerk of Courts
  • Valentino R. DiGiorgio, III, Controller
  • Robert O. Satriale, Coroner
  • Joe Carroll, District Attorney
  • Martha E. Smith, Jury Commissioner
  • Mimi Sack, Jury Commissioner
  • Bryan Walters, Prothonotary
  • Terence Farrell, Recorder of Deeds
  • Paula Gowen, Register of Wills
  • Carolyn Bunny Welsh, Sheriff
  • Alan Randzin, Treasurer

[edit] United States House of Representatives

District Representative Party
6 Jim Gerlach Republican
7 Joe Sestak Democratic
16 Joseph R. Pitts Republican

[edit] United States Senate

Senator Party
Arlen Specter Republican
Bob Casey Democrat

[edit] Pennsylvania House of Representatives

District Representative Party
16 Sean Ramaley Democratic
26 Tim F. Hennessey Republican
155 Curt Schroder Republican
156 Barbara McIlvaine Smith Democratic
157 Carole Rubley Republican
158 Chris Ross Republican
160 Stephen Barrar Republican
167 Duane Milne Republican
168 Tom H. Killian Republican

[edit] Pennsylvania State Senate

District Representative Party
9 Dominic Pileggi Republican
19 Andrew Dinniman Democratic
26 Edwin B. Erickson Republican
36 Michael Brubaker Republican
44 John C. Rafferty, Jr. Republican
48 Mike Folmer Republican

[edit] Municipalities

Map of Chester County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Cities and Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue).
Map of Chester County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Cities and Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue).

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The post office uses community names and boundaries that usually do not correspond to the townships, and usually only have the same names as the municipalities for the cities and boroughs. The names used by the post office are generally used by residents to describe where they live. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Chester County:

[edit] Cities

[edit] Boroughs

[edit] Townships

[edit] Census-designated place

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law.

[edit] Education

[edit] Colleges and universities

Map of Chester County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts
Map of Chester County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

[edit] Public school districts

[edit] Independent schools

[edit] References

  1. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of State. November 2007 Voter Registration Statistics. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.

[edit] External links

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Municipalities and communities of
Chester County, Pennsylvania
County seat: West Chester
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CDPs
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Coordinates: 39°58′N 75°45′W / 39.97, -75.75