Chester County, Pennsylvania

Chester County
	Chester County, Pennsylvania
	Map
	; Location in the state of 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 Courthouse

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Chester County 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 and by median household income in Pennsylvania, and has the 21st highest gross adjusted income in the nation (as of 2009).^[1]

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, and is the only Delaware Valley county in Pennsylvania that does not border Philadelphia, though it is close.

[edit] History

Chester, Philadelphia, and Bucks were the three original Pennsylvania counties created by William Penn on 1682-08-24^[2]. 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. Chester County replaced the Pennsylvania portion of New Netherland/New York’s Upland, which was officially eliminated when Pennsylvania was chartered on 1681-03-04, but did not actually cease to exist until June of that year^[3]^[4]. 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. Due to the close proximity to the Philadelphia area, Chester County has experienced large "waves" of development due to suburbanization. Although development in Chester County has increased, agriculture is still a large form of income for the county. In fact the number of horse farms are increasing in the county.

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] National protected area

Valley Forge National Historical Park (part)

[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^[5] 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 (these figures had risen to $80,818 and $97,894 respectively as of a 2007 estimate^[6]). 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, more recently, Mexicans.

[edit] Politics

**Presidential elections results**
Year	GOP	Dems
2008	45.0% 112,266	54.2% 135,150
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 2008, there are 326,689 registered voters in Chester County^[7].

Republican: 150,300 (46.01%)
Democratic: 125,198 (38.32%)
Other Parties: 51,191 (15.67%)

Chester County has been, and remains, very reliably Republican at the county level. In recent elections, however, it has been trending Democratic. In 2000 Al Gore lost it by almost 10 percent but in 2004 George W. Bush defeated John Kerry by a much smaller margin of only 4.5 percent. Bob Casey Jr. carried it by 10% when he unseated incumbent Republican US Senator Rick Santorum in 2006. In 2008, Chester County sided with the rest of Pennsylvania and voted for Barack Obama by a much larger margin of 9%, making him the first Democrat to carry it in a Presidential election since 1964.

Democrats have also made gains in Chester County state legislative seats in recent elections. Democrat Andy Dinniman picked up the 19th Senate District in May 2006 in the special election to replace the late Robert Thompson. Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith picked up the open 156th House district in November 2006, winning by only 28 votes and tipping the State-House majority to the Democrats. This was the first time that a Democrat had served part of Chester County as State Representative since Jim Gerlach (now serving the majority of the county in Congress) unseated Sam Morris in 1990. In 2008, two more open House seats in the county went Democratic---to Tom Houghton in the 13th and Paul Drucker in the 157th.

[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

Office	Holder	Party
County Commissioner (chairwoman)	Carol Aichele	Republican
County Commissioner	Terrance Farrell	Republican
County Commissioner	Kathi Cozzone	Democratic

[edit] Other elected officials

Office	Holder	Party
Clerk of Courts	Teena Peters	Republican
Controller	Valentino F. DiGiorgio, III	Republican
Coroner	Robert O. Satriale	Republican
District Attorney	Joe Carroll	Republican
Jury Commissioner	Martha S. Smith	Democratic
Jury Commissioner	Mimi Sack	Republican
Prothonotary	Bryan Walters	Republican
Recorder of Deeds	Ryan Costello	Republican
Register of Wills	Paula Gowen	Republican
Sheriff	Carolyn Bunny Welsh	Republican
Treasurer	Alan Randzin	Republican

[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	Democrat
Bob Casey	Democrat

[edit] Pennsylvania House of Representatives

District	Representative	Party
13	Tom Houghton	Democratic
26	Tim Hennessey	Republican
155	Curt Schroder	Republican
156	Barbara McIlvaine Smith	Democratic
157	Paul Drucker	Democratic
158	Chris Ross	Republican
160	Stephen Barrar	Republican
167	Duane Milne	Republican
168	Tom Killion	Republican

[edit] Pennsylvania State Senate

District	Representative	Party
9	Dominic F. Pileggi	Republican
19	Andy Dinniman	Democratic
26	Edwin 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).

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

Coatesville

[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

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (partially in Delaware County)
Delaware County Community College (Exton and Downingtown Campuses)
Immaculata University
Lincoln University
Penn State Great Valley
Troy University (Exton Campus)
Valley Forge Christian College
West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Map of Chester County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

[edit] Public school districts

[edit] Independent schools

[edit] Library system

The Chester County Library System in southeastern Pennsylvania was organized in 1965. It is a federated system composed of a District Center Library in Exton and seventeen member libraries. The system provides materials and information for life, work and pleasure.

[edit] References

^ http://www.philly.com/philly/classifieds/real_estate/Chester_County_is_No_21_on_list_of_wealthiest_US_counties.html
^ Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1852—1935). Pennsylvania Archives. 9 Series, 109 Volumes. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. pp. Series 2, Volume 5: 739—744.
^ Armstrong, Edward; Editor (1860). Record of the Court at Upland, in Pennsylvania, 1676 to 1681. Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Volume 7. pp. 196.
^ Swindler, William F., Editor (1973-1979). Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions. 10 Volumes. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications. pp. Vol. 8: 243.
^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=05000US36079&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US36%7C05000US36079&_street=&_county=chester+county&_cityTown=chester+county&_state=04000US42&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=050&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
^ Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of State. "November 2008 Voter Registration Statistics" (XLS). http://www.dos.state.pa.us/elections/lib/elections/055_voter_registration_statistics/currentstats/currentvotestats.xls. Retrieved on 2008-11-03.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 39°58′N 75°45′W / 39.97°N 75.75°W / 39.97; -75.75

[0] ttp://www.philly.com/philly/classifieds/real_estate/Chester_County_is_No_21_on_list_of_wealthiest_US_counties.html

[1] Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1852—1935). Pennsylvania Archives. 9 Series, 109 Volumes. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. pp. Series 2, Volume 5: 739—744.

[2] Armstrong, Edward; Editor (1860). Record of the Court at Upland, in Pennsylvania, 1676 to 1681. Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Volume 7. pp. 196.

[3] Swindler, William F., Editor (1973-1979). Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions. 10 Volumes. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications. pp. Vol. 8: 243.

[GR2-4] "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[5] ttp://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=05000US36079&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US36%7C05000US36079&_street=&_county=chester+county&_cityTown=chester+county&_state=04000US42&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=050&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=

[Voter_Registration-6] Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of State. "November 2008 Voter Registration Statistics" (XLS). http://www.dos.state.pa.us/elections/lib/elections/055_voter_registration_statistics/currentstats/currentvotestats.xls. Retrieved on 2008-11-03.

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