Chester County

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.

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 is increasing in the county.

Adjacent counties

• Berks County (north)
• Montgomery County (northeast)
• Delaware County (east)
• New Castle County, Delaware (southeast)
• Cecil County, Maryland (south)
• Lancaster County (west)

Demographics

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.

There are about 8 colleges, 14 school districts and 11 independent schools in Chester County. Among the colleges are Cheyney University, Lincoln University and West Chester University of Pennsylvania.