Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County (Pennsylvania German: Tscheschter Kaundi), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 498,886, increasing by 4.1% to a census-estimated 522,046 residents . The county seat is West Chester. Chester County was one of the three original Pennsylvania counties created by William Penn in 1682. It was named for Chester, England.

Chester County is part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area. Eastern Chester County is home to many communities that comprise part of the Main Line western suburbs outside of Philadelphia, while part of its southernmost portion is considered suburban Wilmington, along with southwest Delaware County.

History

Philadelphia, Bucks, and Chester were the three Pennsylvania counties initially created by William Penn on August 24, 1682. At that time, Chester County's borders were Philadelphia County to the north, the ill-defined 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 March 4, 1681, but did not cease to exist until June of that year. Much of the Welsh Tract was in eastern Chester County, and Welsh place names, given by early settlers, 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 City of Chester, a center of naval shipbuilding, at the eastern edge of the county. In an effort to accommodate the increased population of the western part of the county, the county seat was moved to a more central location in 1788; in order to mollify the eastern portion of the county, the village, known as Turk's Head, was renamed West Chester. In response to the new location of the county seat, the eastern portion of the county separated and formed the new Delaware County in 1789 with the City of Chester as its county seat.

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, following the Great Valley westward; with some re-alignments, it became the Lincoln Highway and later U.S. Route 30. This road is still named Lancaster Avenue in most of the Chester County towns it runs through.  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. Easy transportation allowed workers to commute to urban jobs, and the rise of the suburbs followed. To this day, the developed areas form "fingers" extending along major lines of transportation.

During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Brandywine was fought at what is now the southeastern fringe of the county.  The Valley Forge encampment was at the northeastern edge.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which  is land and  (1.1%) is water. The topography consists of rolling hills and valleys and it is part of the region known as the Piedmont.

Watersheds that serve Chester County include the Octoraro, the Brandywine, and Chester creeks, and the Schuylkill River. Many of the soils are fertile, rich loam as much as twenty-four inches thick; together with the temperate climate, this was long a major agricultural area. Because of its proximity to Philadelphia, Chester County has seen large waves of development over the past half-century due to suburbanization. Although development in Chester County has increased, agriculture is still a major part of the county's economy, and the number of horse farms is increasing in the county. Mushroom growing is a specialty in the southern portion of the county.

Elevations (in feet):
High point—1020 Welsh Mt., Honeybrook Twp. Other high points—960 Thomas Hill, Warwick Twp; 960 Barren Hill, West Caln Twp. Low point—66 Schuylkill River, Chester-Montgomery county line. Cities and boroughs: Coatesville 314; Downingtown 255; Kennett Square 300; Oxford 535; Parkesburg 542; Phoenixville 127; Spring City 114; West Chester 459.

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

National protected area
Valley Forge National Historical Park (part)

State protected areas
French Creek State Park
Marsh Creek State Park
White Clay Creek Preserve

Major highways

Economy and environment 
Lanchester Landfill, located on the border of Chester and Lancaster Counties, captures methane which is sold for renewable natural gas credits, and piped to seven local businesses. This reduces the county's methane emissions, and provides an alternative to fracking for shale gas.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the county was 82.1% White Non-Hispanic, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were some other race. 6.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.

As of the census 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. 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). 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. From the late 19th to early 20th century, the industrial areas of the region, such as Coatesville, attracted immigrants and job seekers from Germany and Ireland, Eastern Europe, Italy, and the American rural South, with both black and white migrants coming north. Later Hispanic immigrants have included Puerto Ricans and, most  recently, Mexicans.

Long a primarily rural area, Chester County is now the fastest-growing county in the Delaware Valley; it is one of the fastest growing in the entire Northeastern section of the United States.

Religion

In keeping with its colonial history, Chester County is home to a number of historic Quaker buildings, including Birmingham, Birmingham Orthodox, Bradford, Caln, Old Kennett, Parkersville, Westtown, and Uwchlan meeting houses. Other historic religious buildings include St. Malachi Church, southeastern Pennsylvania's oldest active Catholic mission church, and the Episcopal St. Mary's, St. Paul's, and St. Peter's churches, and Washington Memorial Chapel. Also located in the county are the First Presbyterian Church of West Chester, Coventryville United Methodist Church, which is part of the Coventryville Historic District, and Beth Israel Congregation of Chester County, a Conservative synagogue in Coatesville, a site of Eastern European immigration in the 20th century.

Politics
Election results

, there are 354,316 registered voters in Chester County.

 Republican: 155,439 (43.87%)
 Democratic: 136,893 (38.64%)
 Other Political parties and no affiliation: 61,984 (17.49%)

Chester County has historically been reliably Republican at the county level; traditionally, it was the most conservative county near Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. In recent elections, however, it has been trending Democratic, though not as overwhelmingly as the rest of the Philadelphia suburbs. 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. But, in 2009, with a smaller turnout, Republican candidates swept all county-row offices, winning with an average margin of 20%. In 2012 the county voted for Republican candidate Mitt Romney, by a very small margin of about 500 votes.

In 2016, despite Pennsylvania voting for a Republican presidential candidate for the first time since 1988, Chester County voted more Democratic than in 2012, with Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump by over 25,000 votes or 9.4 percentage points; a 4.8 percentage point swing from 2012. The only two statewide winners in 2016 to carry Chester County were U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R) and Pennsylvania State Treasurer Joe Torsella (D). Republican candidates John Brown and John Rafferty carried Chester County, though both lost their races for Auditor General and Attorney General, respectively (Rafferty, a State Senator whose district includes northern Chester County, carried the county by a slim margin of 50 votes)

Democrats have 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 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 (who represented much of Chester County for 12 years 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. In 2010, however, Chester County swung back to the GOP, with Republicans Dan Truitt (who defeated McIlvaine Smith), Warren Kampf (who defeated Drucker), and John Lawrence (who defeated Houghton) all elected to the State House. 

On November 8, 2017, Democrats made historic inroads in Chester County by winning their first County Row Office seats since 1799, picking up 4 row office seats. On November 5, 2019, Democrats swept countywide row office seat elections and took a majority on the Board of Commissioners, for a first time in county history.

Government

Commissioners
Chester County is administered by a three-person Board of Commissioners, who serve four-year terms. Elections occur in the odd-numbered years that precede U.S. Presidential elections, with the next election falling in 2023.  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.

As of the November 2019 election:

County Row Officers
As of the November 2019 election:

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

State House of Representatives

As of the November 2018 election.

State Senate

As of the November 2018 election.

Education

Colleges and universities

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (partially in Delaware County)
Delaware County Community College (locations in Exton, Downingtown, Phoenixville and West Grove)
Immaculata University
Lincoln University
Penn State Great Valley
University of Valley Forge
West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Public school districts

Avon Grove School District
Coatesville Area School District
Downingtown Area School District
Great Valley School District
Kennett Consolidated School District
Octorara Area School District
Owen J. Roberts School District
Oxford Area School District
Phoenixville Area School District
Spring-Ford Area School District
Tredyffrin-Easttown School District
Twin Valley School District
Unionville-Chadds Ford School District
West Chester Area School District

Charter schools
 Achievement House Charter School grades 9-12, Exton
 Avon Grove Charter School grades K-12, West Grove
 Chester County Family Academy Charter School grades K-2, West Chester
 Collegium Charter School grades K-12, Exton
 Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School K-12, West Chester
 Renaissance Academy Charter School grades K-12, Phoenixville
 Sankofa Academy Charter School grades 5-8, West Chester
 21st Century Cyber Charter School grades 6-12. Downingtown.

There are 11 public cyber charter schools and 144 bricks and mortar charter schools in Pennsylvania that are available for free statewide, to children K-12. See: Education in Pennsylvania.

Independent schools
Bishop Shanahan High School (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
Center for Arts and Technology (Administered by Chester County Intermediate Unit)
Church Farm School (now called CFS the School at Church Farm)
Delaware Valley Friends School
Devon Preparatory School
Fairville Friends School (Chadds Ford , Pennsylvania)
Goshen Friends School (West Chester, Pennsylvania)
Kimberton Waldorf School (Kimberton, Pennsylvania)
London Grove Friends Kindergarten (Kennett Square, Pennsylvania)
Malvern Preparatory School
The Concept School - 6th through 12th Grade
Upattinas School and Resource Center (Glenmoore, Pennsylvania)
Upland Country Day School (UCDS) - Pre-K through 9th Grade
Villa Maria Academy (Malvern, Pennsylvania)
West-Mont Christian Academy
West Chester Friends School
West Fallowfield Christian School
Westtown School
Windsor Christian Academy - K through 6th Grade
Windsor Christian Preschool
Regina Luminis Academy

Libraries
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 sixteen member libraries. The system provides materials and information for life, work and pleasure.

Communities

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:

City
Coatesville

Boroughs

Atglen
Avondale
Downingtown
Elverson
Honey Brook
Kennett Square
Malvern
Modena
Oxford
Parkesburg
Phoenixville
South Coatesville
Spring City
West Chester (county seat)
West Grove

Townships

Birmingham
Caln
Charlestown
East Bradford
East Brandywine
East Caln
East Coventry
East Fallowfield
East Goshen
East Marlborough
East Nantmeal
East Nottingham
East Pikeland
East Vincent
East Whiteland
Easttown
Elk
Franklin
Highland
Honey Brook
Kennett
London Britain
London Grove
Londonderry
Lower Oxford
New Garden
New London
Newlin
North Coventry
Penn
Pennsbury
Pocopson
Sadsbury
Schuylkill
South Coventry
Thornbury
Tredyffrin
Upper Oxford
Upper Uwchlan
Uwchlan
Valley
Wallace
Warwick
West Bradford
West Brandywine
West Caln
West Fallowfield
West Goshen
West Marlborough
West Nantmeal
West Nottingham
West Pikeland
West Sadsbury
West Vincent
West Whiteland
Westtown
Willistown

Unincorporated communities

Birchrunville
Brandamore
Bucktown
Cedar Knoll
Chester Springs
Compass
Coventry
Coventryville
Daylesford
Devault
Doe Run
Dowlin Forge
Embreeville
Fisherville
Frazer
Glenmoore
Hayti
Hephzibah
Humphreyville
Ironsides
Jennersville
Kimberton
Knauertown 
Landenberg
Lenape
Longwood
Ludwigs Corner
Lyndell
Marchwood
Marshallton
Mortonville
Nantmeal Village
Newlinville
Parker Ford
Phillipsville
Pine Swamp
Pocopson
Pomeroy Heights
Pughtown
Romansville
Sadsburyville
Schades Corner
Strafford                                           
Suplee
Unionville
Warwick
Weatherstone
Wilsons Corner
Valley Forge

Census-designated places
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.

Berwyn
Caln
Chesterbrook
Cheyney University
Cochranville
Devon
Eagleview
Exton
Kenilworth
Lincoln University
Lionville
Paoli
Pomeroy
South Pottstown
Thorndale
Toughkenamon
Westwood

Historic community
Barnestown

Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Chester County.

† county seat

Climate
Chester County has four distinct seasons and has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) except for some far southern lowlands which have a humid subtropical climate (Cfa). The hardiness zones are 6b and 7a.

Public health

Opioid crisis 

In both 2018 and 2019, deaths from drug overdoses in Chester County declined. Of the 104 drug overdoses recorded by the coroner, an estimated 77 percent involved the presence of fentanyl. One of the reasons for the decline in overdose deaths was "the saturation across the county of Narcan, the anti-opioid nasal spray that can revive someone suffering an overdose." In 2019, any resident of Chester County could obtain a free Narcan dose at community training events across the county.

Notable people
  Jesse B. Aikin (1808-1900), first to produce a song book with a seven-shape note system
  Mifflin E. Bell (1847-1904), architect who served from 1883 to 1886 as Supervising Architect of the US Treasury Department
  Scott Brunner (born 1957), NFL quarterback during the 1980s
  Anthony Wayne (1745-1796), American Revolutionary War General known as "Mad" Anthony Wayne
  Samuel Van Leer (1747-1825), Captain during the American Revolution and well known Iron business owner. Owned Warwick Furnace Farms and other nearby historical places.
  Robert Grace (1709–1766) was the first manufacturer of the Franklin stove.
  Isaac Israel Hayes (1832-1881), Arctic explorer and physician
  Mifflin Kenedy (1818-1895), South Texas rancher and steamboat operator; partner in King Ranch, born in Chester County
  Rebecca Webb Lukens (1794-1854) first female owner and manager of the company that became the Lukens Steel Mill
  Franklin MacVeagh (1837-1934), banker and Secretary of the US Treasury
  Bam Margera (born 1979), professional skateboarder, television and radio personality, and daredevil
  Ryan Dunn (1977-2011), actor, television personality, and daredevil. Died in a car crash in West Goshen, Pennsylvania.
  Jon Matlack (born 1950), baseball pitcher for the New York Mets and Texas Rangers (1971–83), All Star and N.L. Champion
  Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909), one of the most prominent American Beaux-Arts architects of the late nineteenth century
  Herb Pennock (1894–1948), Hall of Fame baseball pitcher also known as the Squire of Kennett Square.
  Thomas Buchanan Read (1822-1872), poet and portrait painter
  Bayard Rustin (1912-1987), American civil rights leader posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  John Wallace Scott (1832-1903), Medal of Honor recipient during the American Civil War
  M. Night Shyamalan (born 1970), film director
  William Thomas Smedley (1858-1920), artist; member of the National Academy of Design
  James Smith (1719-1806), signer to the United States Declaration of Independence
  Richard Troxell, international opera star, aka America's Tenor. Resides in Chester County.
  George Alexis Weymouth (born 1936), artist (painter); "whip" stager; founder of The Brandywine Conservancy and The Brandywine River Museum
  Thomas Wharton Jr. (1735-1778), served as the first President of Pennsylvania (an office akin to Governor) following the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain
  William (Amos) Wilson (1762-1821), famous folklore figure known as "The Pennsylvania Hermit"
  Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009), artist, son of N.C. Wyeth
  Jamie Wyeth (born 1946), artist, son of Andrew Wyeth
  N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), artist
  Bernardhus Van Leer (1687–1790), Notable Doctor with rare at home practice and one of first doctors in New York
  Matt Ryan (born 1985), American Football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, born in Exton.
 Kyle Gallner (Born 1986) Actor
 Kerr Smith  (Born 1972) Actor
 Smedley Butler (1881–1940) Twice recipient of the Medal of Honor, thwarted the Business Plot, advocate for veterans, author.
 Bartholomew Fussell (1794-1871) Abolitionist active in the Underground Railroad, Early advocate for women's careers in medicine.