West Chester, Pennsylvania

History

The area was originally known as Turk's Head — after the inn of the same name located in what is now the center of the borough. West Chester has been the seat of government in Chester County since 1786 when the seat was moved from nearby Chester in what is now Delaware County. The borough was incorporated in 1799. In the heart of town is its courthouse, a classical revival building designed in the 1840s by Thomas U. Walter, one of the architects for the Capitol in Washington, D.C. In the 18th century West Chester was a center of clockmaking. In the late 19th century the Hoopes, Bro. and Darlington company became a major wheelworks, first for wagons and later automobiles. In the early 20th century, an important industry was the Sharples cream separator company. In the late 20th century, Commodore International, one of the pioneers of home computers, giving its headquarters as West Chester, was located approximately a mile northeast of the borough.

The West Chester Downtown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Other listed buildings are the Bank of Chester County, Buckwalter Building, Butler House, Chester County Courthouse, William Everhart Buildings, Farmers and Mechanics Building, First Presbyterian Church of West Chester, New Century Clubhouse, Joseph Rothrock House, Sharples Homestead, Sharples Separator Works, Warner Theater, West Chester Boarding School for Boys, and the components of the West Chester State College Quadrangle Historic District.

Geography

West Goshen Township borders West Chester to the north, south, and east, while East Bradford Township borders West Chester to the west. The borough straddles the Brandywine Creek and Chester Creek watersheds. It is located 25 miles (40 km) west of Philadelphia and 17 miles (27 km) north of Wilmington, Delaware.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.8 square miles (5 km²), all of it land.

Climate

As with much of Eastern Pennsylvania east of the Appalachian mountains, West Chester straddles the humid continental (Köppen: Dfa ) and humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa ) climate zones, with generally more characteristics of the former than the latter. Summers are hot and humid and winters are cold but variable. Annual high temperatures average between 39.0 °F (3.9 °C) and 85.4 °F (29.7 °C), annual low temperatures average between 22.2 °F (−5.4 °C) and 64.4 °F (18.0 °C), with the record high being 105 °F (41 °C), and record low being −16 °F (−27 °C).

Annual precipitation averages 46.7 inches (119 cm), and annual snowfall averages 27.7 inches (70 cm).

Demographics

At the 2010 census, the borough was 72.1% non-Hispanic White, 12.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.4% Asian, and 2.4% were two or more races. 13.4% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,861 people, 6,265 households, and 2,662 families residing in the borough. The population density was 9,703.3 people per square mile (3,747.9/km²). There were 6,541 housing units at an average density of 3,553.5 per square mile (1,372.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 75.44% White, 17.08% Black, 3.64% from other races, 1.46% Asian, 0.31% Native American, 0.07% Pacific Islander, and 2.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 8.94%.

There were 6,265 households, 19.1% of which had children under the age of 18 living in them, 26.8% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 57.5% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 13.4% under the age of 18, 37.7% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 13.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $37,803, and the median income for a family was $51,018. Males had a median income of $35,540, versus $30,819 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $19,073. About 9.8% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Corporate headquarters include:

QVC has its headquarters and television studios in West Goshen Township, near West Chester. It is located in the same buildings that were once the corporate headquarters of Commodore International. Electronics Boutique, when it existed as an independent company, had its headquarters in West Goshen Township, in proximity to West Chester.

Among the major shopping centers in the area is Bradford Plaza, a 22-acre property with a 161,000-square foot center which sold in 2014 to New York Life for US$35,700,000.

Culture and media

The West Chester Public Library has provided library services to area residents since 1872. It currently has a collection of 50,000 items and receives 110,000 visits every year. The Francis Harvey Green Library on the university campus has additional collections.

The Daily Local News is a daily newspaper headquartered in West Chester that covers Chester County events. The Quad is the student-run newspaper of West Chester University. Beginning in 1932, it covers not only campus events but also regional and national news. Radio station WCUR broadcasts from the borough and is managed by university students.

Notable people

Transportation

The main east-west road to West Chester is West Chester Pike, which begins in Upper Darby, Delaware County, just outside Philadelphia, and is part of Pennsylvania Route 3 (PA 3). The West Chester Pike originally existed as a private turnpike connecting Philadelphia and West Chester between 1850 and 1918, at which time it became a public road. In West Chester, PA 3 follows Market Street eastbound and Gay Street westbound. The main north-south road in West Chester is High Street. To the north of town, the road is known as Pottstown Pike, which connects to PA 100 near Exton (Route 100 formerly ran through town). To the south of town, the road is known as Wilmington-West Chester Pike (US 202 and US 322). US 202 and US 322 both bypass the center of West Chester on the limited-access West Chester Bypass, with US 202 heading northeast to King of Prussia and south to Wilmington, Delaware and US 322 heading northwest to Downingtown and southeast to Chester. US 322 Business passes through West Chester along Hannum Avenue, Chestnut and Market streets, and South High Street. Other state routes serving West Chester include PA 162 and PA 842, which head west towards Unionville, and PA 52, which heads southwest towards Kennett Square.

West Chester is home to the West Chester Transportation Center, which serves as a parking garage for the Chester County Justice Center and a bus terminal, which is located on the lower level of the facility. Two of SEPTA's Suburban Division bus routes serve West Chester. The Route 92 bus connects West Chester to the Exton Transportation Center and the King of Prussia Transit Center while the Route 104 bus runs between West Chester University and the 69th Street Transportation Center, mostly following West Chester Pike. The Route 104 bus replaced a trolley service that connected West Chester to Philadelphia along the West Chester Pike between 1898 and the 1950s. West Chester is also served by the Transportation Management Association of Chester County's SCCOOT, which provides service to Kennett Square and Oxford, and Krapf's Transit's Route A, which provides service to Exton, Downingtown, and Coatesville.

Until September 1986, West Chester was served by SEPTA's R3 commuter rail line, then known as the Media/West Chester line. Service on the line was discontinued because of poor track conditions west of the Elwyn station. At the time, SEPTA had limited funds for the necessary repairs, and offered Chester County the option of either improving the rail line or expanding parking availability at the nearby Exton station on SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line. The county opted for the latter and service on the line was cut back to its current terminus of Elwyn. The rail line into West Chester is used by the West Chester Railroad, a heritage railroad.

The oldest continuous running cab company in the area is Rainbow Cab and Limousine, which offers an 85% discount for seniors, has been in operation since 1952, under a variety of names.

West Chester in media

Government

The borough is governed by the town council form of government. Led by the Borough Manager, there are seven council members each representing one of the seven voting wards. The council controls all departments except the Police Department (the Mayor directs Police Department activities through the Chief of Police). The mayor and council members are directly elected by borough voters. In January 2010, Carolyn Comitta took office as the borough's 58th Mayor. In succeeding the term-limited incumbent, Republican Dick Yoder, Comitta became West Chester's first ever female Mayor, and the first Democrat to hold the office since 1992.

Education

The West Chester Area School District, an independent entity, manages the area's public school system, which includes three high schools (Henderson High School, West Chester East High School, Rustin High School), three middle schools (E.N. Peirce Middle School, J.R. Fugett Middle School, G.A. Stetson Middle school), and ten elementary schools (East Bradford Elementary, East Goshen Elementary, Exton Elementary, Fern Hill Elementary, Glen Acres Elementary, Hillsdale Elementary, Mary C. Howse Elementary, Penn Wood Elemetary, Sarah W. Starkweather Elementary, Westtown-Thornbury Elementary). West Chester University is located in the borough, south of the commercial and retail center.