Chester County, Pennsylvania

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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 wealthiest county 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.

[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 Susquehanna River to the west, the Delaware River to the east, and Delaware and Maryland to the south.

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 it 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.

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.

[edit] Adjacent counties

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

[edit] State parks

• French Creek State Park
• Marsh Creek State Park
• White Clay Creek Preserve

[edit] Demographics

As of the census² 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.

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.

[edit] Politics

As of November 2007, there are 292,265 registered voters in Chester County^[1].

• Democratic: 92,317 (31.61%)
• Republican: 150,277 (51.42%)
• Other Parties: 49,671 (17.00%)

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
• Patrick O’Donnell
• Donald A. Mancici

[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

[edit] United States Senate

[edit] Pennsylvania House of Representatives

[edit] Pennsylvania State Senate

[edit] Municipalities

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 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. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

[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

[edit] Public School Districts

• Avon Grove School District
• Coatesville Area School District
• Downingtown Area School District
• Great Valley School District
• Kennett Consolidated School District
• Octorara 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

[edit] Independent schools

• Bishop Shanahan High School (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
• Center for Arts and Tehnology (Administered by Chester County Intermediate Unit)
• Devon Preparatory School
• Malvern Preparatory School
• Villa Maria Academy (Malvern, Pennsylvania)
• West Fallowfield Christian School
• Westtown School
• Windsor Christian Academy
• Windsor Christian Preschool
• Upland Country Day School (UCDS) - Pre-K through 9th Grade

[edit] External links

• Chester County Home Page

[edit] References

Coordinates: 39°58′N 75°45′W / 39.97, -75.75pdc:Tscheschter Kaundi de:Chester County (Pennsylvania) eo:Konteo Chester (Pensilvanio) fr:Comté de Chester (Pennsylvanie) bpy:চেস্টার কাউন্টি, পেনসিলভানিয়া lmo:Chester County, Pennsylvania nl:Chester County (Pennsylvania) no:Chester County i Pennsylvania nds:Chester County (Pennsylvania) pt:Condado de Chester (Pensilvânia) sv:Chester County, Pennsylvania zh:切斯特縣 (賓夕法尼亞州)