Call Number:

10

Repository:

Delaware County Historical Society

Extent:

85.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

circa 1850-2013

Creator:

Delaware County Historical Society (Delaware County, Pa.)

Abstract:

Delaware County was the first section of Pennsylvania to be settled by Europeans, specifically Swedes in 1643. It was in the city of Chester, the original county seat of Delaware County, that William Penn and the General Assembly of Pennsylvania adopted Penn's "Great Law of Pennsylvania," which granted the right to vote, citizenship, freedom of religion and trial by jury to all settlers. Located adjacent to Philadelphia, Delaware County's suburban population grew rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Delaware County Historical Society vertical files, circa 1850-2013, cover various local topics. Materials are mostly newspaper clippings, photocopies of newspaper articles, pamphlets and ephemera, research notes, narrative histories, transcripts, indexes, printed materials, copies of church and civil records, death and funeral records, and census and tax records, as well as some original documents and oral histories on audiocassette tapes and CDs.

"Delaware County, presently consisting of over 184 square miles divided into forty-nine municipalities, is the oldest settled section of Pennsylvania. The first major settlement occurred under Swedish rule by Governor Johan Printz who in 1643 established the first court, school, church and governmental offices on Tinicum Island. Equitable treatment of the Lenni Lenape Indians helped the European settlements to thrive and both races continued to farm on the banks of the Delaware.

"The Delaware River Settlements after a brief period fell under the jurisdiction of England's Duke of York. Twenty years later in 1681, King Charles II granted rights for a proprietary colony to William Penn which led to the founding of the Province of Pennsylvania under Penn's control. The city [of Chester] where Penn first landed during 1682 in Pennsylvania is home of the oldest public building in the United States, The Old Chester Court House in Chester.

"In Chester, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania met with Penn and on December 7, 1682 the Assembly adopted Penn's " Great Law of Pennsylvania." The document granted the right to vote, citizenship, freedom of religion and trial by jury to all settlers. William Penn had implemented a form of government which established Pennsylvania as a haven for the oppressed of all nations, empha[si]zing religious freedom, fair treatment of Indians and minorities with a democratic government. Major developments had began. Early settlements were at Marcus Hook, Upland/Chester, Tinicum and Darby.

"During the first years under Penn's rule the population more than tripled. Farm sites were established beyond the river and major roads still in use today (Route 252, 452, Springfield Road, Lansdowne Road, etc.) were laid out. Shipbuilding, which began under the Swedes escalated and an active coastal trade zone developed.

"Trouble in the county and the colonies brewed due to the dictatorial rule of the British King George III and his parliament. With the subsequent American Revolution, Delaware County became a major battleground for along the Brandywine River, the largest land battle of the Revolution was fought on September 11th 1777. Nearly, 30,000 British and American Troops faced each other in a bloody battle. The American army led by General Washington retreated while the British marched on to occupy Philadelphia. There at Brandywine, Marquis de Lafayette of France then only twenty years old, began his service for the cause of freedom with the American Revolution and then later the French Revolution. When Delaware County split from Chester County in 1789, the seat of local government was retained in Upland/Chester. As the interior developed, complaints grew concerning the distance to the county seat and it finally was moved to Media in 1850 with the beautiful Delaware County Courthouse being erected in 1889. Many major landowners on the river sold off their the farms and purchased property near the new county seat, thus opening the riverfront to major industrial development. From 1845 on, the riverfront became a heavy industry magnet. Several shipyards built vessels for international buyers and locomotives from Baldwin and other works were exported around the world.

"In the middle of the century, the Pennsylvania Railroad's Main Line was built through Radnor Township in the northern part of Delaware County. Later the Baltimore, Ohio and Reading Railroads, traveling from North & South, were built through the southeastern part of the county. Between 1870 and the turn of the century, nineteen boroughs were established, largely along the path of these railroads. West Chester Pike, constructed of planks and stones, provided a route for farmers to transport their milk and produce to Philadelphia. Resort hotels were built around Media and Newtown Square, as parts of the County became vacation areas.

"At the turn of the twentieth century, a third of the County's population lived in Chester, and the waterfront area became a powerful industrial complex, contributing significantly to the needs of the country during both World Wars. On the waterfront were Sun shipbuilding and Drydock company, the oil refineries, The Baldwin Locomotive Works, The Ford Motor Company assembly plant, Westinghouse Electric Company, The American Viscose Company, which housed the world's first synthetic fiber plant and Scott Paper.

"In the eastern part of the County the 69th Street Terminal, completed in 1907, became a hub of transportation; subway and elevated trains from Philadelphia connected with the trolley cars of Delaware County which served West Chester, Sharon Hill, Ardmore and Media. After the First World War there was considerable residential development in Upper Darby, Drexel Hill, Havertown and Springfield which continued after the Second World War in such communities as Westbrook Park, Upper Darby Township and Marple Township.

"The middle part of the twentieth century witnessed unparalleled population growth as more and more families moved to the suburbs. Delaware County is the fourth most populous in the state even though it has the third smallest land mass."

Bibliography:

Quoted text from: Delaware County, Pennsylvania. "The History of Delaware County." Accessed June 25, 2013. http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/ycounty/history.html

The Delaware County Historical Society vertical files, circa 1850-2013, cover various local topics. Materials are mostly newspaper clippings, photocopies of newspaper articles, pamphlets and ephemera, research notes, narrative histories, transcripts, indexes, printed materials, copies of church and civil records, death and funeral records, and census and tax records, as well as some original documents and oral histories on audiocassette tapes and CDs.

This collection is organized into the following series: Places/Things, People, Chester, Townships, Religious Institutions. Within these series, files are in alphabetical order. The files include mostly newspaper clippings, photocopies of newspaper articles, pamphlets and ephemera, research notes, and narrative histories. There are a few original documents mixed in. Most of the topics are local, although there are a few more general subject files, such as the Declaration of Independence or historic clothing suppliers.

The Delaware County Historical Society also holds a variety of unpublished reference materials, such as narrative histories, transcripts, indexes, ephemera, and printed materials, on local history topics and families. There are also copies of church, civil, and funeral records, including: St. David's Church records, 1719-1966; St. John's Episcopal records, 1724-1929; WPA Tombstone Survey, 1937; Immaculate Heart Roman Catholic Church records; and White Funeral Home records, 1887-1929. Additional resources are accessible on microfilm: census and tax records; church records; Crozer Theological Seminary minutes, 1867-1970; Philadelphia Common Council Minutes, 1704-1776; and various newspapers. An inventory of the microfilm holdings is available on-site.

Lastly, the collection includes audiocassette tapes, CDs, and DVDs. The audiovisual materials include short documentaries, recordings of Historical Society and local events, and videos recorded by other historical organizations. Of special interest are oral histories on audiocassettes from the 1970s-1990s, and oral histories on DVDs done by David Komarnicki from 2006. The Society also owns a small collection of glass slides (most likely purchased from Yale University Press) of copies of historic documents.