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Renting an Apartment in Chester
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.
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.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of
1,968 km� (760 sq mi). 1,958 km� (756 sq mi) of it is land and 10 km� (4
sq mi) of it (0.51%) is water.
Adjacent counties
* Berks County (north)
* Montgomery County (northeast)
* Delaware County (east)
* New Castle County, Delaware (southeast)
* Cecil County, Maryland (south)
* Lancaster County (west)
State parks
* French Creek State Park
* Marsh Creek State Park
* White Clay Creek Preserve
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:
Cities
* Coatesville
Boroughs
* Atglen
* Avondale
* Downingtown
* Elverson
* Honey Brook
* Kennett Square
* Malvern
* Modena
* Oxford
* Parkesburg
* Phoenixville
* South Coatesville
* Spring City
* West Chester
* West Grove
Townships
* Birmingham Township
* Caln Township
* Charlestown Township
* East Bradford Township
* East Brandywine Township
* East Caln Township
* East Coventry Township
* East Fallowfield Township
* East Goshen Township
* East Marlborough Township
* East Nantmeal Township
* East Nottingham Township
* East Pikeland Township
* East Vincent Township
* East Whiteland Township
* Easttown Township
* Elk Township
* Franklin Township
* Highland Township
* Honey Brook Township
* Kennett Township
* London Britain Township
* London Grove Township
* Londonderry Township
* Lower Oxford Township
* New Garden Township
* New London Township
* Newlin Township
* North Coventry Township
* Penn Township
* Pennsbury Township
* Pocopson Township
* Sadsbury Township
* Schuylkill Township
* South Coventry Township
* Thornbury Township
* Tredyffrin Township
* Upper Oxford Township
* Upper Uwchlan Township
* Uwchlan Township
* Valley Township
* Wallace Township
* Warwick Township
* West Bradford Township
* West Brandywine Township
* West Caln Township
* West Fallowfield Township
* West Goshen Township
* West Marlborough Township
* West Nantmeal Township
* West Nottingham Township
* West Pikeland Township
* West Sadsbury Township
* West Vincent Township
* West Whiteland Township
* Westtown Township
* Willistown Township
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.
* Chesterbrook
* Devon-Berwyn
* Exton
* Kenilworth
* Lionville-Marchwood
* Paoli
* South Pottstown
* Thorndale
* Toughkenamon
* West Goshen
Education
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
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
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