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Renting an Apartment in Media
The borough of Media is the county seat of Delaware County, PennsylvaniaGR6
and is located 12 miles (19 km) west of Philadelphia. Media was incorporated in
1850 at the same time that it was named the county seat. The population was
5,533 at the 2000 census. It is also the first and only fair trade town in
America.
The history of the town goes back to William Penn, but the area remained
predominantly rural until the twentieth century, and is suburban today. The
Delaware County Institute of Science was founded in Media in 1833, while the
Pennsylvania Institute of Technology, a two-year technical college, Williamson
Free School of Mechanical Trades and Delaware County Community College, a
two-year liberal arts college, are located nearby. Media promotes itself as
"Everybody's Hometown."
History
Land in area was sold and settled soon after William Penn was named proprietor
of the colony of Pennsylvania in 1681 by King Charles II of England. Providence
Township was organized in 1684, and divided into Upper Providence and Nether
Providence Townships by 1690 even though they only had 40 taxable
properties at the time. The current borough, formed in 1850, sits between the
two townships.
In 1683 the Court of Chester County approved the construction of "Providence
Great Road" (now Pennsylvania Route 252). The road, which runs north from
Chester to within a few blocks from today's downtown, is shown on a 1687 map
along with the names of local landowners. It forms the eastern border of
the borough.
Thomas Minshall, a Quaker, was an early Media resident, settling just outside
the small village then known as Providence, along the Providence Great Road. The
village then included a tailor shop, blacksmith shop, wheelwright shop, barn and
other buildings.
Minshall bought 625 acres from William Penn and arrived in 1702, building his
house across from the Providence Friends Meeting. The original meetinghouse was
built out of logs in 1699 and the current building dates to 1814. Minshall’s
house still stands and was given to the citizens of the borough in 1975.
During the American Revolution the Marquis de La Fayette bought a saddle at the
Minshall house.
The area remained rural through 1850. On March 11, 1850 the State of
Pennsylvania by Special Act of Assembly incorporated the Borough of Media, and
made the sale of malt and spirituous liquors unlawful within its borders. At the
same time the county seat of Delaware County was moved to Media from Chester.
The borough was formed from four farms purchased by the county, totalling only
48 acres. The borders of the borough have not changed since that time.
Streets were plotted in a rectangular grid around the location of the new
courthouse, lots were sold at public auctions, and the construction of houses
began. Sources agree that Minshall Painter, a descendent of Thomas Minshall,
suggested the name "Media," but do not agree on the reason. The name may come
from the city’s central location in Delaware County, or from the biblical area
of Medea.
The John J. Tyler Arboretum occupies part of Thomas Minshall’s original 625
acres. This farm was used by the underground railroad The land was donated to a
public trust in 1944 by an eighth generation descendant. The arboretum was
started as a private collection by brothers Jacob and Minshall Painter. In 1825
they began systematically planting over 1,000 varieties of trees and shrubs.
Over 20 of their original trees survive including a giant sequoia.
Minshall Painter was also a leader of the Delaware County Institute of Science,
which was formed on September 21, 1833 with just four other members: George
Miller, John Miller, George Smith, M.D., and John Cassin. The Institute was
incorporated in 1836. About 1850, Painter gave the Institute the land where its
building currently stands at 11 Veteran's Square, and the building was
constructed in 1867.
In the second half of the 19th Century, Media was a summer resort for well-to-do
Philadelphians. The borough's large vacation hotels included the Idlewild Hotel
(1871) on Lincoln Street at Gayley Terrace, Chestnut Grove House or “The
Colonial” (1860) on Orange Street, and Brooke Hall on Lemon Street and
Washington Ave. (now Baltimore Ave.). The Chestnut Grove was used for a year by
nearby Swarthmore College due to a fire on their campus.
The Philadelphia Baltimore Washington Railroad was built through Media in 1854.
Up to 50 trains passed through each day. Woodrow Wilson spoke at the Media
Station in 1912 during his first election campaign. Trolley transportation lines
spread to and through Media in the 1890’s and early 1900’s.
Korean nationalist Philip Jaison lived in Media from 1925 to 1951.
In June 1951, Media resident and record producer Dave Miller recorded Bill Haley
from nearby Boothwyn playing "Rocket 88" which is considered by some historians
to be the first Rock 'n Roll record.
On March 8, 1971, a group calling itself the Citizens' Commission to Investigate
the FBI raided an FBI "resident agency" in Media. They later released thousands
of documents to major newspapers around the US. These documents revealed some
unusual and controversial FBI tactics, like the recruitment of Boy Scouts as
informants, and confirmed for the first time the existence of COINTELPRO, an FBI
program to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize"
dissident groups in the US.
In June 2006, Media became the first US town to follow over three-hundred towns
in Europe in attaining fair trade certification. To meet the criteria for
certification, Media passed a council resolution in support of fair trade, serve
fair-trade coffee and tea in local government meetings and offices, ensure that
a range of fair-trade products were available in local restaurants and
businesses, raise popular support and provide media coverage for the fair-trade
campaign, and convene a fair-trade steering committee to ensure continued
commitment.
Landmarks
* Minshall House (1702) on Route 252.
* Media Presbyterian Church (1855) at Baltimore Ave. and Church Street, designed
by John McArthur, architect of Philadelphia City Hall.
* Delaware County Court House (1871) on Front Street.
* Delaware County Institute of Science (1867) on Veterans’ Square.
* Cooper House (before 1870) on State Street.
* Media Armory (1907) on State Street, designed by William S. Price and M H.
McClanahan. It now houses the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Museum and Trader Joe’s.
* Hillhurst (1890) on Orange Street, designed by Addison Hutton.
* Provident National Bank (1900) on State Street at Veterans’ Square, designed
by Albert Dilks.
* Media Theatre (1927) on State Street, designed by Louis Magziner as a
Beaux-arts movie palace with Art Deco design elements. It now is home to the
Media Theatre for the Performing Arts.
The Media Area
Since the borough of Media is only 0.8 sq mi and the "Media zip code" 19063
covers a much larger area, the geographic term "Media" is often used in a sense
that includes not only the borough of Media, but other contiguous areas that are
part of other municipalities but that share the zipcode. These include the
entire Upper Providence Township, and in Nether Providence Township, the
neighborhoods of South Media, Bowling Green, Pine Ridge, most of Middletown
Township including the entire Elwyn, Bortandale, Riddlewood, Lima, Glen Riddle,
& Lenni neighborhoods. Parts of Rose Valley Borough, Chester Heights Borough,
Marple Township and Aston Township are sometimes included.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,533 people, 2,782 households, and
1,112 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,848.4/km˛
(7,399.0/mi˛). There were 2,966 housing units at an average density of
1,526.9/km˛ (3,966.3/mi˛). The racial makeup of the borough was 81.02% White,
14.22% African American, 0.14% Native American, 2.01% Asian, 0.02% Pacific
Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population.
There were 2,782 households out of which 14.9% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 27.2% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 60.0% were non-families. 49.2% of all
households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who
was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.85 and the
average family size was 2.73.
In the borough the population was spread out with 13.7% under the age of 18,
8.3% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were
65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females
there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.9
males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $42,703, and the median
income for a family was $58,065. Males had a median income of $42,121 versus
$31,904 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,188. About
6.1% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.
The population in 1900 consisted of 3,075 people, whose numbers grew to 3,562 in
1910, and to 5,351 in 1940.
Transportation
Media is connected to Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, by the 101 trolley and is the
only suburban town in the United States to have a trolley run down the middle of
its main street. The trolley terminates just after the Delaware County
Courthouse known as the Media-Orange Street (SEPTA station). Media also has a
stop on the R3 Regional Rail Line at the corner of Orange Street and Station
Road.
US Route 1 formerly ran through the borough until a by-pass was built. The old
route is known by an even older name, Baltimore Pike.
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), the 10th busiest airport in the world,
is 12.0 miles driving distance (about 19 minutes) from downtown Media, following
Baltimore Pike east, then Interstate 476 south and Interstate 95 northeast.
Points of interest
* Delaware County Community College
* Delaware County Institute of Science
* Media Area