Cheyney is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

that sits astride

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

counties in the U.S. state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. It corresponds to the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

known as Cheyney University, which had a population of 988 at the 2010 census, and 565 at the 2020 census. It is the home of

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth, it is the ...

. The university derives its name from George Cheyney's Farm, which became the current campus of Cheyney University in 1902. George Cheyney's Farm and the surrounding area was part of the original land grant given to

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

in 1681. Originally, Cheyney was located at the intersection of what is now Creek and Cheyney Roads. The original "Cheyney's Shops" dated from the mid 18th century and were located on the north west and north east corners of the intersection of Creek and Cheyney Roads. The original Cheyney Post Office was located there as well as the general store, hotel, blacksmith shop and wheelsmith's shop. There are old maps that show "Cheyney" to be located at the intersection of Creek (sometimes Tanguy) and Cheyney Roads. All the newer maps show the location of "Cheyney" to be on Station Road. The Cheyney Family originally owned nearly 10,000 acres. William Cheyney was the first postmaster in 1835. When the railroad came through Cheyney, the post office was moved to Station Road. The original station was located in a brick structure (now a private residence) that still stands on Station Road just east of Cheyney Road. The current station building is home to the Cheyney Post Office. The last remaining portion of the Cheyney's Shops are on the north east corner of Creek and Cheyney Roads. Cheyney University tore down all the original buildings located on the north west corner in the late 1960s or early 1970s. This group of buildings consisted of a hotel, general store/post office and blacksmith's shop as well as a large bank barn. A stone wheelwright's shop and two other related original buildings are located on the opposite corner and still survive today. These structures were purchased in 1847 from the Cheyney Family by William Maison. The wheelwright shop operated until 1918 when Samuel W. Maison, son of William Maison, died. In 1934 Mary Elizabeth Maison, daughter of William Maison, sold the structures and property. Cheyney straddles the border between Thornbury Township in Chester County and Thornbury Township in Delaware County. These townships were originally one township, which was bisected when Delaware County split from Chester County in 1789. Both township offices are located along Cheyney Road next to the university. The John Cheyney Log Tenant House and Farm and Melrose are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Census-designated places in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Chester County, Pennsylvania