Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It is known as the

Mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

Capital of the World because

mushroom farming Fungiculture is the cultivation of fungi such as mushrooms. Cultivating fungi can yield foods (which include mostly mushrooms), medicine, construction materials and other products. A ''mushroom farm'' is involved in the business of growing fun ...

in the region produces over 500 million pounds of mushrooms a year, totaling half of the United States mushroom crop. To celebrate this heritage, Kennett Square has an annual Mushroom Festival, where the town shuts down to have a parade, tour mushroom farms, and buy and sell food and other goods. It is also home to the corporate headquarters of Genesis HealthCare which administers

elderly care Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs and requirements of senior citizens. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often called ...

facilities. Located in the Delaware Valley, Kennett Square is considered a suburb of both

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

. The local high school is Kennett High School. The last official US census, which occurred in 2020, recorded a population of 5,943 in Kennett Square.

History

The area to become known as Kennett Square was originally inhabited by the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

Native Americans. Once colonized, the town was named Kennet Square, with the name "Kennet", England, and "Square" coming from the original land grant from William Penn of one square mile. General Sir William Howe marched through Kennett to the Battle of Brandywine during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

. It was also known as an important part of the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

, which helped slaves escaping to the North for freedom. Many of its prominent citizens helped slaves escape on the Underground Railroad. In 1853, a group asked for Kennett Square to be incorporated, and by 1855 it held elections. Kennett Square's founder is credited with introducing mushroom growing to the area. He grew carnations, a popular local commodity around 1885, and wanted to make use of the wasted space under the elevated beds. He imported spawn from Europe and started experimenting with mushroom cultivation. Kennett Square is the subject and setting of the novel ''The Story of Kennett'', written by 19th-century American author

Bayard Taylor Bayard Taylor (January 11, 1825December 19, 1878) was an American poet, literary critic, translator, travel author, and diplomat. As a poet, he was very popular, with a crowd of more than 4,000 attending a poetry reading once, which was a record ...

, who lived nearby at Cedarcroft.

Geography

Kennett Square is located at (39.844104, −75.710654). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

, the borough has a total area of , all of it land other than two small lakes.

Demographics

At the 2010 census, the borough was 42.8% non-Hispanic White, 7.2% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.8% Asian, and 3.3% were two or more races. 48.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 6,072 people, 1,868 households, and 1,242 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 4,679.2 people per square mile (1,801.7/km²). There were 1,967 housing units at an average density of 1,745.5 per square mile (672.1/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 73.58%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 10.26%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.09% Native American, 1.63% Asian, 12.48% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 27.88% of the population. There were 1,868 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. Of all households 28.2% were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.39. In the borough the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $46,523, and the median income for a family was $54,948. Males had a median income of $35,978 versus $27,246 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $22,292. About 7.5% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The borough is governed by the Council-Manager form of government. There are seven Council Members and a mayor who are elected by the citizens. The Borough Manager is an employee of the Borough, hired by the Council. The present Borough manager is Kyle Coleman.

Events

The Mushroom Festival, Kennett Square, PA

The Kennett Mushroom Festival is held annually in early September. The festival has been highlighted on Food TV. Annual parades are held on Memorial Day, Halloween, and before the Christmas holidays. Kennett Square celebrates Cinco de Mayo, which is organized by Casa Guanajuato, and other local companies. A free summer concert series is held on Wednesday evenings at the beautiful (over 100 acre) Anson B Nixon park. In mid-May, the famous Kennett Run occurs that ends at the Park pavilion. The Kennett Brewfest is held each Fall, featuring unlimited tastings of select brewers pouring different, rare, exclusive, limited, or seasonal beers. The local art galleries, studios, and independent boutiques participate in First Friday Art Strolls each month, presented by Historic Kennett Square. During temperate months there is an outdoor farmers market at the Genesis Walkway on State St. every Friday afternoon. These are but a few of the events for families and visitors throughout the year.

Education

Kennett Square schools are all part of the

Kennett Consolidated School District The Kennett Consolidated School District (abbreviated as KCSD) is a large, suburban, public school district serving portions of Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is centered on the borough of Kennett Square Kennett Square is a borough in Che ...

. This grouping of districts was the first consolidation of schools in the history of Pennsylvania. Students enrolled in kindergarten attend the Mary D. Lang Kindergarten Center. Grades 1 through 5 attend either Greenwood Elementary, Bancroft Elementary or New Garden Elementary. For grades 6 through 8, all students attend Kennett Middle School. For grades 9 through 12, students then attend Kennett High School. Some homes, north of the US Route 1 by-pass, just north of Kennett Square but not in the Kennett Square borough limits, are assigned to the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. Unionville High School, the only one in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, is located on Unionville Road (Pennsylvania State Route 82), approximately 2 miles north of the Borough of Kennett Square. In 2012, St. Patrick, a Catholic grade school located on Meredith Street in the borough, closed.

Media

Kennett Square has three newspapers which cover local news, The Chester County Press
website
, covering portions of the county, the Kennett Paper,
website
, covering Kennett Square and environs, and the Daily Local News, a daily, covering the entire county. There are also two print magazines, Fig Kennett (figkennett.com) and Kennett Square Today
website
.

Notable people

* Marino Auriti (1891–1980), artist and mechanic best known as the creator of '' The Encyclopedic Palace of the World'' * Pat Ciarrocchi (born 1953), broadcast journalist * Bartholomew Fussell (1794-1871), abolitionist active in the Underground Railroad and early advocate for careers of women in medicine * Mike Grady (1869–1943), Major League Baseball player * Doris Grumbach (1918–2022), writer *

Justin Best Justin Best (born August 17, 1997) is an American rower. He competed in the men's eight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. When he was in middle school, Best suffered a concussion playing football that caused him to reconsider his athletic acti ...

(born 1997), Olympic rower * John Honnold (1915-2011), law professor at the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

* Dugald C. Jackson, (1865-1951) electrical engineer, head of the Department of Electrical Engineering of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

(MIT) from 1907 to 1935. * Bruce Johnston (criminal) (1939–2002), head of notorious Johnston Gang * Herb Pennock (1894–1948), Hall of Fame baseball pitcher also known as the Squire of Kennett Square * Jessica Savitch (1947–1983), broadcast journalist * William Marshall Swayne (1828–1918), sculptor *

Charles Frederick Taylor Charles Frederick Taylor (February 6, 1840 – July 2, 1863) was an American soldier who served as Colonel (United States), colonel and commanding officer of the Union Army's 13th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment (known as the Bucktails), which fo ...

(1840–1863),

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

colonel killed at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of th ...

(1825–1878), poet and travel writer *Collin Walsh (born 1993), musician with the pop punk band

Grayscale In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a grayscale image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample representing only an ''amount'' of light; that is, it carries only intensity information. Graysc ...

Harry Whitney Harry Whitney (December 1, 1873 – May 20, 1936) was an American sportsman, adventurer, and author. He traveled to northern Greenland with Robert Peary in 1908, staying over the winter with the Inughuit at Etah and Annoatok. In the spring ...

(1873–1936), Arctic hunter, author, and adventurer

Points of interest

* Anson B Nixon Park * East Penn Railroad *

Kennett Meetinghouse Old Kennett Meetinghouse is a historic meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends or "Quakers" in Kennett Township near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. History The Kennett Monthly Meeting house known as Old Kennett was first constructed in ...

* Kennett Area YMCA *

Longwood Gardens Longwood Gardens is a botanical garden that consists of over 1,077 acres (436 hectares; 4.36 km2) of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States in the Brandywine Creek Valley. It is one of the premier ...

Talula's Table Talula's Table is a small gourmet market and restaurant in Kennett Square Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produc ...

* Garage Community & Youth Center * Unionville High School * Penn Vet - New Bolton Center

References

External links

The Borough of Kennett Square

Historic Kennett Square

First Baptist Church of Kennett Square

Presbyterian Church of Kennett Square

Mushroom Festival

Kennett Brewfest - Microbrew Festival

Chester County Press Newspapers & Magazines

{{authority control Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, 1686 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Chester County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1686 Populated places on the Underground Railroad