Paoli ( ) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

(CDP) in Chester County near

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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. It is situated in portions of two townships: Tredyffrin and Willistown. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 5,575.

History

The town of Paoli grew around an inn kept in 1769 by Joshua Evans, whose father bought from

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy an ...

in 1719 near the current site of the Paoli Post Office. Evans named his inn after General

Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; french: link=no, Pascal Paoli; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later ...

, a Corsican, after Paoli had received the 45th and final toast at a

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

celebration. The inn's location on the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, about 20 miles (one day's drive for a horse-drawn wagon) from Philadelphia, contributed to its success.

Battle of Paoli

On the evening of September 20, 1777, near Paoli, General Charles Grey and nearly 5,000

British soldiers The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Br ...

launched a surprise attack on a Patriot encampment, which became known as the Battle of Paoli. Having intercepted General Washington's orders to General Wayne regarding British rearguard actions, Grey directed his troops to assault the small regiment of Americans commanded by Anthony Wayne in an area near his residence. Not wanting to lose the element of surprise, Grey ordered his troops to remove the flint from their muskets and to use only bayonets or swords to launch a surprise sneak attack on the Americans under the cover of darkness. With the help of a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

spy who provided a secret password, "here we are and there they go" and led them to the camp, General "No-flint" Grey and the British overran several American pickets and launched their successful attack on the Continental Army camp. 201 American soldiers were killed or injured, while 71 were captured. The British suffered only 4 killed and 7 injured in comparison. Wayne's reputation was tarnished by the high casualties suffered in the battle, and he demanded a formal

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of mem ...

to clear his name. On November 1, a board of 13 officers declared that Wayne had acted with honor. The site of the battle is now part of nearby

Malvern, Pennsylvania Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is west of Philadelphia. The population was 3,419 at the 2020 census. The borough is bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, Sugartown Road on the west, Willistown Township on the east, a ...

Philadelphia Main Line

The construction of the Main Line of Public Works across Pennsylvania enhanced the village's stature, as the

Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad (P&CR) (1834) was one of the earliest commercial railroads in the United States, running from Philadelphia to Columbia, Pennsylvania, it was built by the Pennsylvania Canal Commission in lieu of a canal from Col ...

passed through it. This became the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

, which built suburban commuter lines out from Philadelphia in the late 19th century, spurring the growth of that city's suburbs. The largest and longest of these commuter lines, the " Main Line", terminated in Paoli.

Philadelphia Folk Festival

"The Homestead," the fifteen-acre farm of Colley Wilson, on the south side of Swedesford Road, was the scene of the first annual Philadelphia Folk Festival in 1962, and remained at that site until 1965. It outgrew the space when an estimated 15,000 people attended the final year. The site has been subdivided. Gene Shay, a member of the Festival committee, observed after the first Festival, the site "with its spacious grassy valleys, clean running brooks, shaded hillsides and rustic barns, supplied the perfect background for all of the musical activity." In those few years Acts such as

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ...

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He wo ...

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

, Tom Rush,

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.rev. Gary Davis, Rambling Jack Elliott,

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American ( Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these ...

, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band were among the many performers.

Geography

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 CDP has a total area of , all of which is land. Paoli borders other towns, such as Berwyn and Malvern. These three towns belong to either the Tredyffrin/Easttown or the Great Valley school districts.

Demographics

As of the 2019 survey, there were 5,651 people, 2,552 housing units and 1,437 families residing in the CDP. 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 2,710.2 per square mile (1,047.3/km). There were 2,468 housing units at an average density of 1,233.0/sq mi (476.5/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.93%

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 ...

, 5.36%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 0.09% Native American, 92.64% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 0.39% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. 0.85% of the population were

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. There were 2,361 households, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% 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, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.89. 20.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

was $73,050 and the median family income was $69,519. Males had a median income of $46,536 and females $34,702. 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 ...

was $30,570. 4.7% of the population and 3.6% of families 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 ...

. 8.0% of those under the age of 18 and 4.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Notable residents

Notable people who were born or lived in Paoli include: * Joe Butler (1866–1941), boxer *

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnig ...

(born 1941), American rock and roll singer and dancer *

Dan Chisena Dan Chisena (born February 25, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State. Early life and high school Chisena was born in Paoli, Penns ...

(born 1997), professional football player * Mary Pat Christie, former First Lady of New Jersey (2010–2018) and investment banker * Wharton Esherick (1887–1970), sculptor * Susan Henking, president of

Shimer College Shimer Great Books School (pronounced ) is a Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of Chicago, with a history of bein ...

Kristin Luckenbill Kristin Stewart Luckenbill (born May 28, 1979) is an American professional soccer goalkeeper and Olympic gold medalist. She previously played for the Boston Breakers and Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer as well as the Carolina Courag ...

(born 1979), professional soccer goalkeeper * Max Patkin (1920–1999), baseball player and clown *

Ron Silliman Ron Silliman (born August 5, 1946) is an American poet. He has written and edited over 30 books, and has had his poetry and criticism translated into 12 languages. He is often associated with language poetry. Between 1979 and 2004, Silliman w ...

(born 1946), American poet *

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mi ...

(1745–1796), US Army officer * Isaac Wayne (1772–1852), US representative

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District serves the portions of Paoli CDP in Tredyffrin Township. The section of Paoli in Willistown Township is served by Great Valley School District.2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Paoli CDP, PA
" U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 9, 2018. The portion of Paoli in T/E are divided between the zoned of Beaumont Elementary School in Easttown Township and Hillside Elementary School in Tredyffrin Township. The Great Valley elementary schools, Charlestown, K.D. Markley, Sugartown and General Wayne, all filter into Great Valley Middle School. Tredyffrin/Easttown operates two middle schools, Tredyffrin/Easttown and Valley Forge, and all district students attend

Conestoga High School Conestoga High School, located in Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania, is the only upper secondary school in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. It has a Berwyn post office address, though it is not in the Berwyn census-designated place. Co ...

. Great Valley students attend Great Valley High School.

Delaware Valley Friends School Delaware Valley Friends School (DVFS) is a private school for children with learning disabilities. It is located in the Paoli, Pennsylvania, in Greater Philadelphia. DVFS is one of two Quaker schools Quakers are people who belong to a ...

is a school for those with

learning differences Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...

in Paoli. It is adjacent to Station Square, a business complex. The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

operates Catholic schools. St. Norbert School is in

Easttown Township Easttown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,477 at the 2010 census. History The land that eventually became Easttown Township was once part of the Welsh Tract, a large expanse of land ...

, and is outside of the Paoli CDP, but has a Paoli mailing address. The school was established in 1956, with the school building built the following year.

Public libraries

Tredyffrin Township Libraries operates the Paoli Library within the Paoli CDP. The Paoli Library is part of the

Chester County Library System The Chester County Library System (CCLS) in Chester County, Pennsylvania is a library system in southeastern Pennsylvania that was organized in 1965. It is a federated system composed of a District Center Library in Exton, Pennsylvania and sevente ...

Transportation

Airports

The

Main Line Airport Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany *Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries *' ...

was located near the town.

Roads

US 30 EB between Paoli Pike and Valley Road

Paoli is served by the U.S. Route 202 freeway, U.S. Route 30 and Pennsylvania Route 252 connecting it to

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

and

. Historically, Paoli was on the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, which was later absorbed into the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

, and became US 30 still later. Many locals still call the route "Lancaster Pike".

Public transit

For generations, Paoli was the western terminus of

commuter trains coming from

on the Main Line. The "Paoli Local" became iconic in the western suburbs.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's '' Keystone Service'' and ''

Pennsylvanian Pennsylvanian may refer to: * A person or thing from Pennsylvania * Pennsylvanian (geology) The Pennsylvanian ( , also known as Upper Carboniferous or Late Carboniferous) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS geologic timesca ...

'' trains stop at the Paoli station, but with the decline of long-distance train travel, the stops are now less frequent. Paoli SEPTA and Amtrak station from platform February 2020

Paoli SEPTA and Amtrak station from platform February 2020

Commuters traveling by rail within Southeastern Pennsylvania use the Paoli station, although most local trains serving Paoli now terminate in Malvern, one stop to the west.

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philade ...

's Paoli/Thorndale Line (formerly R5) commuter rail runs between Thorndale and Philadelphia both ways every 30 minutes during the week. College students and city-working suburbanites take the Paoli/Thorndale Line to school and work. Station-to-station, a trip from Paoli to Center City Philadelphia on the Paoli/Thorndale Line takes approximately 45 minutes, although some rush hour trains run directly between Paoli and

30th Street Station 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societies ...

in under 30 minutes. Paoli is served by multiple SEPTA Suburban Bus routes. Local buses traverse Route 30 along the Main Line, and Paoli Pike is the main artery for buses heading to West Chester. The

Route 92 The following highways are numbered 92: International * European route E92 Canada * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 92 * Ontario King's Highway 92 (Former) ** County Road 92 (Simcoe County, Ontario) China * G92 Expressway Iceland * Rout ...

bus connects Paoli to West Chester and the King of Prussia Transit Center at the

mall. The Route 106 bus links Paoli to the other Main Line communities and the

69th Street Transportation Center The 69th Street Transportation Center is a SEPTA terminal in the Terminal Square section of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just west of the city limits of Philadelphia. The terminal serves the Market–Frankford Line, Norristown High Speed Line, and t ...

. The Route 204 and Route 206 buses connect the Paoli station to Eagleview and the

Great Valley Corporate Center Great Valley Corporate Center is a business park community in East Whiteland, Pennsylvania ( Malvern address),Compare: * Maps: * located off U.S. Route 202. Great Valley Corporate Center is about for offices and Research and Development (R& ...

respectively. In 2016, the majority of Paoli residents were found to drive alone on their way to work, while only 10.97% took public transportation.

Corporate headquarters

* AMETEK, producer of electronic instruments * DuckDuckGo, Internet search engine * Geneva Globa, philanthropy consulting firm * Turn5, online retailer of automotive parts

Gallery

Image:PaoliMalvernPA.jpg, Location of Paoli in relation to Malvern and Chesterbrook Image:CedarHollowRailroadStationPAOLIPA.jpg, Cedar Hollow Railroad Station in Paoli.

References

External links

Paoli Business and Professional Association

Paoli, Indiana
sister city {{authority control Philadelphia Main Line Census-designated places in Chester County, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Pennsylvania