Willistown Township is a township in
Chester County Chester County may refer to:
* Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
* Chester County, South Carolina, United States
* Chester County, Tennessee, United States
* Cheshire or the County Palatine of Chester, a ceremonial county in the North Wes ...
,
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, ...
. The population was 10,497 at the
2010 census. At the 1860 census, the population of Willistown was 1,521, and in 1980 it was 8,269.
History
Originally occupied by
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 includ ...
Native Americans, Willistown Township was part of the
Welsh Tract surveyed for
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 a ...
in 1684. The Holmes Map of 1681 is the first reference to Willistown, calling it "Willeston". In 1704, Willistown was organized as a township.
A Native American reservation was located here and is memorialized by a monument.
The first roads in Willistown Township were Native American trails. In 1710, three cowpaths were established here: Goshen, Sugartown, and Boot. Those roads are still in existence, under the same names.
The West Chester Railroad, later to be a part of 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 ...
, had its eastern terminus at Malvern, in this township. The terminus was moved to
Frazer in 1870.
Bartram's Covered Bridge,
Garrett Farmstead,
Okehocking Historic District
Okehocking Historic District, also known as the Okehocking Indian Land Grant Historic District, is a national historic district in Willistown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 19 ...
,
Sugartown Historic District, and
White Horse Historic District are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Geography
According to the
U.S. 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. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the township has a total area of , all of it land.
Willistown Township borders
Easttown Township
Easttown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,477 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
History
The land that eventually became Easttown Township was o ...
,
Newtown Township,
Edgmont Township,
Westtown Township,
East Goshen Township,
East Whiteland Township,
Tredyffrin Township, and the borough of
Malvern
Malvern or Malverne may refer to:
Places Australia
* Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide
* Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
* City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne
* Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...
. Most of Willistown Township's addresses are in
ZIP codes 19355 and 19073, with small areas in ZIP codes 19382, 19380, 19301, and 19312.
Willistown Township is a part of the suburban area west of Philadelphia known as the
Main Line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
.
Demographics
At the 2010 census, the township was 92.0% non-Hispanic White, 2.1% Black or African American, 3.6% Asian, and 0.8% were two or more races. 1.5% 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 incl ...
of 2000, there were 10,011 people, 3,806 households, and 2,850 families residing in the township. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 549.0 people per square mile (212.0/km). There were 3,932 housing units at an average density of 215.6/sq mi (83.3/km). The racial makeup of the township was 95.85%
White
White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 2.14%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.05%
Native American, 1.27%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.10%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.30% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.29% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.81% of the population.
There were 3,806 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% 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, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the township the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $77,555, and the median income for a family was $93,057. This number has risen to $121,726 as per 2009 estimates. Males had a median income of $62,398 versus $39,468 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 township was $45,010. About 1.7% of families and 4.0% 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 t ...
, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Nathaniel Grubb
Nathaniel Grubb (1693–1760) was a Willistown mill owner who served ten years in the Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly from 1749 to 1758. A member of the Quaker religious sect, he broke with the Society during the conservative reform movement ...
, member of the
Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly
*
M. Night Shyamalan
*
Edward L. Stokes
Edward Lowber Stokes (September 29, 1880 – November 8, 1964) was an American politician from Philadelphia who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 1931 to 1933 and ...
(1880-1964), U.S. Congressman
Education
The township is served by
Great Valley School District
Great Valley School District is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the Philadelphia suburbs, specifically in the Delaware Valley region known as the Philadelphia Main Line, Main Line, in eastern Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester Coun ...
.
References
External links
Willistown Township
{{authority control
Townships in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Townships in Pennsylvania