Wallingford is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County in

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, ...

s. Founded in 1687, it is named for Wallingford, England. In 2007, Wallingford was named by ''

Money Magazine ''Money'' is an American personal finance brand and website owned by Ad Practitioners LLC and formerly also a monthly magazine, first published by Time Inc. (1972–2018) and later by Meredith Corporation (2018–2019). Its articles cover the g ...

'' as the 9th best place to live in the United States; two other towns in the area made the top 15. Most locations in Nether Providence use Wallingford's zip code. It is west of

Interstate 476 Interstate 476 (I-476) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor throu ...

, known locally as the Blue Route, and east of S. Providence Road, PA 252.

Crum Creek Crum Creek (from the Dutch, meaning "crooked creek") is a creek in Delaware County and Chester County, Pennsylvania, flowing approximately , generally in a southward direction and draining into the Delaware River in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. ...

forms the township's eastern border with the borough of Swarthmore. Wallingford lies north of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

on the southwest edge of the Philadelphia urban area. Wallingford is about 9 miles from Philadelphia. There is a dry cleaning shop and a post office. Various doctors, dentists, and lawyers are also located in Wallingford. About half a dozen churches and chapels of several denominations are located in Wallingford, including Wallingford Presbyterian Church, St. John Chrysostom Catholic Church on Providence Road and the Foundry Church, near Media Parkway. Wallingford is also home to Congregation Ohev Shalom, a conservative synagogue located at the corner of Rt. 252 and Rt. 320. The local school district is the

Wallingford-Swarthmore School District Wallingford-Swarthmore School District is a midsized, suburban public school district in south-eastern Delaware County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It serves the boroughs of Swarthmore, Rose Valley and Rutledge, and the township of N ...

, which serves Wallingford, Swarthmore, Rutledge, and parts of

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, Morton and Rose Valley. Wallingford is located along

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...

's Media/Wawa Line, and has a station whose design is attributed to the well-known Victorian architect

Frank Furness Frank Heyling Furness (November 12, 1839 - June 27, 1912) was an American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his diverse, muscular, often unordinarily scaled b ...

. Wallingford is about 30 minutes from center city Philadelphia by rail. Effective July 1, 2013, the one-way ticketed fares are $5.75 weekdays and $5.00 evenings and weekends. On-board cash fares are $7.00 at all times. The township's municipal offices are located at 214 Sykes Lane. The

Thomas Leiper Estate The Thomas Leiper Estate, also known as Avondale, is a historic estate located at Wallingford in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It was built by Thomas Leiper around 1785, and named Strath Haven after Leiper's birth ...

, Westlawn and

Wolley Stille Wolley Stille, also known as the Joseph Sharpless House, is a historic home located at Wallingford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is a fieldstone dwelling that consists of a two-story, pre-1700 building, with a Great Hall dated to 1700; a tw ...

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 ...

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 11,420 people residing in

Zip Code Tabulation Area ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics. These were introduced with the Census 2000 and continued with the 2010 Census and 5 year American Community ...

19086. The population density was 3,095 people per square mile. There were 4,487 housing units. The racial makeup of the community was 90.03% White, 4.57% African American, 0.55% Native American, 5.07% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander. 1.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The median age was 44.5 years. The median income for a household in the town was $100,660.

Points of interest

* Pendle Hill Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation *

Taylor Memorial Arboretum Taylor Memorial Arboretum (30 acres) is an arboretum and garden located at 10 Ridley Drive, Wallingford, Pennsylvania, United States, along Ridley Creek. It is open daily. Since May 2016 it has been administrated by Widener University. The arbo ...

* Community Arts Center * Saint John Chrysostom R.C.

Education

is the area school district. The first area school started in 1810 and was built on a portion of a 78-acre (32 ha) land grant of farmer and friend of William Penn. Nether Providence School District was formed in 1856; it merged with the Swarthmore School District to become the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District but retained both the Nether Providence and Swarthmore High Schools. In 1984, the middle and high schools merged to become Strath Haven Middle School and Strath Haven High School. The Helen Kate Furness Library was founded in 1902. Mother of Providence Regional Catholic School is the area Catholic school. It formed in 2012 from a merger of St. John Chrysostom in Wallingford and Nativity BVM School in

. Originally Nativity BVM was to be the location of the merged school, but St. John Chrystosom appealed and the archdiocese changed its decision. Located in Wallingford is the Helen Kate Furness Free Library, which was renovated in 2006.

Climate

Wallingford has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''Cfa'') and average monthly temperatures range from 33.0° F in January to 77.9° F in July
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State U
The

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

is 7a.

Notable residents

* Edward Potts Cheyney (1861-1947), American historical and economic writer *

Jay Clayton (attorney) Walter Joseph "Jay" Clayton III (born July 11, 1966) is an American attorney who served as the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from May 4, 2017 until December 23, 2020. He was nominated for the position by President Donal ...

Chairman of the SEC * Dan Connor (born 1985), former American football linebacker * Ida Dixon (1854-1916), American golf course architect * Horace Howard Furness (1833-1912), Shakespearean scholar *

William Henry Furness III William Henry Furness III (August 10, 1866 – August 11, 1920) was an American physician, ethnographer and author from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He made multiple trips to the South Pacific, and was among the first to study and photograph the ...

(1866-1920), Physician and ethnographer * Caroline Furness Jayne (1873-1909), ethnologist * Horace Jayne (1859-1913), Zoologist and educator * Horace H. F. Jayne (1898-1975), Museum director * Mark Jones (born 1980), former American football wide receiver *

Joe Sestak Joseph Ambrose Sestak Jr. (born December 12, 1951) is an American politician and retired U.S. Navy officer. He represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in ...

, US Representative who served most of Delaware County from 2007 to 2010

Neighborhoods

*Pendlehill *Avonbrook *Ridgewood *South Summit *Wallingford *South Wallingford *East Wallingford *Bowling Green *Pine Ridge *Heatherwold *Garden City

References

External links

*
Helen Kate Furness Free Library
{{authority control 1687 establishments in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1687 Unincorporated communities in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania