Secane 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 ...

in Ridley Township and Upper Darby Township, Delaware County,

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 ...

, United States. At its center is retail shopping and a commuter rail station. Immediately surrounding the center are four large garden apartment complexes surrounded by single-family homes. The neighborhood has a curvilinear/

cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...

street pattern typical of

post-World War II The aftermath of World War II saw the rise of two global superpowers, the United States (U.S.) and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The aftermath of World War II was also defined by the rising threat of nuclear warfare, the creation and implementati ...

residential development. It is located in two school districts,

Upper Darby Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the township had a total population of 85,681, making it the state's sixth-most populated mun ...

and Ridley.

History

Secane is named after a 17th-century Algonquin leader. In July 1683,

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 ...

purchased the lands between

Chester Creek Chester Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ...

and the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

from the Unami chiefs Secane and Icquoquehan. Secane was the home of the Tully-Secane Country Club. However, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia converted the golf course into Our Lady of Fatima Church.

Geography

Secane is divided between the municipalities of Ridley Township, and Upper Darby Township, and is often confused with Clifton Heights, since the two communities share the same ZIP code. The Muckinipattis Creek initiates in Secane and runs south through the community until its confluence with Darby Creek in Tinicum Township. Secane has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa'') and average monthly temperatures range from 33.2 °F in January to 78.0 °F in July. The local

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 widely ...

is 7a.

Education

Ridley School District Ridley School District is a large, suburban public school district in southeastern Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It serves the residents of Ridley Township, and the boroughs of Ridley Park and Eddystone. The township includes the census-desi ...

serves houses in Ridley Township.

Upper Darby School District Upper Darby School District (UDSD) is a large public school district of approximately 12,000 students in Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It consists of an area including Upper Darby Township, Clifton Heights borough, ...

serves houses in Upper Darby Township. Our Lady of Angels Regional School in Ridley Township, near Morton, is the area Catholic school. It formed in 2012 from a merger of Our Lady of Fatima in Secane and Ridley Township and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ridley Township.

Demographics

Secane has a population of almost 24,000 people and was farmland before it was developed into a residential area in the 20th century.

Transportation

Three main roads run through the town: Providence Road, South Avenue and Franklin Avenue, which leads to Kedron Avenue ( Route 420).

Secane station Secane station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station in Secane, Pennsylvania. It serves the Media/Wawa Line and previously served the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is located at Providence Road and South Avenue, and parking is available via permit. The ...

is a stop on the

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by SEPTA and serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, its suburbs and satellite town ...

Media/Wawa Line The Media/Wawa Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service that runs from Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia west to Wawa Station, Wawa in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County. It uses the West Chester Branch, which connects ...

, which runs west from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Wawa. The station was previously a stop on the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as 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. At its ...

and known as Spring Hill.

Notable people

Pat Croce Pasquale "Pat" Croce (born November 2, 1954) is an American entrepreneur, sports team executive and owner, author, and TV personality. He served as team president of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Philadelphia 76ers from 1996 to 200 ...

, former

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

owner *

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 2 ...

, retired U.S. Navy officer and congressman

References

{{Authority control Unincorporated communities in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania