West Grove is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States ** Chester County Council, boy scout council in Pennsylvania. * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire ...

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. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 census.

History

The village of West Grove derived its name from the

Friends Meeting House A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held. Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Ornamentation, spires, a ...

on Harmony Road built in 1787 several miles west of the Friends Meeting House in the village of London Grove. West Grove was separated from London Grove Township and became an incorporated borough on November 29, 1893. However, the decree of incorporation was not recorded until January 9, 1894, to prevent confusing the tax accounts of London Grove Township and to eliminate the need for a special borough election. The move for incorporation followed several years of significant growth in West Grove that began to develop with the coming of the

Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad The Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad (P&BC) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It operated a main line between West Philadelphia and Octoraro Junction, Maryland (near Port Dep ...

in 1860. On March 28, 1885, the ''

Daily Local News The ''Daily Local News'' is a daily newspaper based in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The newspaper covers Chester County news and provides limited coverage of neighboring Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Lancaster an ...

'' described West Grove as "one of the most flourishing villages in this county" and stated that "it contains some three flouring mills and the largest nursery for rose culture ee belowin the United States (Dinger & Conrad, Co.), a large casket factory (Paxson Comfort) and a large number of dwellings." In May 1885, the ''Chester County Democrat'' reported that thirty new homes were under construction in the village of West Grove. The "Father of West Grove" was Joseph Pyle. Born in Penn Township in 1836, Joseph Pyle opened a general store in 1860 in the brick building that is currently empty. This building was constructed by Pyle and is believed to be the oldest brick structure in the center of town. Joseph Pyle constructed many of the commercial buildings along the present-day Exchange Place, including the Roselyn Theater Building in 1867 (torn down in 1980), the National Bank of West Grove building in 1883 and the K&P Building in 1885. Appointed postmaster of the borough by President Lincoln in 1864, Pyle served twenty-two years. Furthermore, Pyle introduced the manufacture of brick, planned and installed the first public water system, was President of the West Grove Improvement Company which financed the construction of the casket factory in 1885, served on Borough Council and was Burgess (Mayor) from 1900 to 1903. The first election of borough officials was held in the West Grove Hotel on February 20, 1894. John P. Cheyney was elected the first burgess (mayor) in what amounted to a Democratic landslide. The Democrats won every office, including mayor, six school directors, two squires, constable, assessor and tax collector, two assistant assessors, three auditors, town clerk and high constable. The first council meeting was held March 6, 1894, in the Library Room on the second floor of the National Bank Building on Exchange Place. The current mayor of West Grove is Stephen B. Black, Republican, who has been in office since August 2000.

Home of the Roses

In 1868 Charles Dingee and Alfred Fellenberg Conard founded the Dingee & Conard Nursery, a commercial grower of fruit trees, roses and other nursery products. In the late 1880s the West Grove Post Office was the second largest in Chester County, mostly due to the volume of nursery products shipped by Dingee & Conard. Located near the borough of West Grove is the Red Rose Inn, which was established in 1740. William Penn originally granted land for the inn subject to an annual rent payment of one red rose. The inn was subsequently renamed in honor of this event.

Geography

West Grove is located at (39.821783, -75.826672). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the borough has a total area of , all land. West Grove is on the boundary between

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 ...

s 6b and 7a

The climate is hot-summer humid continental (''Dfa''.)

Transportation

As of 2010, there were of public roads in West Grove, of which were maintained by

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

(PennDOT) and were maintained by the borough.

Pennsylvania Route 841 Pennsylvania Route 841 (PA 841) is a state highway in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The route runs from the Maryland border in the community of Lewisville, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Lewisville in Elk Township, ...

is the only numbered highway directly serving West Grove. It follows a north-south alignment through the eastern part of the borough via Prospect Avenue, Evergreen Street and Chatham Road.

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...

(which runs from

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

Fort Kent, Maine Fort Kent ( French: ''Fort-Kent'') is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States, situated at the confluence of the Fish River and the Saint John River, on the border with New Brunswick, Canada. The population was 4,067 in the 2020 cens ...

) bypasses the borough to the north.

Demographics

At the 2010 census, the borough was 56.7% non-Hispanic White, 6.0% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.8% Asian, and 2.5% were two or more races. 35.2% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestr

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,652 people, 864 households, and 679 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 78.73%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 8.37%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.41% Native American, 9.77% from other races, and 2.71% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 17.01% of the population. Of the borough's 864 households, 45.3% included children under the age of 18, 59.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 16.7% of all households consisted of solo individuals, and 6.7% of those living alone were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.39. The age distribution of borough residents comprised 31.1% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 35.7% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $56,875, and the median income for a family was $60,274. Males had a median income of $43,657 versus $30,144 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $19,967. About 4.7% of families and 8.3% 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 5.5% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over. Post office in West Grove, 19390.JPG, Post office West Grove Chesco PA UMethodist.JPG, Methodist church West Grove, PA Catholic church.JPG, Catholic church West Grove, PA Presby.JPG, Presbyterian church

References

External links

West Grove official website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1787 Boroughs in Chester County, Pennsylvania 1893 establishments in Pennsylvania