Willistown Township is a township in
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 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 (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada.
The Lenape's historica ...
Native Americans, Willistown Township was part of the
Welsh Tract
The Welsh Tract, also called the Welsh Barony, was a portion of the Province of Pennsylvania, a British colony in North America (today a U.S. state), settled largely by Welsh-speaking Quakers in the late 17th century. The region is located to the ...
surveyed for
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 ...
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 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 ...
, had its eastern terminus at Malvern, in this township. The terminus was moved to
Frazer in 1870.
Bartram's Covered Bridge
Bartram's Covered Bridge, a historic covered bridge built in 1860, uses a Burr Truss design and carried Goshen Road over Crum Creek on the border between Delaware County and Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is long and wide and is the only c ...
,
Garrett Farmstead
The Garrett Farmstead is an historic farmhouse which is located in Willistown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Willistown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
History and architectural features
Construct ...
,
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 ...
,
Sugartown Historic District, and
White Horse Historic District
The White Horse Historic District, also known as White Horse Village, is a national Historic district (United States), historic district that is located in Willistown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Willistown Township, Chester County, ...
are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the township has a total area of , all land.
Willistown Township borders
Easttown Township,
Newtown Township,
Edgmont Township,
Westtown Township,
East Goshen Township,
East Whiteland Township,
Tredyffrin Township, and the borough of
Malvern. 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.
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 (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 10,011 people, 3,806 households, and 2,850 families residing in the township. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...
was . There were 3,932 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 95.85%
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 ...
, 2.14%
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 ...
, 0.05%
Native American, 1.27%
Asian, 0.10%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...
, 0.30% from
other races, and 0.29% 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 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 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, 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 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 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 ...
, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
As of 2021, there were of public roads in Willistown Township, of which were maintained by the
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 township.
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the United States Numbered Highway System, with the highway traveling across the Northern U.S. With a length of , it is the third-longest U.S. Highway, afte ...
is the most prominent highway serving Willistown Township. It follows an east–west alignment along Lancaster Avenue across the northern corner of the township.
Pennsylvania Route 3
Pennsylvania Route 3 (PA 3) is a state highway located in the southeastern portion of Pennsylvania. The route runs from U.S. Route 322 Business (West Chester, Pennsylvania), U.S. Route 322 Business (US 322 Bus.) in West Chester, Pennsylvania, ...
follows West Chester Pike along an east–west alignment across the southern portion of the township. Finally,
Pennsylvania Route 926
Pennsylvania Route 926 (PA 926) is a state route located west of Philadelphia in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at Pennsylvania Route 10, PA 10 in Upper Oxford Township, Pennsyl ...
starts at PA 3 and heads southwest along Street Road in the southern corner of the township.
Notable people
*
William Evans (1831–1905), member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
*
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 an ...
, member of the
Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...
*
M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu M. Night Shyamalan ( ; born August 6, 1970) is an American filmmaker. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received vario ...
, filmmaker
*
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 a ...
(1880-1964), U.S. Congressman
Education
The township is served by
Great Valley School District
Great Valley School District is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in eastern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The district provides public education for students in Charlestown, East Whiteland, and Willistown townships, as well as the boro ...
.
References
External links
Willistown Township
{{authority control
Townships in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Townships in Pennsylvania