Chester County

Chester County is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Chester County, dedicated 1982.

County Courthouse, 13 N High St., West Chester

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One of Pennsylvania's three original counties, formed 1682 by William Penn. Name derived from Cheshire in England. West Chester, the county seat since 1788, was incorporated in 1799. County was the scene of important military activities in 1777-1778.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

Historical maps covering this location

1670 · Virginia and Maryland As it is planted and Inhabited this present Year 1670 ... (John Carter Brown Library, Brown University)
1687 · Amplissimae regionis Mississipi seu Provinciae Ludovicianae â R.P. Ludovico Hennepin… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1708 · Carte Particuliere de Virginie, Maryland, Pennsilvanie. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1872 · Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks counties. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1901 · West Chester, Pennsylvania (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Carte Particuliere de Virginie, Maryland, Pennsilvanie, 1708, covering the location of Chester County, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Carte Particuliere de Virginie, Maryland, Pennsilvanie, 1708, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Bank of Chester County10 ft
Chester County Courthouse170 ft
Farmers and Mechanics Trust Company Building220 ft
1 more listed place within 300 feetall Pennsylvania listings

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.