Chester, Pennsylvania

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Chester
Downtown Chester
Downtown Chester
Location of Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester
Chester
Basic data
Foundation : 1682
State : United States
State : Pennsylvania
County : Delaware County
Coordinates : 39 ° 51 ′  N , 75 ° 22 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 51 ′  N , 75 ° 22 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents : 36,854 (as of: 2000)
Population density : 2,924.9 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 15.6 km 2  (approx. 6 mi 2 ) of
which 12.6 km 2  (approx. 5 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 4 m
Postal code : 19013
Area code : +1 484, 610
FIPS : 42-13208
GNIS ID : 1171694
Website : www.chestercity.com
Mayor : Wendell N. Butler, Jr.

Chester is a city in Delaware County in the US state of Pennsylvania . The city is located on the Delaware River between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington .

Chester is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area , known as the Delaware Valley.

Chester is home to the fictional "Dupont University" in Tom Wolfes' novel "I am Charlotte Simmons".

history

Chester was part of the Swedish colony of New Sweden when it was founded . The settlers who first settled in Chester called the town Finlandia, and later called it Upland. Fort Mecoponacka was built in 1641 to defend the settlers in and around Upland.

On October 27, 1682, William Penn , the founder of the English colony of Pennsylvania, came to Upland. He renamed the city Chester, modeled on the English city of the same name .

Chester became the headquarters of Chester County and from 1789 the capital of the newly created Delaware County. The headquarters moved to Media in 1851 . The historic meeting house is not far from today's town hall.

During the American Civil War , Chester supported the northern states with its shipyard . Until after the Second World War , Chester was one of the most important shipyard bases. Ships continued to be built in the city until 1990. Two US Navy ships were named USS Chester in honor of the city.

There were 7 shootings in Delaware County in early 2017. All took place in Chester. The last time there were two shootings within 48 hours - on February 3rd and 5th, 2017. This caused a sensation because it is considered unusual in a small town in such a crowd.

geography

Chester is adjacent to (clockwise from southwest to northeast) Coach Borough, Upper Chichester Township, Chester Township, Upland Borough, Parkside Borough, Ridley Township, and Eddystone Borough. On the other side of the Delaware River is Gloucester County, New Jersey .

The city has a total area of ​​15.6 km², which is divided into 12.6 km² of land and 3.0 km² of water.

population

At the 2010 census , the city had 33,792 inhabitants. 17.2% of the total population were white, 74.7% black , 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian American, 3.9% other races, and 3.0% two or more races. 9.0% were Hispanics or Latinos.

economy

After the loss of ship production and the automotive industry in the 1960s, the population rate has halved over the past 50 years. Poverty and crime increased, and in 1995 the city was on the list of places with significant financial problems.

In the years that followed, Chester became part of Pennsylvania's Opportunity Zone (KOZ) Program , which offered tax breaks and legal benefits to make it easier for companies to settle. The company Exelon modernized and put the power station of Chester back in operation, which was built 1918th Other companies such as the software company AdminServer and the shipbuilding company Sun Shipbuilding settled in Chester. In 2005 Harrah's Casino and Racetrack was built, which hosts harness racing and offers gambling.

administration

Chester has a mayor and a city council. These are re-elected every four years.

education

The public schools in Chester are run by the Chester-Upland School District.

There are two colleges in town. Widener University, which was formerly the Pennsylvania Military College, and Sleeper's College, a vocational school for "office and business education", which was founded in 1910.

Sports

Since 2010, the contest MLS - Franchise Philadelphia Union its home games in Chester.

Union plays its home games at PPL Park , a football stadium on the Commodore Barry Bridge , which has a total capacity of 18,500 spectators. Independence plays at Leslie Quick Stadium, which is on the grounds of Widener University.

sons and daughters of the town

The following people were born in Chester or have spent a large part of their life there:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DelcoNews: Chester Shootout
  2. ↑ 6abc ActionNews: First Shootout 2017