An Early Business in Chester. An 1823 ledger belonging to prominent businessman Peter Deshong shows the cost of items such as rum, whiskey, a keg of powder, pearl buttons, and salt.
The Marquis de Lafayette Visits Chester, 1824. As the United States approaches the 50th anniversary of the Revolution, President Monroe invites General Lafayette to return to America.
First Permanent Railroad in the Nation. Originally built in 1810, the Leiper Railroad transports stone from quarries on Crum Creek to the landing on Ridley Creek, a distance of ¾ mile. It stops operation in 1828. Pictured here is the second Leiper...
60th Anniversary of Washington’s Stay in Chester. General George Washington stays at this hotel after his defeat at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777. It is later renamed Washington House.
Chester Courthouse and Jail. The courthouse, constructed in 1724, provides administrative offices until 1851, when the county seat moves from Chester to Media. By 2007, it becomes the oldest government building still in continuous use in the United...
Anti-Slavery Broadside. Chester, an important route on the Underground Railroad, plays a significant anti-slavery role in the years preceding the Civil War. Growing anti-slavery sentiment, combined with the Fugitive Slave Act, results in widespread...
Henry C. Robinett, Civil War 1861–1865. Robinett (DMA 1860), pictured here leads an artillery battery that successfully defends an important position at the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. In recognition, his battery is renamed “Battery...
Robert Wetherill & Co. Building, 1872. Brothers Robert and Richard Wetherill begin to manufacture Corliss steam engines at their shop at 6th and Upland Streets. Large stationary steam engines enable manufacturers to run more complicated...
These images adorned PMA stationary, commencement brochures and catalogs in the 1800s. One image includes the school's motto "Virtue, Liberty and Independence." PMC used this motto as well.
A View of Chester River by Louise Deshong Woodbridge, 1875. Woodbridge, an artist and pioneering photographer, marries soon after completing this painting and lives with her husband in a large brick home at 14th and Potter Streets. Widener...
Lazaretto Quarantine Station. Built in 1799 in response to yellow fever, cholera, and other serious epidemics, the Lazaretto serves as a quarantine hospital for immigrants entering the United States. It processes all ships and passengers arriving...
Truxton Beale, Writer, Diplomat, and Philanthropist. Beale, a cadet at PMA from 1867 to 1874, is pictured with his father’s valet, Jordan, a former slave. Beale will become an ambassador to Persia, Greece, Romania, and Serbia.
William Penn Marker. In the fall of 1882, the United States celebrates the 200th anniversary of William Penn’s landing on American soil. In this photograph, Chester Baker, a prominent local historian, stands proudly next to the Penn Monument at...
“When Duty Calls, ‘Tis Ours to Obey”. The Hanley Hose Company, incorporated in 1869, is a Chester institution. In 1886 the city gives Hanley what is reportedly its first steam-powered fire engine.
