Misplaced Pages

#369630

104-497: The Delaware County Daily Times is a daily newspaper founded 1876. It is the only major newspaper in the state to be branded with a county name rather than a city. It is known for its colorful "Sound Off" feature and allowing voices from the community on either side of the political spectrum to be heard. The newspaper began as the Chester Daily Times in 1876. Its current name was adopted in 1959 and its offices left

208-435: A boomtown during World War I and World War II . The availability of employment in factories , dock work , and shipbuilding attracted immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe and African-American migrants from southern states . Since the mid-20th century, it has lost most of its manufacturing base and has struggled as a post-industrial city dealing with crime, pollution, and poverty. Pennsylvania declared Chester

312-772: A $ 60 million renovation of the Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company , originally built in 1918, provides recreational and office space for businesses. Harrah's Casino and Racetrack began harness racing in September 2006 and opened its racino in January 2007. Subaru Park , home of the Major League Soccer Philadelphia Union franchise, opened in 2010. Despite

416-695: A city and the first mayor elected was John Larkin, Jr. In 1871, the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works was opened by John Roach through the purchase of the Reaney, Son & Archbold shipyard. The first steel ships of the U.S. Navy were built at the Roach shipyard. For the first 15 years of operation, it was the largest and most productive shipyard in the United States. More tonnage of ships were built at

520-573: A close friend of George Fox , the founder of the Quakers, whose movement started in the 1650s during the tumult of the Cromwellian revolution. The times sprouted many new sects besides Quakers, including Seekers , Ranters , Antinomians , Seventh Day Baptists , Soul sleepers , Adamites , Diggers , Levellers , Behmenists , Muggletonians , and others, as the Puritans were more tolerant than

624-527: A copy of the charges laid against him and the laws he had supposedly broken, but the Recorder of London , Sir John Howel, on the bench as chief judge, refused, although this was a right guaranteed by law. Furthermore, the Recorder directed the jury to come to a verdict without hearing the defense. Despite heavy pressure from Howel to convict Penn, the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty". When invited by

728-630: A financially distressed municipality in 1995 and a fiscal emergency in 2020. In 2022, Chester became the 31st city in the United States to declare bankruptcy. The city is home to Widener University , Harrah's Philadelphia , the Chester Waterside Station , the William Penn Landing Site , and Subaru Park , home of the Major League Soccer team, the Philadelphia Union . The indigenous tribe that owned

832-656: A four-year engagement filled with frequent separations. Penn remained close to home but continued writing his tracts, espousing religious tolerance and railing against discriminatory laws. A minor split developed in the Quaker community between those who favored Penn's analytical formulations and those who preferred Fox's simple precepts. But the persecution of Quakers had accelerated and the differences were overridden; Penn again resumed missionary work in Holland and Germany. Seeing conditions deteriorating, Penn appealed directly to

936-490: A gathering in the street, which Penn deliberately provoked to test the validity of the 1664 Conventicle Act, just renewed in 1670 , which denied the right of assembly to "more than five persons in addition to members of the family, for any religious purpose not according to the rules of the Church of England". Penn was assisted by his solicitor, Thomas Rudyard , an eminent London Quaker lawyer, and pleaded for his right to see

1040-559: A great friend of William Morris, a leading Quaker figure in Cork , and often stayed with Morris at Castle Salem near Rosscarbery . Between 1671 and 1677, Penn visited Germany on behalf of the Quaker faith, resulting in a German settlement in the Province of Pennsylvania that was symbolic in two ways: It was a German -speaking congregation, and it included religious dissenters. During

1144-591: A large piece of his North American land holdings along the North Atlantic Ocean coast to Penn to offset debts he owed Penn's father, the admiral and politician Sir William Penn . The land included the present-day states of Pennsylvania and Delaware . The following year, in 1682, Penn left England for what was then British America , sailing up Delaware Bay and the Delaware River past earlier Swedish and Dutch riverfront colonies in what

SECTION 10

#1732783478370

1248-570: A life sentence, Penn was accused of denying the Trinity , though this was a misinterpretation Penn himself refuted in the essay Innocency with her open face, presented by way of Apology for the book entitled The Sandy Foundation Shaken , where he sought to prove the Godhead of Christ. Penn said the rumour had been "maliciously insinuated" by detractors who wanted to create a bad reputation to Quakers. Penn later said that what he really denied were

1352-448: A liking to. When theologian John Owen was fired from his deanery, Penn and other open-minded students rallied to his side and attended seminars at the dean's house, where intellectual discussions covered the gamut of new thought. Penn learned the valuable skills of forming ideas into theory, discussing theory through reasoned debate, and testing the theories in the real world. At this time he also faced his first moral dilemma. After Owen

1456-534: A mature, sophisticated, well-mannered, modish gentleman, though Samuel Pepys noted young Penn's "vanity of the French". Penn had developed a taste for fine clothes, and for the rest of his life would pay somewhat more attention to his dress than most Quakers. The Admiral had great hopes that his son then had the practical sense and the ambition necessary to succeed as an aristocrat. He had young Penn enroll in law school but soon his studies were interrupted. With war with

1560-630: A popularly elected city mayor and city council. The terms of the mayor and members are four years. The current mayor of the City of Chester is Stefan Roots , who won the Democratic nomination in May 2021, over incumbent Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland . In May 2023, Roots defeated Kirkland in the Chester Democratic mayoral primary election. Roots defeated independent candidate Anita J. Littleton in

1664-530: A profitable venture for himself and his family. But he proclaimed that he would not exploit either the natives or the immigrants, "I would not abuse His love, nor act unworthy of His providence, and so defile what came to me clean." To that end, Penn's land purchase from the Lenape included the latter party's retained right to traverse the sold lands for purposes of hunting, fishing, and gathering. Though thoroughly oppressed, getting Quakers to leave England and make

1768-434: A reclusive scholar. During this time, Penn developed his individuality and philosophy of life. He found that he was not sympathetic with either his father's martial view of the world or his mother's society-oriented sensibilities. "I had no relations that inclined to so solitary and spiritual way; I was a child alone. A child was given to musing, occasionally feeling the divine presence," he later said. Penn returned home for

1872-402: A rubber recycling facility and illegal industrial chemical dumping site. It burned out of control for several days. The burning chemicals caused multi-colored smoke and noxious fumes which injured 43 firemen and caused long-term health problems for the first responders to the fire. In 1981, the location was declared a Superfund cleanup site and remediation occurred throughout the 1980s. In 1989,

1976-649: A small role in the American Revolutionary War . Throughout 1776 and 1777, there were significant forces stationed in Chester and nearby Marcus Hook . In April 1776, nearly 1,000 men were stationed in Chester under Colonel Samuel Miles in preparation for the defense of Philadelphia. However, Colonel Miles led the troops to New York City in July 1776 when it became clear that the British Fleet

2080-417: A two-month period of civil rights rallies, marches, pickets, boycotts, and sit-ins. National civil rights leaders such as Gloria Richardson , Malcolm X and Dick Gregory came to Chester in support of the demonstrations. Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton became involved in the negotiations and convinced the protestors to obey a court-ordered moratorium on demonstrations by agreeing to hold hearings on

2184-437: A year. The undogmatic Christian humanist talked of a tolerant, adapting view of religion which appealed to Penn, who later stated, "I never had any other religion in my life than what I felt." By adapting his mentor's belief in free will, Penn felt unburdened of Puritanical guilt and rigid beliefs and was inspired to search out his own religious path. Upon returning to England after two years abroad, he presented to his parents

SECTION 20

#1732783478370

2288-425: Is a clear and just thing, and my God who has given it to me through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation." Penn then traveled to America and while there, he negotiated Pennsylvania's first land-purchase survey with the tribe of the Lenape people. Penn purchased the first tract of land under a white oak tree at Graystones on 15 July 1682. Penn drafted a charter of liberties for

2392-425: Is bordered to the south by the Delaware River . The city has a total area of 6.0 square miles (15.6 km ), 4.8 square miles (12.5 km ) of which is land and 1.2 square miles (3.0 km ) of which (19.42%) is water, according to the U.S. Census Bureau . Chester Creek meets the Delaware River in Chester. Chester's northeastern border is at Ridley Creek . The Port of Chester is located in Chester along

2496-457: Is now Delaware, and in addition to this, the land was claimed for half a century by the neighboring Province of Maryland 's proprietor family, the Calverts. In 1704, the three southernmost counties of provincial Pennsylvania were granted permission to form a new, semi-autonomous Delaware Colony . As one of the earlier supporters of colonial unification, Penn wrote and urged for a union of all

2600-475: Is present-day New Castle, Delaware . On this occasion, the colonists pledged allegiance to Penn as their new proprietor , and the first Pennsylvania General Assembly was held. Penn then journeyed further north up the Delaware River and founded Philadelphia on the river's western bank. Penn's Quaker government was not viewed favorably by the previous Dutch , Swedish and English settlers in what

2704-476: Is the oldest city in Pennsylvania and was the location of William Penn 's first arrival in the Province of Pennsylvania . It was the county seat for Chester County from 1682 to 1788 and of Delaware County from 1789 to 1851. From the second half of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, the city was a major center of heavy industry , manufacturing and shipping . The city became

2808-468: The Anglican Church . Children from poorer families had to have a wealthy sponsor to get an education. Penn's education heavily leaned on the classical authors and "no novelties or conceited modern writers" were allowed, including Shakespeare . Running was Penn's favorite sport, and he often ran more than three miles (5 km) from his home to the school, which was cast in an Anglican model and

2912-684: The Combination Steel and Iron Company in 1880 to supply steel rails and other products for businesses beyond the Roach shipyard. He lost control of the company after his shipbuilding enterprise entered receivership in 1885. Chester was known as a freewheeling destination for vices such as drugs, alcohol, numbers rackets, gambling and prostitution. Chester was widely known as Greater Philadelphia's "Saloon Town". By 1914, Chester had more saloons than police officers; approximately 1 saloon per every 987 residents. During and following World War I , Chester grew significantly as people migrated to

3016-506: The Dutch imminent, young Penn decided to shadow his father at work and join him at sea. Penn functioned as an emissary between his father and the King, then returned to his law studies. Worrying about his father in battle he wrote, "I never knew what a father was till I had wisdom enough to prize him... I pray God... that you come home secure." The Admiral returned triumphantly, but London was in

3120-598: The Great Migration , racial violence broke out, racially segregated neighborhoods expanded and economic discrimination emerged. A four-day race riot that resulted in seven deaths broke out in the city in July 1917, and the separation of blacks and whites in Chester's neighborhoods and workplaces became more defined. In 1927, the Ford Motor Company opened the Chester Assembly factory on

3224-609: The Irish Rebellion of 1641 . Admiral Penn took part in the restoration of King Charles II and was eventually knighted and served in the Royal Navy . At the time of his son's birth, then-Captain Penn was twenty-three and an ambitious naval officer in charge of blockading ports held by Confederate forces. Penn grew up during the rule of Oliver Cromwell, who succeeded in leading a Puritan rebellion against King Charles I ;

Delaware County Daily Times - Misplaced Pages Continue

3328-584: The Sun Shipyard became the largest single shipyard in the world. The increased labor needs brought a flood of new workers to the city. The wartime labor force for industries along the waterfront soared to 100,000. Chester began losing its mainstay manufacturing jobs by the early 1960s. Ford Motor Company shuttered its Chester plant, American Viscose Corporation in nearby Marcus Hook closed, Baldwin Locomotive Works in nearby Eddystone

3432-594: The War of 1812 , a group of volunteers from Chester called the Mifflin Guards was raised and led by Samuel Anderson . The troops were sent to Fort DuPont to defend the Delaware River from the threatened attack of British Admiral George Cockburn but did not see any action. In 1851, the Delaware County seat was moved from Chester to the borough of Media . On February 14, 1866, Chester was incorporated as

3536-435: The colonial era , Pennsylvania remained the heartland for various branches of Anabaptists , including Old Order Mennonites , Ephrata Cloister , Brethren , and Amish . Pennsylvania quickly emerged as the home for many Lutheran refugees from Catholic provinces, such as Salzburg , and for German Catholics , who were facing discrimination in their home country. In Philadelphia , Francis Daniel Pastorius negotiated

3640-407: The 17th century. They refused to bow or take off their hats to social superiors, believing all men were equal under God, a belief antithetical to an absolute monarchy that believed the monarch was divinely appointed by God. As a result, Quakers were treated as heretics because of their principles and their failure to pay tithes. They also refused to swear oaths of loyalty to the King believing that this

3744-405: The 1960s. John H. Nacrelli , the mayor of Chester from 1968 to 1979, was convicted of racketeering and income tax evasion for accepting $ 22,000 in bribes from an illegal gambling operation with ties to organized crime and served two years in prison. William Penn William Penn (24 October [ O.S. 14 October] 1644 – 10 August [ O.S. 30 July] 1718)

3848-590: The British force occupied Chester as they chased the Continental Army fleeing to Philadelphia. In 1788, the Chester County seat was moved from Chester to West Chester . In 1789, Delaware County was formed from the eastern part of Chester County, and Chester became the new county seat. The borough of Chester was governed under the charter granted by Penn in 1701 until March 5, 1795, when it

3952-540: The Catholic interpretations of this theological topic, and the use of unbiblical concepts to explain it. Penn expressly confessed he believed in the Holy Three and the divinity of Christ . In 1668, in a letter to the anti-Quaker minister Jonathan Clapham, Penn wrote: "Thou must not, reader, from my querying thus, conclude we do deny (as he hath falsely charged us) those glorious Three, which bear record in heaven,

4056-666: The Delaware River. Located at a low elevation between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware , Chester experiences a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa .) The hardiness zone is 7b. [1] Archived 2014-02-09 at the Wayback Machine As of Census 2010, the racial makeup of the city was 74.7% African American , 17.2% White , 9.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 0.6% Asian , 0.4% Native American , 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 3.9% from other races , and 3.0% from two or more races. [2] There were 11,662 households, out of which 37.3% had children under

4160-825: The English colonies in what, following the American Revolutionary War , later became the United States. The democratic principles that he included in the West Jersey Concessions and set forth in the Pennsylvania Frame of Government inspired delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to frame the U.S. Constitution , which was ratified by the delegates in 1787. A man of deep religious conviction, Penn authored numerous works, exhorting believers to adhere to

4264-559: The Father, Word, and Spirit; neither the infinity, eternity and divinity of Jesus Christ; for that we know he is the mighty God." Given writing materials in the hope that he would put on paper his retraction, Penn wrote another inflammatory treatise, No Cross, No Crown . In it, Penn exhorted believers to adhere to the spirit of Primitive Christianity . This work was remarkable for its historical analysis and citation of 68 authors whose quotations and commentary he had committed to memory and

Delaware County Daily Times - Misplaced Pages Continue

4368-645: The King and the Duke, proposing a mass emigration of English Quakers . Some Quakers had already moved to North America, but the New England Puritans , especially, were as hostile towards Quakers as Anglicans in England were, and some of the Quakers had been banished to the Caribbean . In 1677, a group of prominent Quakers that included Penn purchased the colonial province of West Jersey , comprising

4472-507: The November 2023 general election and was sworn into office on January 3, 2024. The Chester City Council consists of the mayor and four council members. Council members are elected at-large to serve the entire city. Council meetings are generally held the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. The five help administer the five municipal departments: The city government has been in financial distress for many years and has operated under

4576-516: The Philadelphia Electric Company , Old Main and Chemistry Building , Third Presbyterian Church , William Penn Landing Site , and the former Second Street Bridge . Chester borders on (clockwise from southwest to northeast) Trainer Borough , Upper Chichester Township , Chester Township , Upland Borough , Parkside Borough , Brookhaven Borough , Nether Providence Township , Ridley Township , and Eddystone Borough in Pennsylvania. Chester

4680-580: The Public Peace", a 10-point statement promising an immediate return to law and order. The city deputized firemen and trash collectors to help handle demonstrators. The State of Pennsylvania deployed 50 state troopers to assist the 77-member Chester police force. The demonstrations were marked by violence and police brutality with Chester being dubbed the "Birmingham of the North" by civil rights activist James Farmer . Over 600 people were arrested over

4784-439: The Quaker region. Whether from personal sympathy or political expediency, to Penn's surprise, the King granted an extraordinarily generous charter which made Penn the world's largest private non-royal landowner, with over 45,000 square miles (120,000 km ). Penn became the sole proprietor of a huge tract of land west of New Jersey and north of the Province of Maryland belonging to Lord Baltimore , and gained sovereign rule of

4888-536: The Quakers had no political agenda (unlike the Puritans) they should not be subject to laws that restricted political action by minority religions and other groups. Sprung from jail because of his family's rank rather than his argument, Penn was immediately recalled to London by his father. The Admiral was severely distressed by his son's actions and took the conversion as a personal affront. His father's hopes that Penn's charisma and intelligence would win him favor at

4992-507: The Recorder to reconsider their verdict and to select a new foreman, they refused and were sent to a cell over several nights to mull over their decision. The Lord Mayor of London , Sir Samuel Starling, also on the bench, then told the jury, "You shall go together and bring in another verdict, or you shall starve", and not only had Penn sent to jail in Newgate Prison (on a charge of contempt of court for refusing to remove his hat), but

5096-614: The Roach shipyard than its next two competitors combined. Roach built other businesses to supply materials for his shipbuilding including the Chester Rolling Mill in 1873 to supply metal hull plates and beams, the Chester Pipe and Tube Company in 1877 for the manufacture of iron pipes and boiler tubes, and the Standard Steel Casting Company in 1883 to supply steel ingots . Roach built

5200-531: The Swedish province of Uppland . The New Sweden settlers built Fort Mecoponacka in 1641 to defend the settlement. In 1644, the present site of Chester was a tobacco plantation operated by the New Sweden colonists. By 1682, Upland was the most populous town of the new Province of Pennsylvania . On October 27, the ship Welcome arrived bearing William Penn on his first visit to the province. Penn renamed

5304-503: The United States until its closure in 1990. The idled Roach shipyard was purchased in 1917 by W. Averell Harriman to build merchant ships during World War I, and renamed the Merchant Shipbuilding Corporation . The shipyard closed permanently in 1923. Like many boomtowns, Chester was unprepared for the social changes that came along with rapid growth. As southern blacks migrated to Pennsylvania as part of

SECTION 50

#1732783478370

5408-487: The administration imposed stricter religious requirements including daily chapel attendance and required dress. Penn rebelled against enforced worship and was expelled. His father, in a rage, attacked young Penn with a cane and forced him from their home. Penn's mother made peace in the family, which allowed her son to return home but she quickly concluded that both her social standing and her husband's career were being threatened by their son's behavior. So at age 18, young Penn

5512-415: The age of 18, 19.5% were headed by married couples living together, 35.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64, and the average family size was 3.34. Chester has a mayor-council government system, consisting of

5616-428: The character of George Fox, in his introduction to the autobiographical Journal of George Fox . In effect, Penn became the first theologian, theorist, and legal defender of Quakerism, providing its written doctrine and helping to establish its public standing. In 1669, Penn traveled to Ireland to deal with his father's estates. While there, he attended many meetings and stayed with leading Quaker families. He became

5720-483: The city for jobs, 63% of which were in manufacturing. Between 1910 and 1920, Chester's population increased from 38,000 to 58,000 due to the influx of poor Southern European and Eastern European immigrants and African-American migrants from the South , searching for employment in the city's expanding shipbuilding and manufacturing industries. The Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. was opened in 1917 to build ships for

5824-582: The conditions for the founding of Pennsylvania, the Admiral wrote to the Duke of York , the heir to the throne. The Duke and the King, in return for the Admiral's lifetime of service to the Crown, promised to protect young Penn and make him a royal counselor. Penn inherited a large fortune, but found himself in jail again for six months. In April 1672, after being released, he married Gulielma Springett following

5928-486: The congregation, Fox not only extended the Protestant Reformation more radically, but he helped extend the most important principle of modern political history – the rights of the individual – upon which modern democracies were later founded. Penn traveled frequently with Fox, through Europe and England. He also wrote a comprehensive, detailed explanation of Quakerism along with a testimony to

6032-682: The court to return the money to the city of Chester. With the exception of 1904–1905, the Republican political machine controlled Chester politics for over a century. The first non-machine mayor was elected in 1992: Barbara Bohannan-Sheppard ; however, in 1995, she lost her re-election bid and was replaced by Republican Aaron Wilson, Jr. In the 1990s, the Pennsylvania Crime Commission reported that Chester's government had been dominated by "a triad of criminals, corrupt politicians and rogue law-enforcement officers" since

6136-506: The court were crushed. Though enraged, the Admiral tried his best to reason with his son but to no avail. His father not only feared for his own position but that his son seemed bent on a dangerous confrontation with the Crown. In the end, young Penn was more determined than ever, and the Admiral felt he had no option but to order his son out of the house and to withhold his inheritance. As Penn became homeless, he began to live with Quaker families. Quakers were relatively strict Christians in

6240-413: The dangers, Penn began to attend Quaker meetings near Cork . A chance re-meeting with Thomas Loe confirmed Penn's rising attraction to Quakerism . Soon Penn was arrested for attending Quaker meetings. Rather than state that he was not a Quaker and thereby avoid any charges, he publicly declared himself a member and finally joined the Quakers at the age of 22 In pleading his case, Penn stated that since

6344-584: The de facto segregation of public schools in Chester. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Committee determined that the Chester School Board had violated the law and the Chester School District was ordered to desegregate the city's six predominantly African-American schools. The city appealed the ruling, which delayed implementation, but the schools were eventually desegregated. In 1978, an intense fire broke out at Wade Dump ,

SECTION 60

#1732783478370

6448-751: The economically declining City of Chester, Pennsylvania for Primos, an unincorporated postal designation in Upper Darby Township . According to the Journal Register Company , it has the largest circulation of any suburban paper in the Philadelphia area. The Sunday edition is known as the Delaware County Sunday Times . The first edition of the paper, then known as the Chester Times ,

6552-434: The extraordinary splendor of the King's restoration ceremony and was a guest of honor alongside his father, who received a highly unusual royal salute for his services to The Crown . Penn's father had great hopes for his son's career under the favor of the King. Back at Oxford, Penn considered a medical career and took some dissecting classes. Rational thought began to spread into science, politics, and economics, which he took

6656-573: The family estate in Ireland to contemplate his future. The reign of King Charles had further tightened restrictions against all religious sects other than the Anglican Church, making the penalty for unauthorized worship imprisonment or deportation. The "Five Mile Act" prohibited dissenting teachers and preachers to come within that distance of any borough. The Quakers were especially targeted and their meetings were deemed undesirable. Despite

6760-413: The fever of battle soon wore off after his father discouraged him, "I can say nothing but advise to sobriety...I wish your youthful desires mayn't outrun your discretion." While Penn was abroad, the Great Fire of 1666 consumed central London. As with the plague, the Penn family was spared. But after returning to the city, Penn was depressed by the mood of the city and his ailing father, so he went back to

6864-405: The full jury followed him, and they were additionally fined the equivalent of a year's wages each. The members of the jury, fighting their case from prison in what became known as Bushel's Case , managed to win the right for all English juries to be free from the control of judges. This case was one of the more important trials that shaped the concept of jury nullification and was a victory for

6968-401: The grip of the Great Plague of 1665. Young Penn reflected on the suffering and the deaths, and the way humans reacted to the epidemic. He wrote that the scourge "gave me a deep sense of the vanity of this World, of the Irreligiousness of the Religions in it." Further he observed how Quakers on errands of mercy were arrested by the police and demonized by other religions, even accused of causing

7072-409: The king was beheaded when Penn was four years old. Penn's father was often at sea. Young William caught smallpox , and lost all his hair from the disease; he wore a wig until he left college. Penn's smallpox also prompted his parents to move from the suburbs to an estate in Essex . The country life made a lasting impression on young Penn, and kindled in him a love of horticulture . Their neighbor

7176-453: The land where Chester now stands were the Okehockings , removed by order of William Penn in 1702 to other lands in Chester County. The original indigenous name of Chester was Mecoponaca, which means "the stream along which large potatoes grow". The first European settlers in the area were members of the New Sweden colony. The settlement that became Chester was first called "Finlandia" (the Latin name for Finland ) and then "Upland" after

7280-416: The landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education . The racial unrest and civil rights protests were led by George Raymond of the NAACP and Stanley Branche of CFFN and made Chester one of the key battlegrounds of the civil rights movement . In April 1964, a series of almost nightly protests brought chaos to Chester. Mayor James Gorbey issued "The Police Position to Preserve

7384-414: The machine until his death in 1965. In 1933, McClure was found guilty in federal court and sentenced to 18 months in prison for vice and rum-running , but his conviction was overturned on appeal. In 1941, McClure was indicted for conspiracy to gain a $ 250,000 profit from the sale of the Chester Water Works to a private buyer. McClure and four Chester City Council members were acquitted but also ordered by

7488-424: The monarchy had been. Following Oliver Cromwell's death, however, the Crown was re-established and the King responded with harassment and persecution of all religions and sects other than Anglicanism. Fox risked his life, wandering from town to town, and he attracted followers who likewise believed that the "God who made the world did not dwell in temples made with hands." By abolishing the church's authority over

7592-834: The placement of projects that increased concerns about pollution, noise, and trucks, such as a contaminated soil remediation facility, the trash incinerator, the DELCORA sewage waste treatment center and the Abbonizio recycling center. In 1995, the state designated Chester as a financially distressed municipality . Recent programs to foster investment into Chester include the Pennsylvania Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) program, which incentivizes companies with state and local tax breaks to invest in KOZ-designated areas. The Wharf at Rivertown,

7696-406: The plague. With his father laid low by gout , young Penn was sent to Ireland in 1666 to manage the family landholdings. While there he became a soldier and took part in suppressing a local Irish rebellion. Swelling with pride, he had his portrait painted wearing a suit of armor, his most authentic likeness. His first experience of warfare gave him the sudden idea of pursuing a military career, but

7800-526: The purchase of 15,000 acres (61  km ) from his friend William Penn, the proprietor of the province of Pennsylvania, and laid out the settlement of what is the present-day Germantown section of Philadelphia. In 1764, the German Society of Pennsylvania was established, which still functions to this day from its headquarters in Philadelphia. In 1668, Penn published the first of many pamphlets, Truth Exalted: To Princes, Priests, and People . He

7904-410: The recent investments into the community, Governor Tom Wolf declared a fiscal emergency for Chester in 2020 and the city declared bankruptcy in 2022. It was the 31st municipality to declare bankruptcy since the U.S. Congress offered the program in the 1930s. National Register of Historic Places in Chester are: Delaware County National Bank , 1724 Chester Courthouse , Chester Waterside Station of

8008-558: The settlement after the English city of Chester . Chester County originally stretched from the Delaware River to the Susquehanna River from its founding in 1682 until 1729 when Lancaster County was formed from the western part. Chester served as the county seat for Chester County from 1682 to 1788. In 1724, the Chester Courthouse was built to support the legal needs of the county. Chester played only

8112-476: The settlement creating a political utopia guaranteeing free and fair trial by jury , freedom of religion , freedom from unjust imprisonment and free elections. Having proved himself an influential scholar and theoretician, Penn now had to demonstrate the practical skills of a real estate promoter, city planner, and governor for his " Holy Experiment ", the province of Pennsylvania. Besides achieving his religious goals, Penn had hoped that Pennsylvania would be

8216-506: The site of the previous Roach and Merchant shipyard and built cars there until its closure in 1961. Chester experienced its second growth period during World War II . Manufacturing increased exponentially including companies such as Wetherill Steel and Boilermakers, Congoleum -Nairn, Aberfoyles Textiles , Scott Paper Company , Belmont Iron Works , American Steel Foundries , Crew Levick Oil , Crown Smelting , Fields Brick Company , Hetzel and Ford Motor Company . During World War II,

8320-543: The site was deemed safe and removed from the Superfund national priorities list. In 2004, the site was converted to a parking lot for Commodore Barry Bridge Park . By the 1980s, Chester was a city bereft of industry. Many bottom-rung projects were initiated in Chester, including the Westinghouse trash incinerator , a sewage treatment plant, and a prison . Chester residents and politicians began pushing back against

8424-456: The spirit of Primitive Christianity . Penn was imprisoned several times in the Tower of London due to his faith, and his book No Cross, No Crown , published in 1669, which he authored from jail, has become a classic of Christian theological literature. Penn was born in 1644 at Tower Hill , London , the son of English naval officer Sir William Penn , and Dutchwoman Margaret Jasper, who

8528-402: The state's Act 47 provisions for twenty-one years. The act provides for municipalities that are near bankruptcy. Chester has been hurt for decades by corrupt politicians and organized crime . Chester's Republican Party political machine was one of the nation's oldest and most corrupt. John J. McClure took over from his father, William McClure, in 1907 and was the political boss for

8632-467: The territory with all rights and privileges with the exception of the power to declare war. The land of Pennsylvania had belonged to the Duke of York , but he retained the Province of New York and the area around present-day New Castle, Delaware , and the eastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula . In return, one-fifth of all gold and silver mined in the province, which had virtually none,

8736-701: The use of the writ of habeas corpus as a means of freeing those unlawfully detained. With his father dying, Penn wanted to see him one more time and patch up their differences. But he urged his father not to pay his fine and free him, "I entreat thee not to purchase my liberty." But the Admiral refused to let the opportunity pass and he paid the fine, releasing his son. His father had gained respect for his son's integrity and courage and told him, "Let nothing in this world tempt you to wrong your conscience." The Admiral also knew that after his death young Penn would become more vulnerable in his pursuit of justice. In an act which not only secured his son's protection but also set

8840-529: The western half of present-day New Jersey . The same year, 200 settlers from Chorleywood and Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire , and other towns in nearby Buckinghamshire arrived, and founded the town of Burlington . Fox made a journey to America to verify the potential of further expansion of the early Quaker settlements. In 1682, East Jersey was also purchased by Quakers. With the Province of New Jersey in place, Penn pressed his case to extend

8944-488: The wrongs of the Church and the King. For its part, the Crown continued to confiscate Quaker property and jailed thousands of Quakers. From then on, Penn's religious views effectively exiled him from English society; he was expelled from Christ Church , a college at the University of Oxford, for being a Quaker, and was arrested several times. In 1670, he and William Mead were arrested. Penn was accused of preaching before

9048-460: Was "ashamed to read". In 1668, after writing a follow-up tract, The Sandy Foundation Shaken , Penn was imprisoned in the Tower of London . The Bishop of London ordered that Penn be held indefinitely until he publicly recanted his written statements. The official charge was publication without a licence but the real crime was blasphemy , as signed in a warrant by King Charles II. Placed in solitary confinement in an unheated cell and threatened with

9152-687: Was a critic of all religious groups, except Quakers , which he saw as the only true Christian group at that time in England. He branded the Catholic Church "the Whore of Babylon ", defied the Church of England , and called the Puritans "hypocrites and revelers in God". He lambasted all "false prophets, tithemongers, and opposers of perfection ". Pepys thought it a "ridiculous nonsensical book" that he

9256-680: Was a four-page broadsheet printed on September 7, 1876, selling for one cent. Pictures began to appear in the paper by 1915. In November 1959, the Chester Times changed its name to the Delaware County Daily Times. On June 15, 1981, the paper transformed from a broadsheet to a tabloid and made the switch from an afternoon paper to a morning edition. Previously a six-day paper, the Delaware County Daily Times began to print Saturday editions on October 25, 1997. Chester, Pennsylvania Incorporated in 1682, Chester

9360-460: Was a volatile mix of Cavaliers , sober Puritans, and non-conforming Quakers . The new British government's discouragement of religious dissent gave the Cavaliers license to harass the minority groups. Because of his father's high position and social status, young Penn was firmly a Cavalier but his sympathies lay with the persecuted Quakers. To avoid conflict, Penn withdrew from the fray and became

9464-458: Was able to summon without any reference material at hand. Penn petitioned for an audience with the King, which was denied but which led to negotiations on his behalf by one of the royal chaplains. Penn declared, "My prison shall be my grave before I will budge a jot: for I owe my conscience to no mortal man." He was released after eight months of imprisonment. Penn demonstrated no remorse for his aggressive stance and vowed to keep fighting against

9568-554: Was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonial era . Penn, an advocate of democracy and religious freedom , was known for his amicable relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans who had resided in present-day Pennsylvania prior to European settlements in the state. In 1681, King Charles II granted

9672-445: Was censured again after being fired, students were threatened with punishment for associating with him. However, Penn stood by the dean, thereby gaining a fine and reprimand from the university. The Admiral, despairing of the charges, pulled young Penn away from Oxford, hoping to distract him from the heretical influences of the university. The attempt had no effect and father and son struggled to understand each other. Back at school,

9776-505: Was close to bankruptcy and Sun Shipyard employment had fallen from a high of 35,000 in 1945 to 4,000 in 1962. Chester's precipitous drop in jobs in the late 20th and early 21st centuries caused the city's population to diminish from over 66,000 in 1950 to under 34,000 in 2010. In 1963 and 1964, the Chester school protests fought to end the de facto segregation that resulted in the racial categorization of Chester public schools, even after

9880-488: Was following the command of Jesus not to swear. The basic ceremony of Quakerism was silent worship in a meeting house, conducted in a group. There was no ritual and no professional clergy, and many Quakers disavowed the concept of original sin . God's communication came to each individual directly, and if so moved, the individual shared his revelations, thoughts, or opinions with the group. Penn found all these tenets to sit well with his conscience and his heart. Penn became

9984-615: Was incorporated by the Pennsylvania Assembly . In the 1700s and 1800s, Chester was a hub for business due to easy access to the Delaware River for the transport of raw materials and finished goods by ship. By the mid-1800s, many textile mills and factories were built along Chester Creek including the Upland Mills by John Price Crozer and the Powhattan Mills by David Reese Esrey and Hugh Shaw. During

10088-638: Was maligned by both Catholics and Protestants . Loe was admitted to the Penn household, and during his discourses on the Inward Light , young Penn recalled later that "the Lord visited me and gave me divine Impressions of Himself." A year later, Cromwell was dead, the Royalists were resurging, and the Penn family returned to England. The middle class aligned itself with the Royalists and Admiral Penn

10192-687: Was sent on a secret mission to bring back exiled Prince Charles . For his role in restoring the monarchy, Admiral Penn was knighted and gained a powerful position as Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty . Penn was first educated at Chigwell School , then by private tutors in Ireland , and later at Christ Church at the University of Oxford in Oxford . At the time, there were no state schools and nearly all educational institutions were affiliated with

10296-608: Was sent to Paris to get him out of view, improve his manners, and expose him to another culture. In Paris at the court of young Louis XIV , Penn found French manners far more refined than the coarse manners of his countrymen, but he did not like the extravagant display of wealth and privilege he saw in the French. Though impressed by Notre Dame and the Catholic ritual, he felt uncomfortable with it. Instead, he sought out spiritual direction from French Protestant theologian Moise Amyraut , who invited Penn to stay with him in Saumur for

10400-455: Was strict, humorless, and somber. The school's teachers had to be pillars of virtue and provide sterling examples to their pupils. Penn later opposed Anglicanism on religious grounds, but he absorbed many Puritan behaviors, and was known later for his own serious demeanor, strict behavior, and lack of humor. In 1660, Penn arrived at the University of Oxford, where he was enrolled as a gentleman scholar with an assigned servant. The student body

10504-407: Was the diarist Samuel Pepys , who was friendly at first but later secretly hostile to the Admiral, perhaps embittered in part by his failed seductions of both Penn's mother and his sister Peggy. After a failed mission to the Caribbean , Admiral Penn and his family were exiled to his lands in Ireland when Penn was about 15 years old. During this time, Penn met Thomas Loe, a Quaker missionary who

10608-585: Was threatening New York rather than Philadelphia. In 1777, the Continental Army led by George Washington passed through Chester on the way to meet the British Army led by General Howe at the Battle of Brandywine . John Armstrong was ordered to take command of the militia stationed at Chester. The Continental Army fled back to Chester after defeat at the Battle of Brandywine . A portion of

10712-458: Was to be remitted to the King, and the Crown was freed of a debt to the Admiral of £16,000, equal to roughly £3,167,726 in 2008. Penn first called the area "New Wales", then "Sylvania", which is Latin for "forests" or "woods", which King Charles II changed to "Pennsylvania" in honor of the elder Penn. On 4 March 1681, the King signed the charter and the following day Penn jubilantly wrote, "It

10816-861: Was widow of a Dutch sea captain and the daughter of a rich merchant from Rotterdam . Through the Pletjes-Jasper family, Penn is also said to have been a cousin of the Op den Graeff family , who were important Mennonites in Krefeld and Quakers in Pennsylvania. Admiral Penn served in the Commonwealth Navy during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and was rewarded by Oliver Cromwell with estates in Ireland. The lands given to Penn had been confiscated from Irish Confederates who had participated in

#369630