Avondale Borough
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Avondale municipal offices are located at 110 Pomeroy Ave, Avondale PA 19311 (near the intersection of W State Street and Pennsylvania Avenue [route 41]); phone: 610-268-8501. The borough is bordered by London Grove and New Garden Townships. The borough ... "was called Miller's Run and then Stone Bridge until 1828 when Jacob Lindley, son of a Quaker minister, opened the Avondale post office on his farm. It was the name of the house he occupied, and it was built in 1731 by William Miller, whose father was a founder of New Garden Friends' Meeting in 1713. During the construction of the farmhouse, William Miller won the heart of Ann Emlen, daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia vintner, whereupon his neighbors said, 'Strike for the moon and you may bring down a star.' The one-street village was incorporated in 1894 from parts of New Garden and London Grove Townships." [1] "Since the early 18th century, the area which is now Avondale has been the home of a very proud and industrious people. As our country grew, this region of Southern Chester County quickly became an important link between Philadelphia, Baltimore and the new communities to the west as Avondale became a crossroads town for both turnpikes and railroad. At the time of it's incorporation in 1894, the borough of Avondale had reached the peak of its development with the most prosperous businesses, mills, farms, and stores in the region. "Today, visitors and residents alike take note of not only the impressive array of Victorian architecture which lines the streets of Avondale, but also the fierce Quaker-based traditions which will dictate that Avondale will continue to thrive with a mix of business, industry, agriculture and residential property as it enters its second century of existence." [2]
Pennsylvania Guide, 1940
AVONDALE, 66.7 m. (227 alt., 763 pop.), also a busy mushroom marketing center, is a neat one-street village bisected by a branch of White Clay Creek; countless coats of paint have rendered most of its brick buildings a striking red. West of Avondale the route traverses gently rolling cultivated country, broken here and there by clumps of woodland. LINCOLN UNIVERSITY (L), 75.3 m., is maintained by the Presbyterian Church for young Negro men of any denomination. Founded in 1854 as Ashmun Institute and renamed for Abraham Lincoln in 1866, it is one of the leading Negro institutions of higher learning in the country. In addition to the college course, it offers theological training. Enrollment is approximately 450. The chapel, the library, the administration building, and the dormitories on the 275-acre campus, the majority built of dark red brick, are somewhat gloomy in appearance. Federal Writers Project, Works Progress Administration, 1940 Polk's 1882 Gazetteer
Stands at junction of P. & B. C. and P. & D. Br., Penn R. R., in London Grove Township, Chester County, 14 miles southwest of West Chester, the county seat, and 41 west of Philadelphia. The village contains 450 inhabitants, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, 1 public school, 1 hotel, 3 flour mills, a foundry, and 1 sawmill. Oxford, distant 12 miles, is the location of the nearest bank. Grain and flour are its chief exports. Ex., Adams. Daily stage route to New Garden and Kaolin. B.H. Chambers postmaster. R.L.Polk, Pennsylvania State Gazetteer & Business Directory, 1882, Philadelphia |
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