Kennett Square is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

in Chester County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Kennett Square had a population of 5,943. Kennett Square is located in the

Delaware Valley The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

and considered a suburb of both

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the nation's sixth largest city as of 2020, and

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. The local high school is Kennett High School. The corporate headquarters of Genesis HealthCare, which administers

elderly care Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs of old adults. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often called residential care), ...

facilities, is based in Kennett Square. The borough is sometimes referred to as the "Mushroom Capital of the World" because mushroom farming in the region produces over 500 million pounds of mushrooms a year, representing half of the nation's mushroom crop production. To celebrate this heritage, Kennett Square holds an annual Mushroom Festival, where the town and its businesses hold a parade, mushroom farm tours, and sells food and other goods.

History

The area that became known as Kennett Square was originally inhabited by the Lenape Native American tribe. Once colonized, the town was named Kennet Square, a reference to Kennett, Wiltshire, England, with "Square" referring to the original land grant from

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

, which was one square mile. In 1777, during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, Sir William Howe, a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

general, led troops through Kennett Square on their way to the Battle of Brandywine. In the 19th century, the borough played an instrumental role in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

, which helped slaves escape the South for freedom. In 1853, a group asked for Kennett Square to be incorporated, and by 1855 it held elections. Kennett Square's founder is credited with introducing mushroom growing to the area. He grew carnations, a popular local commodity beginning in 1885 and wanted to make use of the wasted space under the elevated beds. He imported spawn from Europe and started experimenting with mushroom cultivation.

In culture

Kennett Square is the subject and setting of ''The Story of Kennett'', an 1866 novel by

Bayard Taylor Bayard Taylor (January 11, 1825December 19, 1878) was an American poet, literary critic, translator, travel author, and diplomat. As a poet, he was very popular, with a crowd of more than 4,000 attending a poetry reading once, which was a record ...

, who was born in Kennett Square.

Geography

Kennett Square is located at (39.844104, −75.710654). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the borough was 42.8% non-Hispanic White, 7.2% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.8% Asian, and 3.3% were two or more races. 48.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of the census, there were 6,072 people, 1,868 households, and 1,242 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,967 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 73.58%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 10.26%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.09% Native American, 1.63% Asian, 12.48% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 27.88% of the population. There were 1,868 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. Of all households 28.2% were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.39. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $46,523, and the median income for a family was $54,948. Males had a median income of $35,978 versus $27,246 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $22,292. About 7.5% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

As of 2010, there were of public roads in Kennett Square, of which were maintained by

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

(PennDOT) and were maintained by the borough. Pennsylvania Route 82 is the only numbered highway directly serving the borough. It follows a southeast-to-northwest alignment through the central portion of the borough via South Street and Union Street. U.S. Route 1 bypasses the borough to the north.

Government

The borough is governed by the council–manager form of government. There are seven council members and a mayor, and all are elected by borough residents. The borough manager is an employee of the borough, hired by the council.

Events

The Kennett Mushroom Festival is held annually in early September. The festival has been highlighted on Food TV. Annual parades are held on Memorial Day, Halloween, and before the Christmas holidays. Kennett Square celebrates Cinco de Mayo, which is organized by Casa Guanajuato, and other local companies. A free summer concert series is held on Wednesday evenings at the beautiful (over 100 acre) Anson B Nixon park. In mid-May, the famous Kennett Run occurs that ends at the Park pavilion. The Kennett Brewfest is held each Fall, featuring unlimited tastings of select brewers pouring different, rare, exclusive, limited, or seasonal beers. The local art galleries, studios, and independent boutiques participate in First Friday Art Strolls each month, presented by Historic Kennett Square. During temperate months there is an outdoor farmers market at the Genesis Walkway on State St. every Friday afternoon. These are but a few of the events for families and visitors throughout the year.

Education

Kennett Square schools are all part of the Kennett Consolidated School District. This grouping of districts was the first consolidation of schools in the history of Pennsylvania. Students enrolled in kindergarten attend the Mary D. Lang Kindergarten Center. Grades 1 through 5 attend either Greenwood Elementary, Bancroft Elementary or New Garden Elementary. For grades 6 through 8, all students attend Kennett Middle School. For grades 9 through 12, students then attend Kennett High School. U.S. Route 1 bypasses Kennett Square just to its north and the area is assigned to the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. Unionville High School, the only one in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, is located on Unionville Road (Pennsylvania State Route 82), approximately 2 miles north of the Borough of Kennett Square.

Media

Kennett Square has three local newspapers: ''The Chester County Press'', ''The Kennett Paper'', and '' The Daily Local News''. There are also two print magazines, ''Fig Kennett'' and ''Kennett Square Today''.

Points of interest

East Penn Railroad The East Penn Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates a number of mostly-unconnected lines in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Except for two industrial park switching railroad, switching operations, all are former Pennsylvania Railroad or Re ...

* Kennett Meetinghouse * Longwood Gardens * Talula's Table

Notable people

* Marino Auriti (1891–1980), artist and mechanic, creator of '' The Encyclopedic Palace of the World'' * Justin Best (born 1997), Olympic rower * Pat Ciarrocchi (born 1953), broadcast journalist * Hannah M. Darlington (1808–1890), organizer of the Pennsylvania Woman's Convention at West Chester in 1852 * Bartholomew Fussell (1794–1871), physician and abolitionist active in the

* Mike Grady (1869–1943), professional baseball player * Doris Grumbach (1918–2022), novelist and biographer * John Honnold (1915–2011), professor,

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phi ...

* Dugald C. Jackson (1865–1951), electrical engineer and professor at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Bruce Johnston Bruce Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bruce & Terry, the Rip Chords, and ...

(1939–2002), head of notorious Johnston Gang * Herb Pennock (1894–1948), Hall of Fame baseball pitcher * James M. Phillips (1822–1891), member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives * Jessica Savitch (1947–1983), former broadcast journalist * William Marshall Swayne (1828–1918), sculptor * Charles Frederick Taylor (1840–1863), U.S. army colonel killed at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

(1825–1878), poet and travel writer *Collin Walsh, musician with

Grayscale In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a greyscale (more common in Commonwealth English) or grayscale (more common in American English) image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample (signal), s ...

, a pop punk band * Harry Whitney (1873–1936), Arctic hunter, author, and adventurer

References

External links

The Borough of Kennett Square official website

Historic Kennett Square official website
{{authority control 1686 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Chester County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1686