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Concept
Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Summary
Newtown Township, also referred to by the name of its post office of Newtown Square, is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Prior to 1789, it was part of Chester County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,002.
The first mention of the township was in 1684, when Thomas Norbury and John Humphrey were appointed collectors of the "Levie for the cort house and Prison for ye Township of Newtowne". Newtown Square was the name used for the townstead with the majority of early settlers being Welshmen. These Welsh "Friends" (Quakers) needed a road to facilitate their journey to meeting, the only established road at the time being Newtown Street Road, which ran north and south. As such, in 1687, an east–west road was laid out (Goshen Road) so the Friends could attend either Goshen or the Haverford Friends Meeting. By 1696, these friends had become numerous enough to hold their own meeting in Newtown and continued to meet in a private home until the completion of the Newtown Square Friends Meetinghouse in 1711. In the 18th century, Newtown was basically a farming community. Blacksmith and wheelwright shops emerged on the main arteries to service horse and buggy travelers. Taverns and inns were also opened to accommodate local patrons as well as drovers taking their livestock to the markets in Philadelphia.
During the Revolutionary War, Newtown township was visited several times by foraging parties of the British Army. On Goshen Road, west of Newtown Square, were the outpost and headquarters of General Potter.
During the 19th century a number of mills sprang up along Crum Creek (the western border) and Darby Creek (in the northeast corner of the Township). These included saw mills, paper mills, shingle mills, and a woolen factory. In the Darby Creek area a number of tenement houses were built as well as a general store to service the needs of the mill workers.
In 1860, the population of Newtown Township was 830; the population of Philadelphia was approximately half a million.
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