The information archived here originally appeared on a web site called the "Riggtown History Homepage"

(presenting local history from West Chester, Pennsylvania)

Copyright 2015 by Dr. James A. Jones

"About this web site ...

This website contains historical data on the neighborhood of Riggtown in the borough of West Chester (Pennsylvania) and the area surrounding it. It was created by Dr. Jim Jones of the West Chester University Department of History, students of his HIS480 "Computer Methods in Historical Research" classes and other volunteers using data provided by the Chester County Historical Society, the West Chester University Library, and the Chester County Archives."

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Riggtown History

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01 A Short History of Riggtown (West Chester, Pennsylvania), James Jones

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02 Interview with Jack and Charlotte Harvey, James Jones

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03 A Tribute to Jack Harvey (1919-2002), James Jones

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04 Interview with "Sarge" Clark, James Jones

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05 A Tribute to "Sarge" Clark (1915-2001), James Jones

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06 Interview with Charles and Nancy Carey, James Jones

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07 Interview with Martha Stanley and Anne Gincley, James Jones

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08 Interview with Thomas "Pat" Morley, James Jones

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09 Interview with Dorothea Parker, James Jones

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10 Walking Tour of West Chester's Railroad Corridor (from Riggtown to Market Street and back), James Jones

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11 Riggtown veterans of World War II, Anonymous

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12 Petition to create Green Field, circa 1943, Richard Carey

Government and Law

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01 Borough Officials, 1799-present (West Chester, Pennsylvania), Thomas A. Pitt Jr. and James Jones

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02 Water Bills During Tough Times, James Jones

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03 West Chester Gets a Sewer System, James Jones

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04 They Also Ran (Stories of Past Elections), James Jones

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05 Life and Death Matters, James Jones

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06 Chester County Prison and Its Inmates, June 1900, Donald H. Bunnell

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07 Miscellaneous Notes on the History of Government in Chester County, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, Bob Gialanella, Robert Gregory, Robert Troutman, Nancy Hershey, Christopher Waychunas, Kenneth McFadden, John Morrison, Scott Harre, Daniel Cleary, and Vincent Civiletti

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08 Miscellaneous Notes on the History of Education in Chester County, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, Bob Gialanella, Christopher Waychunas, and John Morrison

Health

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01 The West Chester Board of Health, 1885-1960, Charlotte Bridges

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02 Miscellaneous Notes on the History of Health Conditions in Chester County, Ken McFadden, Vince Civiletti, Chris Waychunas, Nancy Hershey, Bob Troutman, Bob Gregory, John Morrison, Scott Harre, Dan Cleary, and James Jones

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03 Comparison of Causes of Death in Chester County and the United States at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, Karin L. Flippin

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04 Causes of Death in the Late 19th Century mentioned in the Register of Deaths, 1893-1907, Karin L. Flippin

Labor and Business

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01 Miscellaneous Notes on the History of Working in Chester County, Ken McFadden, Vince Civiletti, Chris Waychunas, Nancy Hershey, Bob Troutman, Bob Gregory, Scott Harre, Dan Cleary, James Jones, and John Morrison

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02 A Local Contribution to the Cold War, James Jones

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03 The Borough's Hotel History, James Jones

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04 Unusual Historical Find - the Boals' Ford Dealership, James Jones

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05 West Chester's First Factory Still Stands, James Jones

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06 Benson's Department Store, James Jones

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07 A Brief History of M. S. Yearsley & Sons hardware store on E. Market Street in West Chester, James Jones

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08 The History of the "Mosteller Corner" in West Chester, Pennsylvania, James Jones

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09 Notes on the Keystone Tag Company, 1901-1956, James Jones and Kelly McVeigh

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10 Notes on the Denney Tag Company, 1884-1991, James Jones and Kelly McVeigh

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11 Notes on Charles E. Lucas Sr. & Jr. and the Lucas Tag Company, James Jones

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12 The Evolution of the Mushroom Industry in Kennett Square, Samuel E. Flammini

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13 Schramm: The Legacy of 100 Years, Thomas W. Brientnall

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14 Small Tags, Big Business: The Keystone Tag Company of West Chester 1901-1956, Kelly McVeigh

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15 The Industrialization of West Chester, James Jones

Historical Maps

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01 Tracing West Chester's Growth Through Maps, James Jones

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02 1847 map of West Chester, Eric Chandlee Wilson

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03 1928 map showing route numbers in and around West Chester, Keystone Automobile Club

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04 Municipal Borders in Chester County, Chester County Planning Commission

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05 1960 Population Distribution Map of West Chester, West Chester Borough

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06 1966 Zoning District Map of West Chester, West Chester Borough

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07 2005 Map of West Chester, West Chester Borough

Recreation

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01 West Chester, Pennsylvania's Warner Theatre, Alishia M. Faller

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02 West Chester's Everhart Park: A Century of Recreation, James Jones

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03 Remembering Bud Sharpe, Ballplayer, Charlie Weatherby

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04 Mike Grady (Early Baseball Player), Charlie Weatherby

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05 Joe Borden (Early Baseball Player), Charlie Weatherby

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06 Brandywine Baseball Club (West Chester, PA), Charlie Weatherby

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07 184 Years of Borough Christmas Events, James Jones

Society and Culture

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01 Remarks on Racial and Cultural Conflict in Chester County for the Discussion of the 1845 edition of "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave", James Jones

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02 The Formation of Riggtown: A Sociological Approach To Understanding Community Relationships, Wendy L. Smoker

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03 West Chester's Baha'i Roots, James Jones

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04 Miscellaneous Notes on the History of Religious Activities in Chester County, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, and Bob Gialanella

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05 Patriotism and Paradox: Quaker Military Service in the American Civil War, Mark A. Schmidt

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06 West Cestrians and their Animals, Mary Kivlin

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07 Miscellaneous Notes on the History of Animal-Related Issues in Chester County, Mary Kivlin and James Jones

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08 Borough Botanist Was Also a Birder, James Jones

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09 Notes on Thomas Thompson's Biography of Chris Sanderson, James Jones

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10 The "Four Sisters", James Jones

Transportation

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01 The West Chester Railroad's Gay Street Station, James Jones

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02 A Brief History of Transportation in West Chester, James Jones

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03 Railroads and Stations in Chester County, James Jones

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04 Miscellaneous Notes on the History of Streets, Roads and Public Works in Chester County, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, Bob Gialanella, Daniel Cleary, John Morrison, Scott Harre, Robert Troutman, Nicole Bowman, Karin Flippin, Mary Kurtak, Kelly McVeigh, Wendy Smoker, and Brian Toombes

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05 History of the West Chester Railroad to the PRR takeover in 1879, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, Bob Gialanella, Daniel Cleary, John Morrison, Scott Harre, Robert Troutman, Nicole Bowman, Karin Flippin, Mary Kurtak, Kelly McVeigh, Wendy Smoker, Brian Toombes, and Don Callander

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06 History of the West Chester Railroad from 1879-1882, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, Bob Gialanella, Daniel Cleary, John Morrison, Scott Harre, Robert Troutman, Nicole Bowman, Karin Flippin, Mary Kurtak, Kelly McVeigh, Wendy Smoker, Brian Toombes, and Don Callander

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07 Notes on the History of the West Chester Railroad 1883-1893, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, Bob Gialanella, Daniel Cleary, John Morrison, Scott Harre, Robert Troutman, Nicole Bowman, Karin Flippin, Mary Kurtak, Kelly McVeigh, Wendy Smoker, Brian Toombes, and Don Callander

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08 History of the West Chester Railroad from 1894-1906, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, Bob Gialanella, Daniel Cleary, John Morrison, Scott Harre, Robert Troutman, Nicole Bowman, Karin Flippin, Mary Kurtak, Kelly McVeigh, Wendy Smoker, Brian Toombes, and Don Callander

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09 History of the West Chester Railroad from 1907-1945, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, Bob Gialanella, Daniel Cleary, John Morrison, Scott Harre, Robert Troutman, Nicole Bowman, Karin Flippin, Mary Kurtak, Kelly McVeigh, Wendy Smoker, Brian Toombes, and Don Callander

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10 History of the West Chester Railroad 1946-Present, James Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford, Bob Gialanella, Daniel Cleary, John Morrison, Scott Harre, Robert Troutman, Nicole Bowman, Karin Flippin, Mary Kurtak, Kelly McVeigh, Wendy Smoker, Brian Toombes, and Don Callander

The Depression of the 1930s

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01 Notes on West Chester, Pennsylvania Borough Council Meeting Minutes, 1929, James Jones

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02 Notes on West Chester, Pennsylvania Borough Council Meeting Minutes, 1930, James Jones

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03 Notes on West Chester, Pennsylvania Borough Council Meeting Minutes, 1931, James Jones

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04 Notes on West Chester, Pennsylvania Borough Council Meeting Minutes, 1932, James Jones

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05 Notes on West Chester, Pennsylvania Borough Council Meeting Minutes, 1933, James Jones

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06 Notes on Daily Local News articles from November 1929, James Bencrowsky

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07 Notes on Daily Local News articles from December 1930, David Fraser

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08 Notes on Daily Local News articles from January 1931, Ben Grim

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09 Notes on Daily Local News articles from March 1931, Justin Grisin

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10 Notes on Daily Local News articles from April 1931, Nuah Gweh

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11 Notes on Daily Local News articles from May 1931, Kali Kokas

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12 Notes on Daily Local News articles from June 1932, Jim Metzger

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13 Notes on Daily Local News articles from July 1932, Michael Pasquarello

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14 Notes on Daily Local News articles from February 1933, Jon Sauerwald

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15 Notes on Daily Local News articles from March 1933, Derek Shugar

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16 Notes on Daily Local News articles from November 1933, Chris Weering

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17 Notes on Daily Local News articles from December 1933, Joseph Williamson

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18 Daily Local News coverage of the September 11, 1931 Goose Creek Fire, James Jones

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19 The West Chester Fire Department and the Great Depression, Chris Weersing

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20 Diets in West Chester during the Great Depression, Derek Shugar

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21 The Effects of the Depression at West Chester State Teachers College, Joseph Williamson

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22 The Great Depression and Its Effects on the Movie Theatres of West Chester, Pennsylvania, Michael Pasquarello

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23 Notes on Studs Terkel's oral history of the Depression, "Hard Times", James Jones

The Everhart Tract

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01 Transcribing the Everhart Deed, James Jones

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02 Partial Transcription of the 1829 Everhart Deed, James Jones

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03 The Scandalous Life of Edwin Everhart, James Jones

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04 Benjamin M. Everhart's Last Will and Testament, James Jones