Englishman, Quaker and explorer, William Penn established Chester County in 1682 as one of the first three counties in Pennsylvania along with Bucks and Delaware counties. West Chester, Chester County’s county seat, was originally named “Turk’s Head” and had a population of 374 in 1799. Other remarkable towns in Chester County including Kennett Square, Phoenixville, Coatesville and Malvern have their own unique agricultural, revolutionary and industrial histories. Malvern is home to the Paoli Massacre of 1777, just after the Battle of the Brandywine on September 11, 1777, and General “Mad” Anthony Wayne’s residence, Waynesborough, is just around the corner in Paoli.

In 1983 the Borough Council passed Ordinance No. 83–12 creating the Malvern Historical Commission. The purpose of the commission was designated to be to “locate, name and preserve for posterity significant architectural, natural and other historic sites within the boundaries of the Borough of Malvern.” Over the past several years the focus of the commission has been to map the Borough, locating historical structures along the way. Our map is now complete, so recently our focus has shifted slightly. We are working with the Malvern Planning Commission to create an evaluation system that will allow for the designation of historical structures of significant preservation interest.

Our ongoing work includes the logging of the many artifacts acquired by the borough over the years. In the summer of 2008, we are planning to participate in the popular Chester County Town Tours program.

We welcome residents interested in joining us in this exciting work.