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History of Chester Originally settled in 1644 by the Swedish as “Upland”, the name was changed to Chester in 1682. Incorporated on October 31, 1701 as a Boro and as a city on February 14, 1866. Chester is the oldest City in Pennsylvania. In 1681, William Penn acquired the colonial settlement as a safe haven for Quakers. One year later he landed on the ship Welcome and renamed the settlement Chester, after the city in England. For the first two hundred years of its history, Chester was prosperous and wealthy manufacturing community with industries concentrating on machinery, metal manufacturing, locomotive, shipbuilding, and textiles. These strong industries, paired with the city’s proximity to the Delaware River and major railways generated jobs and fueled a steady population growth. During the early 1900’s, Chester experienced its first major growth period stimulated by World War I. The population grew significantly from 38,000 in 1910 to 58,000 in 1920 as people moved into the city to fill the man
