Delaware County
Delaware County (known colloquially as “Delco”) is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2000, the population was 550,864, making it Pennsylvania’s fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties.
Delaware County was created on September 26, 1789, from part of Chester County and named for the Delaware River. Its county seat, since 1851, is Media[1]. Chester City, prior to 1851, was the county seat of both Delaware County and, before that, of Chester County.
Delaware County consists of suburbs of the adjacent city of Philadelphia. Socioeconomically, Delaware County ranges from economically depressed and working class communities such as the City of Chester and the Borough of Darby to the prosperous suburban neighborhoods of Radnor Township within the wealthy Main Line to the north.
2,600 acres (11 km2) of the county are occupied by the Ridley Creek State Park.
The county, immediately adjacent to and west of Philadelphia, is part of the Delaware Valley area. Delaware County is only one of two counties covered in its entirety by area code 610 (the other one being Chester County).
Geography
Delaware County is roughly diamond- or kite-shaped, with the four sides formed by the Chester County boundary to the northwest, the boundary with the state of Delaware (a portion of the “Twelve Mile Circle“) to the southwest, the Delaware River (forming the border with the state of New Jersey to the southeast, and the city of Philadelphia and Montgomery County to the east and northeast.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 191 square miles (494 km²), of which, 184 square miles (477 km²) of it is land and 7 square miles (17 km²) of it (3.42%) is water.
Waterways in Delaware County generally flow in a southward direction and ultimately drain into the Delaware River. The waterways are, from west to east: the Brandywine River (forming a portion of the county’s western boundary with Chester County), Chester Creek, Ridley Creek, Crum Creek, Darby Creek and Cobbs Creek (forming a portion of the county’s eastern boundary with Philadelphia). Crum Creek was dammed in 1931 near Pennsylvania Route 252 to fill Springton Lake (also known as Geist Reservoir), an approximately 391-acre (1.58 km2)[2] drinking water reservoir maintained by Aqua America, the county’s largest lake.
Politics and government
As of November 2008, there are 406,352 registered voters in Delaware County [1].
- Republican: 190,716 (46.93%)
- Democratic: 172,405 (42.43%)
- Other Parties: 43,231 (10.64%)
Politically, Delaware County has traditionally been a Republican stronghold. It voted for the Republican candidate in nearly every election since 1854 through 1988. As was the case in most of the Philadelphia suburbs, however, the brand of Republicanism that prevailed in the area was traditionally a moderate one. It has operated under a home-rule charter with five at-large councilmembers since 1972. Republicans remain in control of all county council seats and row offices.
In recent elections, however, Delaware County has been trending Democratic and the Republican registration edge has declined rapidly from over twice as many voters as Democrats had in 2002. It narrowly voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, but has gone Democratic in every Presidential election since then by 10 points or more by progressively-increasing margins. In the 2004 election Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won the county by 14 points. In the 2004 US Senate election, Republican Arlen Specter defeated Joe Hoeffel but Democrat Bob Casey, Jr. defeated Rick Santorum in the 2006 Senate election. In the 2008 presidential election, Democratic Senator Barack Obama defeated Republican Senator John McCain resoundingly, by over 21 points. All three Democratic state row office candidates also carried it in 2008.
Most of Delaware County is located in the state’s 7th congressional district, represented by Democrat Joe Sestak. The district had been held for 20 years by Republican Curt Weldon until he was ousted by Sestak, a retired admiral, in the 2006 U.S. House of Representatives election. A small portion of the county, mostly consisting of the areas around Chester, Yeadon and Darby, is in the Philadelphia-based 1st district, represented by Democrat Bob Brady. Also in the 2006 election, Democrat Bryan Lentz unseated Republican incumbent State Representative Tom Gannon in the 161st House district.
Members of Delaware County Council
| Office | Holder | Party |
|---|---|---|
| County Councilwoman (chairwoman) | Linda Cartisano | Republican |
| County Councilman (vice-chair) | John J. Whelan | Republican |
| County Councilwoman | Christine Fizzano Cannon | Republican |
| County Councilman | Andrew Lewis | Republican |
| County Councilman | Tom McGarrigle | Republican |
Other elected officials
| Office | Holder | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Controller | Cynthia Felzer Leitzell | Republican |
| District Attorney | G. Michael Green | Republican |
| Register of Wills | Hugh Donahue | Republican |
| Sheriff | Joseph McGinn | Republican |
United States House of Representatives
| District | Representative | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Brady | Democratic |
| 7 | Joe Sestak | Democratic |
United States Senate
| Senator | Party |
|---|---|
| Arlen Specter | Democrat |
| Bob Casey | Democrat |
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Pennsylvania State Senate
| District | Representative | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Anthony Hardy Williams | Democratic |
| 9 | Dominic F. Pileggi | Republican |
| 17 | Daylin Leach | Democratic |
| 26 | Edwin Erickson | Republican |
Demographics
As of 2000[update], there were 550,864 people, 206,320 households, and 139,472 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,990 people per square mile (1,155/km²). There were 216,978 housing units at an average density of 1,178 per square mile (455/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.32% White, 14.52% African American, 0.11% Native American, 3.29% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.56% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. 1.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.6% were of Irish, 17.5% Italian, 10.1% German and 6.7% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 206,320 households out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.80% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the county, the population was spread out with 24.80% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $50,092, and the median income for a family was $61,590. Males had a median income of $44,155 versus $31,831 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,040. About 5.80% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.
Municipalities
There are 49 municipalities in Delaware County. Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Delaware County:
Cities
Boroughs
Townships
Census-Designated Places
Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.
Education
Public school districts
* Chester Upland School District
* Chichester School District
* Garnet Valley School District
* Haverford Township School District
* Interboro School District
* Marple Newtown School District
* Penn-Delco School District
* Radnor Township School District
* Ridley School District
* Rose Tree Media School District
* Southeast Delco School District
* Springfield School District
* Upper Darby School District
* Unionville-Chadds Ford School District
* Wallingford-Swarthmore School District
* West Chester Area School District
* William Penn School District
[edit] Colleges and universities
* Cabrini College
* Cheyney University
* Eastern University
* Delaware County Community College
* Haverford College
* Neumann University
* Pennsylvania Institute of Technology
* Penn State Brandywine
* Rosemont College
* Swarthmore College
* Villanova University
* Widener University
* Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades
[edit] Adult education
* Haverford Adult School
* Main Line School Night
* Upper Darby Adult Evening Program
[edit] Public libraries
* Aston Free Library
* Collingdale Public Library
* J. Lewis Crozer Library (Chester)
* Darby Free Library
* Folcroft Public Library
* Helen Kate Furness Library (Wallingford)
* Glenolden Library
* Haverford Township Free Library
* Rachel Kohl Community Library (Glen Mills)
* Lansdowne Public Library
* Marple Public Library
* Mary M. Campbell Library (Marcus Hook)
* Media-Upper Providence Free Library
* Middletown Free Library
* Newtown Square Public Library
* Norwood Public Library
* Prospect Park Public Library
* Memorial Library of Radnor Township
* Ridley Park Public Library
* Ridley Township Public Library
* Sharon Hill Public Library
* Springfield Township Library
* Swarthmore Public Library
* Tinicum Memorial Public Library
* Upper Darby & Sellers Memorial Library (main)
* Upper Darby Library-Municipal Branch
* Upper Darby Library-Primos Branch
* Yeadon Public Library
* Delaware County Francis J. Catania Law Library
* Delaware County Library System (government agency)