Middletown Township-We Don't Look a Day Over 324 Years Old

Happy Birthday to us. We are 325 Years old! As our township slogan states "All Trails Lead to Middletown." That holds pretty much true today as it did when the township was originally established in 1686. Back in the day, and I mean way back, one had to pass through Middletown if you were travelling from the western side of what was then Chester County to get to the county courthouse located in Chester. The major roads in use then were the Edgmont Great Road (Route 352) and the Phildelphia Baltimore Turnpike (Route 1). And subsequent major roads were established that all seemed to point to Middletown in one way or another. If you look at a map of the county, you will see how the major highways running east to west and north to south have an impact on our township.

Middletown was settled in 1681 by John March and was incorporated as a Township in 1686. It covers around 13.5 square miles and was, like most other areas, predominantly farmland. Middletown continued to have a rural character well into the middle of the Twentieth Century with mills and industry dotting the area. Today the township has around 16,000 residents, a majority of whom are trying to push back a controversial plan to develop the former Franklin Mint and surrounding historic properties. But that's a blog for another time!

The (MTHS), which has recently been resurrected, has a new book coming out that celebrates in pictures the history of the township. The book, titled Middletown Township, Delaware County, PA is part of Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, and will be available in late Summer-early fall 2011. Our township has a very colorful past and interesting history which can be found in a book titled (you guessed it) Middletown Township Delaware County, PA written by Henry S Pearson. Copies of this book can be found in the . So if you are a resident of the township, and interested in preserving our history, join the MTHS by visiting http://mthsdelco.org and filling out a membership form. Several levels are available.