Welcome to Riggtown

INDEX

Reports
Data
Interviews
Maps
Death records
Links
Great Depression 		Mifflin Rigg

Posted 5/25/2009: West Chester Borough Directory for 1918-1919

Posted 5/21/2008: The History of Benson's Department Store

Plus more than 16,000 entries from the Register of Deaths of Chester County (1893-1907)

About This Page ...

This Webpage contains historical data on Riggtown, the borough of West Chester (Pennsylvania) and the surrounding area. It is maintained by Dr. Jim Jones of the West Chester University Department of History. The data was collected by Dr. Jones and the students of HIS480, "Computer Methods in Historical Research" ( Course syllabus ) at the Chester County Historical Society, the West Chester University Library, and at the Chester County Archives.

Last updated August 19, 2007
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Reports

  1. NEW (May 25, 2009) : West Chester Borough Directory for 1918-1919 compiled by Jim Jones
  2. Benson's Department Store by Jim Jones
  3. Complete text of the History of the West Chester Academy (written in 1870) by Joseph J. Lewis, Esq.
  4. Report on The Effects of the Depression at West Chester State Teachers College, by Joseph Williamson
  5. Report on The Great Depression and Its Effects on the Movie Theatres by Michael Pasquarello
  6. Report on West Chester's fire companies during the Great Depression, by Chris Weersing
  7. Report on Diets in West Chester during the Great Depression, by Derek Shugar
  8. Report on the Warner Theatre, by Alishia M. Faller with Jim Jones
  9. A brief history of the M. S. Yearsley & Sons hardware store in West Chester, by Jim Jones
  10. Instructions on how to trace property owners in Chester County using deeds, by Jim Jones
  11. West Chester's Everhart Park: A Century of Recreation, by Jim Jones
  12. A report on the conflict presented by the Civil War to pacifist members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) , by Mark A. Schmidt
  13. Genealogical data from the Yost Family Bible, beginning with Philip Yost (1757-1832) of Mongomery County, Pennsylvania [Posted June 30, 2004]
  14. A report on the role of animals in West Chester by Mary Kivlin [Posted June 27, 2004]
  15. A report on the "Register of Deaths" in the Chester County Archives, by Vincent Civiletti
  16. Selected notes from Made in West Chester by Jim Jones
  17. The History of Riggtown, by Jim Jones
  18. Tribute to Jack Harvey (1921-2002), the "Mayor" of Riggtown
  19. Tribute to Walter "Sarge" Clark, a resident of the southeast part of West Chester borough
  20. Report on history of the mushroom industry in Kennett Square, by Samuel E. Flammini
  21. Report on the West Chester Board of Health from 1885-1960, by Charlotte Bridges
  22. Instructions for a walking tour of West Chester's East Side "railroad corridor" by Jim Jones
  23. Text of Bicentennial lecture on the history of industry in West Chester, by Jim Jones
  24. A brief history of racial conflict in Chester County, by Jim Jones
  25. A report on the sociological bases for building a community like Riggtown, by Wendy L. Smoker
  26. A report on the Chester County Prison in 1900, by Donald H. Bunnell
  27. A history of Schramm Incorporated, by Tom W. Brientnall
  28. A short history of the West Chester University, by Jim Jones and Gerald Schoelkopf
  29. A brief history of transportation in West Chester, by Jim Jones
  30. A history of the Keystone Tag Company, by Kelly McVeigh

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Data

  1. List of West Chester "taxables" in 1807
  2. Partial transcription of the 1829 deed for the Everhart tract (plus related article)
  3. 1857 West Chester Borough Directory
  4. West Chester Borough Directory for 1918-1919 compiled by Jim Jones
  5. West Chester Borough Directory for 1932-1933 compiled by Jim Jones
  6. West Chester Borough officials from 1799 to 2008, complied by Thomas A. Pitt Jr. & Jim Jones
  7. Notes on Studs Terkels' Hard Times (oral history of the Depression)
  8. Notes on Thomas Tompkins' Chris (biography of Chris Sanderson)
  9. Info on the Keystone Tag Company, the Denney Tag Company, and the Lucas Tag Company of West Chester.
  10. West Chester railroad history (1830-1997) sorted chronologically:

    1830-79 1879-82 1883-93 1894-1906 1907-1945 1946-present

  11. West Chester History timeline, 1793-1956
  12. 1945 poem listing Riggtown veterans
  13. 1943 petition signed by Riggtown neighbors asking the borough to convert the Goose Creek swamp into a ball field (Green Field on South Franklin Street).
  14. List of railroad lines and towns in Chester County prior to World War II.
  15. Info on the history of transportation and public works in Chester County.
  16. Info on the animal-related issues in West Chester.
  17. Info on the history of education in Chester County.
  18. Info on the history of religious activities in Chester County.
  19. Info on the history of government and law in Chester County.
  20. Info on the history of health conditions in Chester County.
  21. Info on the history of working conditions in Chester County.

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Interviews

  1. Charles Carey was born in Riggtown and lived there until after World War II. This interview describes how the boys used to play baseball, the significance of wartime military service, and the movement to the suburbs after World War II.
  2. Walter "Sarge" Clark is a life-long resident of West Chester's South End who achieved local fame as an athlete and minor-league baseball player before WWII. This interview describes his childhood memories and his baseball career.
  3. Anne Gincley and Margaret "Siddy" Gincley Stanley are sisters-in-law. Margaret grew up in Riggtown and Anne married her brother. This interview describes life in Riggtown, particularly for women, during the 1930s and 1940s.
  4. Jack & Charlotte Harvey are long-term residents of Riggtown. This interview covers their experience during the Depression and World War II, and includes detail on the kind of work that they did and on their relations with the rest of the neighborhood.
  5. Pat Morley was born in Riggtown and grew up a half-block away. This interview describes his Irish immigrant parents, two generations of Philadelphia Electric Company employees, and a wealth of information about sports, courtship, and the neighborhood.
  6. Dorothea Parker grew up in Riggtown in the 1930s but left after she got married. This interview describes her early life, relations between the neighbors, women's work and education.

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Chester County Death Records

  1. A report on causes of death based on data from the Chester County Register of Deaths, 1893-1907, by Karen Flippin
  2. A dictionary of causes of death in late-19th century Chester County, by Karen Flippin
  3. Updated list of people buried in the cemetery of the St. Mark's Episcopal Church of Honey Brook, western Chester County
  4. List of people buried in the cemetery of the Friends Burial Society on W. Rosedale Avenue in West Chester and description of the cemetery by Jim Jones
  5. List of people buried in the West Caln Baptist Cemetery near Wagontown (Coatesville)
  6. PA GenWeb's list of cemetery lists
Jim Jones and his students at West Chester University digitized the three volumes of the Chester County Register of Deaths (1893-1907) and alphabetized the entries by last and first names.

First letter of last name
A B C D E F
G H I J K L
M Mc N O P Q
R S T U V W
XYZ Incomplete names

Read a report on how to use the Register of Deaths, by Vincent Civiletti

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Links to Other Local History Resources

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Maps

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