Chester County Historical Society


Chester County Historical Society is a non-profit historical society, founded in 1893, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Chester County, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area. The Historical Society is located at 225 North High Street in downtown West Chester.

History

Dr. Robert Lukens served as the President of the Chester County Historical Society from 2011 until 2015. Lukens oversaw the renovations and beautification of the society's buildings and other facilities. He acquired state grants for the society and published a historical column in the Daily Local News.

Building

The History Center is a 56,000-square-foot complex that houses the historical society. It includes two connected buildings.
The older building, known as Horticultural Hall, was designed by renowned architect Thomas U. Walter in 1848. It was the site of the 1852 Pennsylvania Women's Rights convention.
The buildings were modernized in 1979 and contain over 500,000 manuscripts, 80,000 photographs, and 20,000 volumes. The National Register of Historic Places named West Chester one of "America's Dozen Distinctive Destinations" in 2006.