Media, Pennsylvania


Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located about west of Philadelphia. It is part of the Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Media was incorporated in 1850 at the same time that it was named the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,991.

History

The history of the area goes back to William Penn, but the area remained predominantly rural until the 20th century.

17th century

Land in the area was sold and settled soon after William Penn was named proprietor of the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania in 1681 by King Charles II of England. Peter and William Taylor bought the land where Media is now located, directly from Penn. At the time, the land was located in Chester County. Providence Township was organized in 1684, and later divided into Upper Providence and Nether Providence townships by 1690, even though they only had 40 taxable properties at the time. The current borough, formed in 1850, sits between the two townships.
In 1683, the Court of Chester County approved the construction of "Providence Great Road", now Pennsylvania Route 252. The road, which runs north from Chester to within a few blocks of today's downtown, is shown on a 1687 map along with the names of local landowners. It forms the eastern border of the borough.
Thomas Minshall, a Quaker, was an early Media resident, settling just outside the small village then known as "Providence", along Providence Great Road. The village then included a tailor shop, blacksmith shop, wheelwright shop, barn and other buildings.
Minshall bought from William Penn and arrived in 1682. The Providence Friends Meetinghouse was established at his house in February 1688.

18th century

The original Friends Meetinghouse was built out of logs in 1699 or 1700, and the current building was completed in 1814. A house on Minshall's property, built around 1750, still stands and was given to the citizens of the borough in 1975.
In 1789, Chester County, Pennsylvania was divided, with the eastern portion becoming Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

19th century

The area in the center of the new county remained rural through 1850. On March 11, 1850, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by Special Act of Assembly incorporated the Borough of Media, and made the sale of malt and spirituous liquors unlawful within its borders. At the same time, the county seat of Delaware County was moved to Media from Chester. The borough was formed from four farms purchased by the county, totaling only. The borders of the borough have not changed since that time.
Streets were plotted in a rectangular grid around the location of the new courthouse, lots were sold at public auctions, and the construction of houses began. Sources agree that Minshall Painter, a descendant of Thomas Minshall, suggested the name "Media", but do not agree on the reason. The name most likely comes from the borough's median location in the direct center of Delaware County.

20th century

In 1940, the Pennsylvania guide described Media by noting that "he majority of its houses, almost all built since the American Civil War, sit far back on shaded lawns and seem somewhat gloomy. The borough has a large and prosperous business section and a few small industrial plants; many townspeople work in Philadelphia or Chester."
The John J. Tyler Arboretum occupies part of Thomas Minshall's original. This farm and a nearby Village of Lima was used by the Underground Railroad. The land was donated to a public trust in 1944 by an eighth-generation descendant. The arboretum was started as a private collection by brothers Jacob and Minshall Painter. In 1825, they began systematically planting over 1,000 varieties of trees and shrubs. Over twenty of their original trees survive, including a giant sequoia.
Minshall Painter was also a leader of the Delaware County Institute of Science, which was formed on September 21, 1833, with just four other members: George Miller, John Miller, George Smith, M.D., and John Cassin. The institute was incorporated in 1836. About 1850, Painter gave the institute the land where its building currently stands at 11 Veterans Square, and the building was constructed in 1867.
In the second half of the 19th century, Media was a summer resort for well-to-do Philadelphians. The borough's large vacation hotels included the Idlewild Hotel on Lincoln Street at Gayley Terrace, Chestnut Grove House or "The Colonial" on Orange Street, and Brooke Hall on Orange Street and Washington Avenue. The Chestnut Grove was used for a year by nearby Swarthmore College due to a fire on its campus.
The West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad was built through Media on October 19, 1854. Electrified service was opened on December 2, 1928. Up to 50 trains passed through each day. The railroad became part of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad and eventually the Penn Central. SEPTA took over operations in 1983. Woodrow Wilson spoke at the Media Station in 1912 during his first election campaign. Trolley transportation lines spread to and through Media in the 1890s and early 1900s.

The Media Theatre opened as a vaudeville house in 1927. The first talkie film, The Jazz Singer, was shown there. It remained a popular cinema through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1994, the theater underwent a $1 million restoration by Walter Strine Sr. and re-opened as the Media Theatre for the Performing Arts. Shows produced there have included The Full Monty, Carousel and Miss Saigon.
On March 8, 1971, the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI raided an FBI "resident agency" in Media. They later released thousands of documents to major newspapers around the country. These documents revealed FBI tactics such as the illegal wiretapping of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and the recruitment of Boy Scouts as informants, and confirmed for the first time the existence of COINTELPRO, an FBI program to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" dissident groups in the United States.

21st century

In June 2006, Media became the first town in the United States to follow over 300 towns in Europe in attaining fair trade certification. To meet the criteria for certification, Media passed a council resolution in support of fair trade, served fair-trade coffee and tea in local government meetings and offices, ensured that a range of fair-trade products were available in local restaurants and businesses, raised popular support and provided media coverage for the fair-trade campaign, and convened a fair-trade steering committee to ensure continued commitment.

Local historic districts

Three locally recognized historic districts were designated by the borough in 1975. These districts are:
  • Courthouse Square, from Olive to Orange Streets between 2nd and Jasper Streets.
  • Lemon Street, from Baker to Front Streets.
  • Providence Friends' Meeting House District, from Front to 2nd including the meetinghouse to Haldeman.

    Landmarks

Homes

  • Minshall House on Route 252
  • Cooper House on State Street, home of Thomas Valentine Cooper, Pennsylvania State Senator and Representative
  • Dr. Samuel D. Risley House, 430 N. Monroe Street
  • Gayley House 301 Gayley St., originally the Media Classical Institute, a Presbyterian academy founded by Rev. Samuel Maxwell Gayley. In 1923, the building became a convent for Nativity BVM Catholic Church. It has served as Nativity's parish center since 2005.
  • Hillhurst on Orange Street, designed by Addison Hutton and owned by John Biddle as a summer home.
  • Jaisohn House, 100 East Lincoln Street

    Municipal/civic

  • Delaware County Institute of Science on Veterans Square. The institute was founded in 1833.
  • Delaware County Courthouse on Front Street
  • First National Bank of Media on State Street at Veterans Square, designed by Albert Dilks
  • Media Armory on State St., designed by William Lightfoot Price and M H. McClanahan. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. Now home to the Media Armory and Trader Joe's grocery store.
  • Media Theatre on State St., designed by Louis Magaziner as a Beaux-Arts movie palace with Art Deco design elements.
  • Old Rose Tree Tavern, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971
  • The County Court Apartments, location of historic marker documenting the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI raid in 1971 that exposed COINTELPRO and mass FBI violations of the rights of U.S. citizens.

    Churches

  • Media Vineyard Church
  • Campbell A.M.E Church
  • Christ Church
  • Congregation Beth Israel, in Middletown Township - the oldest Reconstructionist congregation in the Delaware Valley, founded in 1925.
  • Faith Reformed Baptist Church
  • First Baptist Church of Media
  • First United Methodist
  • Honeycomb Union AME Church
  • Media Presbyterian Church on Baltimore Ave. designed by John McArthur Jr., architect of Philadelphia City Hall.
  • Brooke Hall Female Seminary Finishing school at Lemon St. and Baltimore Ave, attended by future first lady, Ida McKinley.
  • Media Presbyterian Church
  • Nativity BVM Church 30 E. Franklin St. Designed by Philadelphia ecclesiastical architect, Edwin Durang.
  • The Brick Church Nativity BVM's original church. Used as a school after the main church was built. Currently used as a hall.
  • Quaker meetinghouses: Media Friends Meeting and Providence Friends Meetinghouse.
  • Media Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends and Media-Providence Friends School, both located at 125 W. 3rd Street
  • St. George
  • Second Baptist Church of Media
  • Trinity U.A.M.E. Church
  • Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County

    Parks

There are several parks located within the borough of Media and shared with surrounding communities.