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    Coatesville
    Coatesville
    Coatesville
    Ebook171 pages29 minutes

    Coatesville

    By Bruce Edward Mowday

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    About this ebook

    Coatesville has always been a city of visionaries, from its namesake, Moses Coates, a prosperous farmer and the area's first postmaster, to Rebecca Lukens, the "Woman of Steel" and one of the first female business executives in the United States. As the Lukens Steel Company prospered along the banks of the scenic Brandywine River, so did Coatesville, Chester County's only city. Their rich history is told here through nearly two hundred historic photographs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateMay 27, 2003
    ISBN9781439611883
    Coatesville
    Author

    Bruce Edward Mowday

    Bruce Edward Mowday is the author of five Arcadia volumes: Coatesville, Downingtown, West Chester, Along the Brandywine River, and Chester County Mushroom Farming. Parkesburg is a collaboration involving the Parkesburg Free Library, the author, and local citizens. Many of the photographs in Parkesburg were drawn from the library�s�collection.

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      Book preview

      Coatesville - Bruce Edward Mowday

      2003

      INTRODUCTION

      In many ways, the development of Coatesville mirrors that of many other communities in the eastern portion of the United States. Before our nation was founded, Native Americans roamed the area that now includes present-day Coatesville. When Europeans settled in the rich lands of the region, the area that is now Coatesville was contained within Chester County, the first of William Penn’s original three counties. As Lancaster became a key market city that supplied Philadelphia, Coatesville became a place for travelers to stop between the two cities. Indeed, the first toll road in this country was the Lancaster Turnpike, and one of the tollgates was within the borders of present-day Coatesville, the only city in Chester County. The Lancaster–Philadelphia turnpike was authorized in 1792 and was completed in 1795.

      With the scenic Brandywine River running through the town and offering energy to run its industry, Coatesville fast became a manufacturing community. Several iron and steel companies, along with other mills, thrived at various times along the Brandywine, but the Lukens Steel Company was the one that prospered and was the main industry during the years when Coatesville was the center of industry for Chester County. One of the first women in the United States to run a major company, Rebecca Pennock Lukens, was in charge of Lukens. Through hard work and business acumen, she earned the nickname Woman of Steel.

      One of the first settlers of the area was Pierre Bizallion, a French fur trader who settled here in the early 1700s and eventually acquired 500 acres near what is now the Veterans Administration Hospital. Bizallion, because of his knowledge and his relationship with the local Native Americans, is said to have acted as an interpreter for William Penn.

      William Fleming of Scotland was another key settler. He purchased a 207-acre tract of land and settled near what is now Harmony Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. His son Peter Fleming built a sawmill along the Brandywine. Moses Coates, for whom the town is named, was Coatesville’s first postmaster. He purchased the Fleming house in 1787. It was later acquired by Jesse Kersey and Isaac Pennock, founders of the Brandywine Iron Works and Nail Factory, predecessor to the Lukens Steel Company. Pennock’s son-in-law and daughter, Dr. Charles Lukens and Rebecca Pennock Lukens, also lived in the house.

      Before being named Coatesville, the town was known as Bridge-Town, because of two bridges that were used to cross the Brandywine River and a strip of land known as Goose Island. Coatesville was not incorporated as a borough until 1867, after the Civil War. As rail service catered to the needs of the growing business community and growing populace, the town began to thrive. Coatesville became a city in 1915. As the Lukens Steel Company continued to prosper and grow, so did Coatesville and its neighboring municipalities. Other industries—including the Viaduct Iron Works; the Brandywine Rolling Mills, operated by the Worth brothers; and the Valley Iron Works, run by W.W. Kurtz and Sons—contributed to the town’s growth. Coatesville was known in some circles as "the Pittsburgh of the

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