Radnor Township | |
|---|---|
| Township of Radnor | |
      Clockwise from top: Memorial mile post in Downtown Wayne; Radnor Friends Meetinghouse; St. Thomas Augustinian Monastery; Villanova University; Garrett Hill Independence Day Parade; Wayne Hotel | |
 Seal  Logo | |
| Etymology: Named for Radnorshire, Wales | |
| Motto: "Best of the Main Line" | |
 Location of Radnor Township in Delaware County and of Delaware County in Pennsylvania | |
.svg) Location of Pennsylvania in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 40°2′11″N 75°22′21″W / 40.03639°N 75.37250°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Pennsylvania |
| County | Delaware |
| Historic colony | Province of Pennsylvania |
| Founded | 1682 |
| Incorporated | 1901 |
| Founded by | William Penn |
| Government | |
| • Type | Board of Commissioners |
| • Township Manager | William White[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 13.79 sq mi (35.72 km2) |
| • Land | 13.78 sq mi (35.68 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.04 km2) |
| Elevation | 381 ft (116 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 31,531 |
| • Estimate (2019)[3] | 31,875 |
| • Density | 2,309.38/sq mi (891.64/km2) |
| Demonym | Radnorite [4] |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Code | 190xx |
| Area codes | 484 and 610 |
| FIPS code | 42-045-63264 |
| Interstates |  |
| U.S. Routes |  |
| Commuter rail | Paoli/Thorndale Line |
| Rapid transit | Norristown High Speed Line |
| Website | Radnor Township |
Radnor Township, often called simply Radnor, is a first class township with home rule status in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States.
Radnor Township is part of the famed Main Line of Philadelphia. As of the 2019 United States census, the township's population was 31875.[3] Radnor Township is the largest municipality in Delaware County by land area and the fourth-largest by population, following Upper Darby Township, Haverford Township, and Chester.[5]
Radnor Township is one of the oldest municipalities in Pennsylvania. Radnor Township was founded as a part of the Welsh tract. The original settlers were Welsh-speaking Quakers, led by John Roberts, in an attempt to establish a barony of Wales in Pennsylvania.[6] In about 1681, a group of Welsh Quakers met with William Penn to secure a grant of land in which they could conduct their affairs in their own language. The parties agreed on a tract covering 40,000 acres (160 km2), to be constituted as a separate county whose people and government could conduct their affairs in Welsh. William Penn, an English Quaker, laid out the township in an elongated rectangle located parallel to the Schuylkill River, and the borders of the township have remained unchanged since its founding in 1682.[7]
In 1717, the Welsh Friends built a meeting house on a trail made by the Susquehannock in Radnor Township. Radnor Township grew around the meeting house and remained the center of population of the township for 200 years. The new township was named Radnor after the county in Wales called Radnorshire. The influence of the Welsh, some of whom were forced by heavy taxation to sell their land, waned in the latter half of the 18th century. A hint of Radnor's beginnings remain in the names of streets and places evident throughout the community, such as the St. Davids neighborhood, named for Saint David, the patron saint of Wales.[7]
There are a number colleges and universities located in Radnor Township, of which the two largest are Villanova University and Cabrini University. The Valley Forge Military Academy and College is located in the neighborhood of Wayne and Eastern University is located in the neighborhood of St. Davids.[8]
- ^ Ilgenfritz, Richard. "William White named new Radnor Township manager". Main Line Times. Main Line Media News. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ a b "QuickFacts: Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania". Census Quick Facts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Municipal Statistics". Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- ^ Jordan, John Woolf (1914) (1914). A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and Its People, Volume 1. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 115. ISBN 9785876569028. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Radnor Township History". Radnor Township. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Schools & Universities". Radnor Township. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.