| Media - Everybody's Hometown | |
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Media Courthouse
Photo by John Fischer
Everyone knows that Levittown, Pennsylvania was a planned community (i.e. geographically laid out from scratch with a definite plan in mind). Few, however, know that nestled in the center of Delaware County, the small borough of Media is also a "planned" town.
The area currently known as Media was originally named "Providence", hence the current nearby towns of Upper Providence and Nether (Lower) Providence. Many visitors to the area ask why there is an Upper Providence and a Nether Providence but no Providence.
In the early 1800's there were constant complaints by county residents about having to travel to Chester, the county seat, to conduct their business. It was determined that a new county seat should be established which would be more centrally located towards the middle of the county. In 1845, county residents agreed to build the new county seat in Providence but it was not until 1850, after legislative approval, that the new county seat of Media was chartered.
It was Minshall Painter, one of the founders of the Tyler Arboretum who suggested Media as the name for the new town, because of its central location in the county.
The town was laid out around the location selected for the new county courthouse. For the remainder of the century the town continued to grow as new homes and businesses were built. As the county seat, may of the businesses were related to county business or the legal profession. To this day you will find that most of the major law firms in Delaware County maintain an office in Media.
A walk through Media finds that the Courthouse area remains the center of town along with nearby State Street where most of the retail businesses are located.
19th Century Architecture
Photo by John Fischer
Many of the original buildings remain today along with their ornate 19th century architecture.
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