West Chester Pike (Images of America)

Spanning 20 miles, West Chester Pike, part of Pennsylvania Route 3, connects Philadelphia with the borough of West Chester. From east to west, it passes through suburban communities in Delaware and Chester Counties, namely Millbourne, Upper Darby, Haverford, Marple, Newtown, Edgmont, Willistown, Westtown, East Goshen, and West Goshen. Known early on as the West Chester Road, the route began as a dirt road used to meet the needs of area settlers, mainly Quakers, farmers, and mill owners. In the mid-1800s, formal requests for the construction of a more reliable and easy-to-navigate state roadway came from farmers and mill owners west of Philadelphia who were seeking easier access to markets in the city. West Chester Pike looks at the history of the roadway as it transformed from a simple, rural, dirt road to the bustling four-lane, suburban highway and mostly commercial corridor used today by thousands of area residents, commuters, and commercial workers.