Chester County Historic Documents Will Be Online 2024

WEST CHESTER, PA — Chester County’s most historic documents will be available online in time for the 250th anniversary of our nation.

In fact, the records will likely be available in less than two years

Thanks to improved scanning equipment, Chester County’s Archives & Records Services has accelerated the process of scanning and digitizing documents dating back to 1681.

The goal is to make the collection publicly available on the county’s website so that people can easily acquire historic information.

The county installed a new scanner in January 2020 right before COVID hit, making this project possible.

“Our goal is to have everything that is considered a historic, permanent record digitized,” said Marian Moskowitz, commissioner chairwoman.

A climate-controlled room at the County’s Government Services Center in West Chester houses the documents and keeps them stable.

“Once they are digitized, we hope that the originals will not be handled ever again,” Cliff Parker, archive and records collector.

Parker, who served as the county’s archivist for 20 years before becoming director, noted that one of the documents now being scanned is the first Chester County court docket documenting the County’s earliest governmental activities from 1681-1697. A second corresponding volume spans 1697-1710.

The docket records every function of county government, including row offices, administrative functions, and court activity.

“William Penn did not arrive in his newly-acquired North American colony until October 28, 1682, so some documents started before William Penn ever set foot in Pennsylvania,” Parker said.

Commissioner Josh Maxwell said the records bring so many aspects of former years – former centuries – to life.

“If you’re looking for your Chester County ancestors or noted individuals, odds are they’re going to be captured in the archives, from tax records to Poor House records to property records,” he said.

Commissioner Michelle Kichline said the problem with storing records on microfilm is that the user needs a machine to look them up, and nobody is selling or repairing those machines as they break down.

“As we approach the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026, people may focus as much on Chester County’s history as they do on America’s history,” said Kichline, head of the Chester County America250PA Commission.