History of Exton, PA West Whiteland Township

xton in West Whiteland Township, Chester County has been a desirable place to live and conduct business for 300 years. Yes, that's right, - the place that's "just a mall" has a rich history. I'll cover just a few of the details here and point out some locations of interest.

Along the Valley Creek in the late 17th century, in the vicinity of what is now Exton, was an Indian settlement named Katamoonchink, which meant "hazelnut grove"(Wolf and Snyder, 10). This was a peaceful, agrarian settlement of Lenni-Lenape Indians. In the early 1700's the first European settler, a Welsh Quaker named Richard ap Thomas decided to make his home in close proximity to Katamoonchink because the barking of the Indian's dogs would provide some protection against the "wild beasts" in the area which were plentiful (Day, 222).

Little has been written about Thomas' first home but his first permanent homestead was erected about 1749 and it stood until about 1895 (Wolf and Snyder, 12). A small stone building from the original mansion tract referred to as the Woodcutter's Cottage still stands today. 1707 is carved into one of its stones, and if it really was built in 1707, that would make it one of the oldest buildings in West Whiteland. You can view the Woodcutter's cottage on your next trip to Main Street at Exton for shopping. It's located on the land between Commerce Drive and Maggie Moos although as of this writing, (February 2009) the Woodcutter's Cottage is currently covered by a white tarp.

This land was later acquired by one of Thomas' grandsons, Richard Ashbridge, who built his own mansion upon the site around 1843 (Wolf and Snyder, 12). The Ashbridge mansion at Indian Run Farm still stands not far from the Woodcutters Cottage, although the mansion is now in a state of disrepair. Apparently renovated in the mid twentieth century, today, the crumbling back patio and boarded windows are easy to see from Commerce Drive.

Although settled before the Revolution, Exton was not actually named until 1858 and there are still questions as to the origin of the name. Was it named after Exton in the United Kingdom, or after the eldest sister of Joseph C. Exton's father, who's son was an engineer and helped in the laying out of the Chester Valley Railroad? Perhaps it was named Exton because its location on the map resembles a giant X? All of these theories exist and I guess we will never be sure, however, a commission was granted for a post office in "Exton" in 1861 (Pinkowski quoted on livingplaces.com).

1. Martha Leigh Wolf and Diane Sekura Snyder, A History of West Whiteland. Exton: Diane Sekura Snyder, West Whiteland Historical Commission, 1982.

2. Sherman Day, Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: George W. Gorton, 1843.

3.Edward Pinkowski, Chester County Place Names. Philadelphia: Sunshine Press, 1962:Excerpt http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Chester_County/West_Whiteland_Township/Exton.html

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