Chester County Town Tours and Village Walks returns for 32nd year. Here’s what to know

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Philadelphia’s suburbs hold a wealth of history, if you know where to look — and how to get there. For 32 years, Chester County’s Town Tours and Village Walks Program has been a treasure map for local history buffs and casual learners alike.

In honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, the decades-old program is adhering to a new theme: “13 Tours for 13 Colonies.”

“Having opportunities to see places that I’ve never been or I’ve heard of and [am] not that familiar with are what I like most about the tour program,” said David Blackburn, the heritage preservation coordinator at the Chester County Planning Commission.

This year’s program begins April 30, at the Chester County Historic Courthouse in West Chester, and runs through Oct. 15. All of the tours are free. Each tour will last about 50 minutes, and start most Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Showcasing the ‘vast tapestry of what makes Chester County so unique’

Chester County’s 13 tours stretch across the entirety of Pennsylvania’s seventh-largest county, taking participants through historical hotspots that were important to the story of the county and the founding of the United States.

“Because Chester County is one of the three original counties plotted by our colonial founder, William Penn, we’ve got history going all the way back not only to the 1680s, but even further back than that if you look at Native Americans, who called this home for thousands of years,” Blackburn said. “So regardless of the fact that it’s America 250, with a strong focus on what happened on July 4, 1776, we’re using this opportunity to connect to broad themes across history, both long past and recent past to try and connect our residents and all those that are interested to the vast tapestry of what makes Chester County so unique and special.”

Tom Walsh, chair of the West Chester Borough Historical Commission, is a retired teacher. Walsh has been a part of the tour program for years. He said there’s a little bit of something for everyone.

“You pick up local tidbits of history, architecture, events and they may have, in some cases, county, state, national significance — so you get a full range of things as you visit either West Chester and even some of the other communities throughout the summer for the Chester County program that is put on each year,” Walsh said.

In addition to the brief expeditions, Chester County will also hold three lectures in May, July and October.

On May 7, the Schuylkill River Heritage Center in Phoenixville, will host a discussion on Pennsylvania ironworkers and the role furnaces played in supplying George Washington’s troops with ammunition and weaponry during the Revolutionary War.

The Chester County Library & District Center will feature American historian Dr. Emily Sneff on July 23, as she discusses her book, “When the Declaration of Independence Was News.” The lecture will take place in the library’s Struble Room.

The featured lectures and summer series will conclude on Oct. 15, at Historic Yellow Springs, for a discussion on the impact of trade blockades on early American medicine.

All lecture events, like walking tours, are free.