Chatham
Chatham [1] is a village of sturdy houses about two and a half miles north of West Grove, in London Grove Township, where Routes 41 and 841 now cross. There in 1741 William McKean opened a tavern known as Half-Way House. When word reached the tavern in 1766 of the Earl of Chatham's speech in the British parliament in opposition to the Stamp Act, the tavern keeper decided to change the name to Chatham. His son, Thomas McKean, who later served three terms as Governor of Pennsylvania, hung up a portrait of William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham, on a sign post in front of the tavern. The village which grew up around the tavern naturally took its name.
- Pinkowski, Edward. Chester County Place Names,, Sunshine Press, Philadelphia, 1962
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
Church Alley • Coatesville Road • Gap Newport Pike • Lancaster Pike • London Grove Road • Pennock Lane • Route 41 • Route 841 • Strode Road
