What's in a name?

Apr 15
5 min read

Updated: Jun 27

Learn the Origins of Road and Place Names in Our Area

Caln (Township): The township was founded by settlers from Calne, Wiltshire in England in 1714; the relationship between Calne and Wiltshire continues in the present since the two are sister cities.

Compass: This unincorporated community in West Caln got its name from an old tavern on the Lancaster road, at the sign of “the Mariner’s Compass”.

Coatesville: Named after Moses Coates, a farmer and inventor who settled in the area in the late 18th century. Before Coatesville became a city, the only one in Chester County, it was called Bridge-Town, after the two bridges crossing the Brandywine River. A village named "Midway", named after its station owned by the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad midway between Philadelphia and Lancaster, was formed in 1834 on the western bank of the Brandywine. The village of Midway and the village of Bridge-Town merged in 1867 to become the borough of Coatesville. Coatesville citizens voted to become a city in 1915.

Downingtown: The borough was originally named Milltown due to its number of mills along the East Branch Brandywine Creek. Around the time of the American Revolution, Milltown became more commonly known as Downingtown after the prominent businessman Thomas Downing, a Quaker immigrant in 1717 from Bradninch, Devon, England, who owned a number of those mills. The borough was officially named Downingtown in 1812.

Ercildoun: The name was taken from the poem, "Thomas the Rhymer" by Sir Walter Scott when the hamlet's post office opened in 1850. The main character in the poem was Sir Thomas de Ercildoun, from Erceldoune, Scotland. The hamlet was founded in the late 18^th century by Quakers and was an early center of the abolitionist movement. In 1985 the entire hamlet, including 31 properties, was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fallowfield (East and West): Said to be named for Lancelot Fallowfield, one of the first purchasers of land from William Penn.

Gap: Popularly known for 200 years as “the Gap”, a notch or opening in the hills, the highest point on the old road leading from Philadelphia to the Susquehanna River. This locality was once a favorite resort of the notorious “Gap gang”, a group of thieves and kidnappers of free and escaped enslaved people.

G.O. Carlson: Gunnard O. Carlson founded G.O. Carlson Company in 1936, which became an innovator in steel manufacturing and stainless-steel production with operations in Coatesville. In 1962, the Coatesville Airport was renamed G.O. Carlson Chester County Airport in his honor; he served as the first chairman of the Chester County Area Airport Authority.

King’s Highway (PA Route 340): The King's Highway was named after King Charles II of England, who ordered its construction in the 17th century. The road stretched from Charleston, South Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts, and was the longest continuously used road in the United States. It was originally a footpath used by Native Americans, also known as the Boston Post Road.

Lincoln Highway (US Route 30): The Lincoln Highway was named after Abraham Lincoln to honor the 16th president of the United States and to appeal to patriotic Americans. The name was chosen in 1913 by the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA). It was one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and was designed specifically for automobiles. It ran from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. Some segments of the Lincoln Highway followed historic roads. In the East, the Lincoln Highway incorporated a road laid out by Dutch colonists of New Jersey before 1675. The route in Pennsylvania followed the 62-mile Philadelphia to Lancaster Pike, the first extensive turnpike in the United States (completed in 1796), and a British military trail built in 1758 by General John Forbes of England from Chambersburg to Pittsburgh during the French and Indian War. It was later known as the Pittsburgh Road and the Conestoga Road.

Modena: Named for the Mode family; Alexander Mode, who settled in East Fallowfield about 1739, used the waters of the Brandywine to run a sawmill. About 1850, W. A. Mode started a paper mill here and called the place Modeville, a name the village retained until about 1873, when the Wilmington and Reading Railroad was built. The railway officials chose the name of Modena for their station, and a little later the post office received the same name.

Newport and Gap Pike (PA Route 41): The Newport and Gap Turnpike was charted in 1807 to run from Gap southeast to the Delaware border, where it was to continue to Newport, Delaware. The turnpike was created to improve trade between Lancaster County and Wilmington, Delaware; the entire length was completed and opened in 1818. The turnpike generally followed the route of an older road that may have begun as a Native American trail.

Octorara: A Native American word that is thought to mean "flowing waters", "sweet water", or "rushing waters". It refers to the major stream in southern Lancaster County which creates a border with Chester County. There was an Indian settlement located along the Octorara Creek and a smaller campsite was situated nearby in the present cemetery of the Upper Octorara Presbyterian Church outside of Parkesburg.

Parkesburg: Originally named Fountain Inn after a tavern built around 1734. The name was changed to Parkesburg in 1836, after prominent politician John G. Parke. Much of the land in the area was owned by the Parke family who desired to establish a European style industrial town.

Pequea: The name Pequea in Lancaster County may come from the Shawnee word for "dust" or "ashes". It refers to a clan of the Shawnee Native American tribe who lived on the Pequea Creek.

Pomeroy: Originally named Chandler’s Store or Chandlersville after William Chandler who established a general store, coal yard, and warehouse there. Though the railroad station was called Chandlers, the post office, founded in 1864, was known as Buck Run. To remove confusion, Major John M. Pomeroy, a Civil War veteran, suggested the present name, adopted in 1866, to honor his family.

Stottsville: The name Stottsville comes from William Stott, who established the Stottsville Inn in 1858. The inn was a central gathering place for the community.

Stewart Houston: Stewart Huston was a vice president and director of Lukens Steel in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. He also served on many other boards and committees.

Strasburg: Meaning “the town by the road or street”, dating back to 1733. LeFevres, Ferrees, and other early settlers gave it this name because they had come from the region of Strasbourg in Alsace.

White Horse: Named for a wayside tavern at the sign of “the White Horse”.

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