The route west along the old Lancaster Pike (U.S. 30) was interrupted by small taverns at major crossroads, such as Downing's tavern where the West Chester road (U.S. 322) crossed U.S. 30. Downingtown, Coatesville, and Parkesburg form a nearly continuous commercial strip backing up to an industrial line along the route of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Coatesville is at the center of the industrial strip, located on the west branch of Brandywine Creek that supplied waterpower for an early iron forge that became the economic foundation of the region.
Writing Credits
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.