Malvern, Pennsylvania

Malvern is the terminus of the Main Line, a series of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs located along the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is 19.4 miles (31.2 km) west of Philadelphia. The population was 3,419 at the 2020 census.

Malvern, Pennsylvania
Borough
Battle of Paoli monument site
Location of Malvern in Chester County, Pennsylvania (left) and of Chester County in Pennsylvania (right)
Malvern Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Malvern Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°02′04″N 75°30′52″W / 40.03444°N 75.51444°W / 40.03444; -75.51444
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Chester
Incorporated	1889
Government
• Mayor	Zeyn B. Uzman
Area
• Total	1.27 sq mi (3.28 km2)
• Land	1.26 sq mi (3.26 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation	551 ft (168 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,419
• Density	2,713.49/sq mi (1,047.33/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	19355
Area codes	610 and 484
FIPS code	42-46792
Website	www.malvern.org

 

The area was originally settled in the 17th century by Welsh immigrants who purchased land from William Penn.

On the evening of September 20, 1777, near Malvern, General Charles Grey and nearly 5,000 British soldiers launched a surprise attack on a Patriot encampment, which became known as the Battle of Paoli. Having intercepted General Washington's orders to General Wayne regarding British rearguard actions, Grey directed his troops to assault the small regiment of Americans commanded by Anthony Wayne in an area near his residence. Not wanting to lose the element of surprise, Grey ordered his troops to remove the flint from their muskets and to use only bayonets or swords to launch a surprise sneak attack on the Americans under the cover of darkness.

With the help of a Loyalist spy who provided a secret password, "here we are and there they go" and led them to the camp, General "No-flint" Grey and the British overran several American pickets and launched their successful attack on the Continental Army camp. 201 American soldiers were killed or injured, while 71 were captured. The British suffered only 4 killed and 7 injured in comparison. Wayne's reputation was tarnished by the high casualties suffered in the battle, and he demanded a formal court-martial to clear his name. On November 1, a board of 13 officers declared that Wayne had acted with honor. The site of the battle is part of Malvern.

A monument to the Paoli Massacre, the preserved battlefield, and a parade grounds are located in Malvern. Other sites of interest in neighboring townships include the Wharton Esherick Studio, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993.

The church, trains, and a few businesses were the nucleus of this village, which was known for a long period as West Chester Intersection due to its position at the junction of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad and the West Chester Railroad.

In 1873, the community’s name was changed to Malvern when the Philadelphia and Columbia's successor, the Pennsylvania Railroad, straightened its tracks through the village. In 1879, the Malvern Friends Meeting was built at the northwest corner of Woodland Avenue and Roberts Lane, followed by the arrival of the Presbyterians and the Methodists prior to 1900.

In 1880, the village's status as a railroad junction came to an end when the West Chester Railroad's northern terminal was moved west to Frazer, Pennsylvania. Malvern Borough has a mix of residential styles and neighborhoods, retail and industrial businesses, dedicated open land, and numerous civic, cultural, and religious organizations.

On August 13, 1889, Malvern was incorporated, and created by separating it from the northern portion of Willistown Township.

On April 22, 2008, the borough converted to a home rule form of government.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), all land.

The borough is bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, Sugartown Road on the west, Willistown Township on the east, and East Whiteland Township on the north.

The Malvern ZIP code covers Malvern and all or parts of East Whiteland, Charlestown, Willistown, East Goshen, East Pikeland, and Tredyffrin Townships. Malvern Borough is between Paoli on the east, and Immaculata University and Exton on the west.

At the time of the 2010 census, the borough was 87.8% non-Hispanic White, 2.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 4.2% Asian, and 1.9% were two or more races. 3.7% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,059 people, 1,361 households, and 793 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,444.6 inhabitants per square mile (943.9/km²). There were 1,419 housing units at an average density of 1,134.0 per square mile (437.8/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 91.11% White, 3.82% African American, 0.20% Native American, 3.24% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.54% of the population.

There were 1,361 households, out of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 37.0% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $62,308, and the median income for a family was $79,145. Males had a median income of $45,281 versus $39,129 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $35,477. About 0.9% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

The Malvern Business and Professional Association promotes Malvern commerce and the borough's unique character. Siemens Healthcare, Ricoh Americas Corporation (formerly IKON Office Solutions), The Vanguard Group, Liberty Property Trust, The Center for Professional Innovation & Education Corporation, Cerner, Vishay Intertechnology, CertainTeed, Endo International and AmericanMuscle are among the companies based in Malvern.

Fisher Feed and Amerigas were two former employers located on East King Street in the Planning Area #10 of the Malvern Borough Comprehensive Plan. This plan amends a zoning ordinance to provide for redeveloping the land once used by the two former employers. The Malvern Patch, a local newspaper, stated that Kimberton Whole Foods will be opening its fifth location in the East King Street area. The projected occupancy date for the East King Street area is late summer 2013 according to the developer. This development is unrelated to the mixed-use development in an area called "Uptown Worthington" which is actually part of East Whiteland.

The corporate headquarters of The Vanguard Group and Vishay Intertechnology are located in Malvern.

 

Points of interest include:

• Battle of Paoli, fought in Malvern, now on the National Register of Historic Places
• Annual Memorial Day Parade, first held in 1869, tying Malvern's Parade as the nation's longest continuously held Memorial Day parade
• Victorian Christmas, the first Friday evening and Saturday of December

Parks include Samuel & M. Elizabeth Burke Park, Theodore S.A. Rubino Memorial Park, The Horace J. Quann Memorial Park, and John and Marion Herzak Park.

Public schools

Great Valley School District serves as the public education for the borough.

Private schools

 

The borough has two private schools. Malvern Preparatory School, an independent Catholic School for boys grades 6–12. It was founded by the Order of St. Augustine at Villanova University in 1842 and moved to its present location in 1920. The Willistown Country Day School (Montessori) is for K–6th grade. The borough is also home to a Catholic elementary school for grades K–8, colloquially called St. Patrick's. The St. Patrick School spent the early part of 2012 embattled with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia over a proposed merger with the St. Monica School of nearby Berwyn, winning their case in March of that year.

Villa Maria Academy is a private, all girls Catholic college preparatory high school (grades 9 to 12) accredited by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Villa Maria Academy is located less than a mile to the east of the border of Malvern Borough, in Willistown Township.

Episcopal Academy, Devon Preparatory School, and The Phelps School are also located near Malvern.

Two institutions for higher education include Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies and Immaculata University, both within the Malvern ZIP code.

The Borough of Malvern is served by two newspapers: the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily Local News. The Inquirer is a paper of record for the greater Philadelphia region, as such its time is spent covering the events of the city and the greater Delaware Valley.

 

Transit

Malvern is served by train via the Malvern station connecting it to Center City Philadelphia via SEPTA Regional Rail's Paoli/Thorndale Line. OurBus provides intercity bus service from Malvern to Park Avenue in the Manhattan section in New York City as part of a route running to New York City. The bus stop in Malvern is located at a park and ride lot on Matthews Road. The route started on December 21, 2017.

The borough is also served by SEPTA's 92 Bus, which travels along King Street.

Roads

As of 2012, there were 10.50 miles (16.90 km) of public roads in Malvern, all of which were maintained by the borough. Main thoroughfares through the borough include King Street and Warren Street.

• Mikal Bridges, professional basketball player, Brooklyn Nets
• Phil Gosselin, former professional baseball player
• Harry Hiestand, former offensive line coach for Notre Dame and Chicago Bears assistant coach
• Adam McKay, director, producer, entertainer, and head writer, Saturday Night Live
• Eric S. Raymond, computer programmer, author, and advocate for the open source movement
• Frank Spellman (1922–2017), Olympic gold medalist weightlifter
• Pat Tryson, NASCAR crew chief

The preface to Bushido: The Soul of Japan, by Nitobe Inazō, is signed "Malvern, Pa., Twelfth Month, 1899."