Kennett Square Historic District

Centered on the crossroads of Union and State streets in Kennett Square, Chester County, this district holds about 565 buildings, most of them brick or stone and built between the early nineteenth century and 1938. Its commercial core grew after the borough was incorporated in 1855 and the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad reached the town. Blocks such as the Unicorn Block of 1877 and the Chalfant block of 1882 still anchor the main intersection, and many storefronts continue in shop use. The district also preserves industrial works, including the American Road Machine Company complex on South Broad Street and an 1903 condensed-milk plant on Birch Street. Mushroom growing, begun in the 1890s, is represented by an early growing house of about 1900. Architecturally the district shows Georgian, Federal, Italianate, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles, many built by local builders from pattern books. Its Kennett Consolidated School of 1930-31 was funded largely by Pierre S. du Pont.