Aston PA

Aston was first settled in 1682 as a municipality and was incorporated as a township in 1688 (one of the first townships in Pennsylvania). Prior to 1687, Aston was known as Northley.^[4] Edward Carter, who was the constable of the township, changed the name from Northley to Aston in remembrance of his old home of Aston in Oxfordshire, England.^[5]

In 1906, Aston became a first class township. The current boundaries of Aston were established in 1945 when the northwestern portion of the township seceded to form the borough of Chester Heights.^[6][7]

In colonial times, Concord Road was the main road between Chadds Ford on Brandywine Creek and Chester, Pennsylvania. The Seven Stars Inn, located at Concord Road's "Five Points" intersection, served as overnight quarters for British General Cornwallis on September 13, 1777, two days after the Battle of the Brandywine as British forces slowly pursued George Washington's army.^[8]

The following day three Hessian soldiers were convicted of plundering a local house. Two, selected by lot, were hung by the third soldier, and the two corpses were left hanging. David Glasgow Farragut frequented the Tavern as a young student in 1817. The Delaware County Odd Fellows were organized there in 1831 and during the 1920s the tavern became a speakeasy. The building was destroyed in 1949 and replaced by a gas station.^[8]

A new veterans memorial, dedicated to all veterans who lived in the township (and present-day Chester Heights prior to 1948) from the American Revolution to the present-day Operation Iraqi Freedom, along with Aston Township EMTs, police, and firefighters killed in the line of duty, has been built at the same intersection, opposite the former inn site. An unveiling ceremony occurred on November 11, 2006, with the formal dedication ceremony on April 28, 2007.