Explore Historic West Chester County

At Jefferson at Westtown, luxury apartment living awaits. Located in the beautiful historic Chester County, our luxury West Chester, PA apartments for rent offers the perfect apartment setting. We offer a wide variety of unique 1,2 and 3 bedroom floor plan options and each one of our homes include freshly renovated interiors. Additionally, residents are able to indulge in our well-appointed community amenities.

Founded in 1762, West Chester is nestled in the heart of Pennsylvania's Brandywine Valley. The town is known for its hospitality and continues to draw interest from out-of-towners looking for a weekend getaway. Here are a few things to discover about the historic West Chester County.

West Chester Armory Building, 226 North High Street at Washington Street

Take a trip to the West Chester Armory Building, whose roots can be traced all the way back to Benjamin Franklin. Here, the Pennsylvania National Guard Bravo Company, 1-111 Infantry Battalion, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, also known as the "Associators", called The West Chester Armory home for nearly 100-years while serving the country in natural disasters and most armed conflicts. The 10,900-square-foot building accommodated up to 170 troops, complete with a basement rifle range. The building now serves as the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center.

Site of the First Mass-Produced Penicillin, South Side of Chestnut Street

Make your way to the site of the First Mass-Produced Penicillin Building. Here, chemist G. Raymond Rettew converted an auto repair shop to produce more penicillin than any other lab in the world. This shop saved countless lives of soldiers during World War II. Today, the site serves its original purpose and is once again an auto repair shop named Chestnut Street Garage,

American Revolution War Site, Northwest Corner of Gay & High Streets

Head over to the American Revolution War Site and witness a piece of American history. Here, the Battle of Brandywine raged on September 11, 1777, just south of West Chester. The site marks one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution to take place.The remains of soldiers are even said to be buried here!

Historic Courthouse, 2 North High Street at Market Street

Check out the Historic Courthouse, designed by Thomas U. Walter in 1846. Construction began for this structure with the intentions of replacing the first courthouse of 1786. The structure now stands as the historic Courthouse of Chester County becoming one of Walter's greatest architectural achievements and West Chester's iconic structure.

First West Chester Fire Company, 30 North Church Street

The company started out with 23 volunteers during its original establishment in 1799. Although the company was considered well-equipped it did not have an "apparatus for extinguishing fires." Instead, each volunteer was provided with two water buckets. By 1887, the fire company found itself on North Church Street in a small engine house that needed to be updated to meet the needs of the growing West Chester community. Architect T. Roney Williamson was assigned to the task of joining two buildings into one station. The building’s design featured patterned brick and carved stone and an eclectic design mix of Tuscan Romanesque, Gothic, and Colonial Revival. The tower was used for spotting fires, housing the alarm bell, and drying the company's 800-foot hose. Today, this once fire company is now the home of Restaurant 51.