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Bruce E. Mowday is an author who lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He specializes in books about local history, business, sports, and true crime. He is active with the Chester County History Center. [1]
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Bruce E. Mowday is an author who lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He specializes in books about local history, business, sports, and true crime. He is active with the Chester County History Center. [1]
Mowday began working as a sportswriter for the Coatesville Record while still in high school. He continued his journalism career at the Daily Local News in West Chester, Pennsylvania, working as a courthouse reporter and rising to become managing editor. He also worked at the St. Louis Sun. While at the Daily Local, he covered the trials that form the basis of his book Jailing the Johnston Gang; the book was later cited by the Johnston brothers in an unsuccessful appeal for a new trial. [2]
Mowday co-founded the Brandywine Valley Writers Group [3] in 2004 with writers Therese Boyd and Carla Westerman. He has been a guest speaker on the subject of writing and publishing, for both that group and the Main Line Writers Group [4] in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Mowday lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He has two adult daughters and three grandsons.
Mowday has published several books:
He has also compiled six books of historical postcards and photographs, published by Arcadia Publishing:
Chester County, colloquially referred to as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region, located in the southeastern part of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 545,823. increasing by 7.1% from 498,886 in 2010. The county seat is West Chester. The most populous of the county's 73 municipalities, including cities, boroughs, and townships,) is Tredyffrin Township. The most populous boroughs are West Chester and Phoenixville. Coatesville is the only municipality in the county that is classified as a city.
Coatesville is a city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,350 at the 2020 census. Coatesville is approximately 39 miles west of Philadelphia. It developed along the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike beginning in the late 18th century. It spans U.S. Route 30, the "Main Line" highway that runs west of Philadelphia.
Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Kennett Square had a population of 5,943.
The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). The forces met near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. More troops fought at Brandywine than at any other battle of the American Revolution. It was also the second longest single-day battle of the war, after the Battle of Monmouth, with continuous fighting for 11 hours.
Brandywine Creek is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine is 20.4 miles (32.8 km) long and is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River with several tributary streams. The East Branch and West Branch of the creek originate within 2 miles (3 km) of each other on the slopes of Welsh Mountain in Honey Brook Township, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of their confluence.
Pennsylvania was the site of many key events associated with the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War. The city of Philadelphia, then capital of the Thirteen Colonies and the largest city in the colonies, was a gathering place for the Founding Fathers who discussed, debated, developed, and ultimately implemented many of the acts, including signing the Declaration of Independence, that inspired and launched the revolution and the quest for independence from the British Empire.
Pennsylvania Route 82 is a 32-mile-long (51 km) north–south state highway located in Chester County in southeast Pennsylvania, USA. The southern terminus is at the Delaware state line southeast of Kennett Square, where the road continues south into that state as Delaware Route 82. The northern terminus is at PA 23 in Elverson. PA 82 heads through rural areas of Chester County along with the communities of Kennett Square, Unionville, and Coatesville. The route intersects many important roads including U.S. Route 1 near Kennett Square, PA 162 and PA 842 in Unionville, US 30 in Coatesville, and US 322 in Brandywine Manor. PA 82 is a two-lane undivided road most of its length.
WCOJ is a non-commercial educational AM radio station licensed to serve Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The station airs a Catholic Radio format.
Pennsylvania Route 340 (PA 340) is a 30-mile-long (48 km) state highway located in Lancaster and Chester counties in Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at PA 462 in Lancaster. The eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 30 Business in Thorndale. The route is a two-lane road passing through rural areas, heading through the Pennsylvania Dutch Country in eastern Lancaster County that is home to several Amish families and rural areas in western Chester County, serving the communities of Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse, White Horse, Compass, and Wagontown. PA 340 intersects US 30 near Lancaster, PA 772 in Intercourse, PA 897 in White Horse, PA 10 in Compass, PA 82 near Coatesville, and US 30 again near Thorndale.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority operates or contracts operations of these routes serving points in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, with a few routes operating into the city of Philadelphia. The Suburban Transit Division is broken down into three districts: Victory, Frontier, and Contract Operations.
Bruce Alfred Johnston Sr. was the leader of one of the most notorious gangs in the history of Pennsylvania, U.S. The gang started in the 1960s and was rounded up in 1978 after his son, Bruce Jr., testified against him. The 1986 film At Close Range is based on Johnston's gang.
The Great Valley is a west-to-east valley through the center of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is also sometimes referred to as Chester Valley, and both names are in use throughout the region. The valley stretches from the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County in the east, southwesterly through Chester and Lancaster counties. The valley is most distinct in central Chester County, although traces of it can be followed almost the entire distance between the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers.
U.S. Route 30 Business is a 19-mile (31 km) business route of US 30 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The route follows the former alignment of US 30 between Sadsbury Township and East Whiteland Township, passing through Coatesville, Downingtown, and Exton. US 30 follows a freeway bypass between these two points. The present alignment of US 30 Bus. was originally part of a turnpike called the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike that was completed in 1794. The state took over the turnpike at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1913, present-day US 30 Bus. was incorporated into the Lincoln Highway, an auto trail that ran from San Francisco east to New York City. The Lincoln Highway through Pennsylvania became Pennsylvania Route 1 (PA 1) in 1924. US 30 was designated concurrent with PA 1 west of Philadelphia in 1926, with the PA 1 designation removed two years later. US 30 was widened into a multilane road through Chester County in the 1930s. In the 1960s, US 30 was moved to a freeway bypass around Coatesville and Downingtown, with US 30 Bus. designated onto the former alignment of US 30. In 1995, US 30 Bus. was extended east when US 30 was extended to bypass Exton.
The Coatesville, Pennsylvania arsons refer to a spree of deliberately set fires in 2008 and 2009 in the area of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, a small Philadelphia suburb. There were 26 fires set in Coatesville in the year 2008 and, since January 1, 2009, there have been 18 reported cases of arson in the city and five more in the surrounding area. The fires have caused more than $3 million in damage, left scores of people homeless and resulted in the death of one 83-year-old woman. As of March 2009, six people have been arrested in connection with some of the fires.
The Coatesville Area School District (CASD) covers the City of Coatesville, the Boroughs of Modena and South Coatesville, and Caln Township, East Fallowfield Township, Sadsbury Township, Valley Township, West Brandywine Township and West Caln Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania. According to census data recorded between 2010 and 2019, Coatesville Area School District served a resident population of approximately 64,700. The district operates Coatesville Area Senior High School (10th-12th), Coatesville Area Intermediate High School (8th-9th), North Brandywine Middle School (7th), Scott 6th Grade Center, Caln Elementary School (K-5th), East Fallowfield Elementary School (K-5th), King's Highway Elementary School (K-5th), Rainbow Elementary School (K-5th), and Reeceville Elementary School (K-5th).
The Warlocks Motorcycle Club, also distinguished as the Harpy Warlocks or the Philly Warlocks, is an American outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in Philadelphia in 1967. The club is most prominent in the Delaware Valley, including Philadelphia, Delaware County and South Jersey, as well as in the nearby Lehigh Valley.
Siousca is an unincorporated community in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Siousca is located at the intersection of state routes 82 and 340, at the tripoint of the city of Coatesville and Valley and West Brandywine townships.
The Wilmington and Northern Railroad is a railway company that once owned a line from Reading, Pennsylvania to Wilmington, Delaware. The original main line from Wilmington to Birdsboro, Pennsylvania was built between 1869 and 1871 by its predecessor, the Wilmington and Reading Railroad. An extension from Birdsboro to High's Junction was completed in 1874. There the Wilmington and Reading connected with the Berks County Railroad and ran over its tracks to Reading. The Berks County Railroad was foreclosed on at the end of 1874 and reorganized as the Reading and Lehigh Railroad, under the control of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road. The Wilmington and Reading also experienced financial difficulties and was itself foreclosed on in 1876. It was reorganized in 1877 as the Wilmington and Northern. After the reorganization, the railroad was closely affiliated with the Reading, but retained its own organization and officers until 1898. In that year, the Reading bought a majority of the company's stock and incorporated it into its own system. The main line from Birdsboro to Wilmington became the Wilmington and Northern Branch, while the extension above Birdsboro was incorporated into the Reading Belt Line. The Wilmington and Northern continued to exist as a paper railroad within the Reading system. The portion of the Wilmington and Northern north of Modena, Pennsylvania was sold to Conrail at its formation in 1976. The line south of Modena was retained by the Wilmington and Northern, which leased and then sold it piecemeal to other railroads between 1981 and 2005. As of 2021, the Wilmington and Northern still survived as a subsidiary of Reading International, Inc.
Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC), is a public transportation agency designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to oversee transportation needs of Chester County, Pennsylvania. According to the website, the organization provides services to facilitate car pools, van pools, and bus shuttles. The organization works closely with other organizations such as SEPTA, Krapf Transit and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
The Wilmington and Northern Branch is a partially-abandoned railway line in the states of Delaware and Pennsylvania. It was constructed between 1869 and 1870 by the Wilmington and Reading Railroad, a predecessor of the Wilmington and Northern Railroad. At its fullest extent it connected Reading, Pennsylvania, with Wilmington, Delaware. The Philadelphia and Reading Railway leased the line in 1900. With the Reading Company's bankruptcy and the creation of Conrail in 1976 the line's ownership fragmented, and the section between Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, has been abandoned.