History: 

Downingtown’s origins are of a small village located midway between Philadelphia and Lancaster.  The village was first known as Milltown since it was the location of the last mills on the edge of the unsettled western frontier.  Thomas Moore erected ‘a water corn mill’ in 1716 and Roger Hunt established a grist mill in 1739.  The deteriorated structure of the Roger Hunt mill and mill race still survives in Downingtown to this day, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.  In 1761, John Downing opened a tavern on the east side of the Brandywine Creek which was first known as the Downing Mill Inn; not long thereafter, his father, Thomas, developed an industrial complex of mills on the Lancaster Road in Milltown.

Around the time of the American Revolution, Milltown began being known as Downing’s Town.  During the Revolution, the town was used as a location for storage of food supplies; a forage magazine was constructed in Downing’s Town to hold provisions for the troops.   During the time of the Revolution, Richard Downing, son of Thomas, continued to operate and expand the families mill complex and the Downing family continued to prosper in the small village.

After the war of 1812, the village name of Downing’s Town was changed to Downingtown.  The development of stage coach service from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh through Downingtown influenced the villages growth and prosperity.  As transportation changed from stage to railroads, Downingtown embraced the changes.  New jobs became available and the population grew.   The Industrial Revolution also affected the growth of Downingtown, industry and manufacturing facilities located in Downingtown because of its central location and good access to rail transportation corridors.

In the 1920's, many municipal improvements were undertaken such as the beginning of trash collection, erecting the Municipal Building and creating the Dr. Edward Kerr Memorial Park.  A newly appointed park commission solicited funds for the planned park.  The commission depended on public subscriptions plus annual contributions from the school board and the Borough Council to maintain the park.

Downingtown’s rich history is readily apparent to the resident and visitor alike as they travel along East Lancaster Avenue where numerous historic structures line the street.  The East Lancaster Avenue Historic District was placed on the national Register of Historic Places in 1979 and there are 20 historic structures within the district.

Today the Borough of Downingtown has a council-manager form of government established by ordinance in 1953.  The Borough is governed by a six member Borough Council who are elected three each from two wards with overlapping four year terms. The President of the Borough Council is a member of and elected by entire Borough Council. The mayor is elected by the Borough at large. Borough Council oversees all functions of Borough administration as well as the following citizen boards and commissions: Historical and Parks Commission, Planning Commission, Zoning Hearing Board, and the Main Street Program.

Current Facts:
2003 Census of the Downingtown Borough population was 7,849. Median household income for Downingtown Residents is $45,979 with the national average being $41,994. Downingtown is on the East Branch of Brandywine Creek and was formerly named Milltown, due to it being originally developed as a mill town and stagecoach stop.

The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 36. The number of murders and homicides was 0. The violent crime rate was 4.6 per 1,000 people.
Victory Brewery is located in the heart of Downingtown - Victory is an award winning, world famous brewery. For more information go to http://www.victorybeer.com
Downingtown is also famous for having th 1958 movie "The Blob" filmed here.

Community Information:

DARC:
The Downingtown Area Recreation Consortium (DARC) is a multi-government entity composed of  municipalities in the Downingtown Area School District. The municipalities include the townships of East Brandywine, East Caln, Upper Uwchlan, Uwchlan, Wallace, West Bradford and West Pikeland as well as the School District . DARC is a regional municipal recreation office providing recreation, adult education and youth learning opportunities for residents. The goal of these municipalities is to work together to provide economical, recreational opportunities to the community.

The number of people who live within our service area totals over 70,000 or approximately 40,000 homes.

The Consortium does not own any facilities. We utilize the School District ’s nine Elementary Schools, the two Middle Schools and two High Schools.  In addition DARC uses the Townships' parks and meeting rooms, as well as several privately contracted facilities.

Our activities are broken down into Adult Programs, Youth Programs, Workshops, Computer,  On-Line Courses, Leagues, and  Trips.  During the summer months we also offer a Playground Program, Full-Day Day Camp, two Full Day Teen Camps and weeklong sports, science, nature and theater camps.  They also sell discounted ski lift tickets, amusement park tickets and movie tickets.

Map of Downingtown: