130 Years of Delco History

Delaware County Historical Society (DCHS) collects, protects, and preserves the history and culture of Delaware County, PA, making it accessible to all through strong educational outreach.

DCHS offers free research and resources on local history to the public of Delaware County. DCHS hosts public programming, including quarterly open houses, the History Under the Stars lecture series, and the Delco Downhill Derby, a kinetic sculpture derby in Media. DCHS also hosts the annual Delco Historical Conference, bringing local historical groups together, and is a lead organization for the America 250 celebrations in 2026. DCHS works closely with local historic non-profits and humanities groups to produce collaborative programming that is accessible to the community.

As stewards of local history, DCHS displays artifacts and items related to Delco history and culture, with open displays for the public. DCHS also works with local schools in promoting programs like National History Day and offering presentations for schools. DCHS also works with local townships and boroughs to offer insight into collections care and programming for historic sites, as well as working closely with Visit Delco to promote heritage tourism in Delaware County. DCHS acts as a hub for accessible humanities and provides programming for the public of Delaware County.

Our Team

Paul Hewes attained his master’s in history from Temple University and has been in the lead position at Delaware County Historical Society for over three years. In that time, Mr. Hewes oversaw the move and reorganization of the DCHS collection to a more central location in the County. Mr. Hewes oversaw a team of staff and volunteers to reorganize, accession, index, assess, and establish the provenance of every item of the DCHS collection to create more organized finding aids, and to better ensure the collections preservation. Mr. Hewes has been published in the Swarthmorean, Archival Outlook, and publishes a bi-monthly newsletter, the Bulletin, for DCHS.

Email: outreach@padelcohistory.org

Paul J. Hewes Jr., Executive Director

Zach Beaver worked in the Philadelphia Library System for over a decade and has been assisting DCHS as a volunteer since June of 2023. In August of 2025, Mr. Beaver was hired on staff as the Library and Programming Manager, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the DCHS Research Center and Library. Mr. Beaver also curates and creates events and programming for DCHS and comes from over a decade of art show installations and curation.

Email: research@padelcohistory.org