DCHS RESEARCH LIBRARY RESOURCES

*Please note we are in the process of digitizing our inventory and making our resource lists available online. 

Please contact us if you have questions or inquiries regarding resources. Indexes and resources will be regularly updated as they are made available digitally, please have patience. 

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Delaware County Historical Society (DCHS) was established in 1895 and have been stewards of Delco history ever since. DCHS began permanent collections in earnest in the 1920's when housed at the 1724 Courthouse in Chester. Ever since then, DCHS has amassed an immense collection, featuring items such as Lenni Lenape stonework's, deeds and documents from the 17th century through the 20th, works of art, books, photos, maps, and more! Below is a listing of indexes to the DCHS collection. Please use this as a guide for your research requests. 

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• Art Collection - assorted collection of oil portrait paintings and scenes of historic Delaware County, featuring Benjamin West, Archibald Woodside, T. Buchanan Read, Samuel Bell Waugh, Alexander Charles Stuart, Furman J. Finck, Jesse Soifer, Alice Kent Stoddard, and William Hillyer. Art Index

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• Artifacts/ 3-D Objects: 3-D Object Index

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• Books: General Library Index

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• Box Collection: Box Collection Index

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• Buttons, Medals, and Pins: Buttons, Medals, and Pins Index

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• Documents/Records: Rare Deed/ Artifact Index

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• Media Archives:

  • Audio Recordings- Cassette Collection 

    • Original interviews from PHMC's Oral History Project: Chester, Pennsylvania Project: "Black Experience in Chester." (1977-1984)

  • Video Tape Collection

 

• Newspaper Collection: (Note: DCHS has a digital microfiche reader on site for public use!)

1. Newspaper Index (Including Digitized and Microfiche)

2. Bound Newspaper Collection​​

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• Manuscripts/ Rare Books:​

1. Large Manuscript Index​

2. Small Manuscript Index

3. Bibles

4. Limited Access/Rare Books

5. Delco Yearbooks

 

• Maps & Atlases ​

1. Map Case Index​

2. Bound Atlas Index

3. Large Maps/ Rolled Index​

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• Photography Collection

1. ​Township/Borough Photo Index​

2. Photo Box Index

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    Muscella Negatives: click here to view searchable Muscella index

    • Alfred L. Muscella, Sr. was a professional photographer who lived and worked in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The Fred Muscella film negatives, 1946-1991, consist primarily of 4"x5" film negatives, with some film strip negatives and 4"x5" prints from later years. The collection is organized into series by year, and then in alphabetical order by client.

    • Louis Deshong Woodbridge – photography collection

  • Post Card Collection – organized by township

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• Special Collections – also see “Boxes” Index or "Manuscripts" Index

  • Dr. Anna Broomall Collection

    • Anna Elizabeth Broomall (1847-1931), from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was a prominent physician who established one of the first clinics for out-practice maternity care in the United States. She was chief resident physician and instructor of obstetrics at the Woman's Hospital of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. Having an active interest in history, Broomall served as librarian and curator of the Delaware County Historical Society after she retired from medicine.

    • The Dr. Anna E. Broomall scrapbooks, 1841-1922 (bulk 1900-1922) primarily consist of volumes of clippings that focus on historically-significant people, organizations, buildings, and events in Delaware County and Philadelphia. The collection also includes some glass-plate and film negatives as well as items, such as letters and ephemera, of historical and personal interest to Dr. Broomall. 

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• Chester F. Baker Collection – local history, scrapbook and family papers

  • Chester F. Baker (1891-1963) was a municipal engineer and amateur historian from the city of Chester in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Among his many affiliations with historical and genealogical organizations, Baker was president of the Chester Rural Cemetery Association and director of the Delaware County Historical Society. The Chester F. Baker local history research and family papers, 1864-1960 (bulk 1925-1960), consist of well over 100 binders with research materials on history topics, papers from organizations with which Baker was involved, and papers relating to his work as a surveyor. There are also a few personal and family photograph albums and scrapbooks.

  • The collection consists of well over 100 binders with research materials on various history topics, papers from organizations with which Baker was involved, and papers relating to his work as a surveyor. There are also a few personal and family photograph albums and scrapbooks. Baker fastidiously indexed the subjects mentioned in his binders, creating alphabetical indexes for most volumes and subject reference cards to include in the Delaware County Historical Society's card catalog. The most frequently used volumes from the Baker collection have been photocopied; access copies are available in the Delaware County Historical Society's library.

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• Crozer Family and Crozer Medical Center Collection 

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•  Rockdale Collection-See Box Collection Index: S61. 

  • The Rockdale Collection features research compiled by Anthony F.C. Wallace for his monumental book, Rockdale: The Growth of an American Village in the Early Industrial Revolution (1978).​

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•  Louise Deshong Woodbridge Collection 

  • Louise Deshong Woodbridge (1848-1925), a member of the prominent Deshong family of Chester (Delaware County, Pennsylvania) was an active socialite as well as an amateur photographer and painter. Taking up photography in the early 1880s, Woodbridge had a fairly successful career with her work being exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

  • The Louise Deshong Woodbridge glass negatives, 1884-1905, consist of approximately 200 primarily glass plate negatives with some 4x5" film negatives that document the creator's family, friends, and social activities. They also document Delaware County and the surrounding area around the turn of the 20th century, particularly historic structures, such as the Woodbridge and Deshong mansions, and landscapes. Of special interest are some photographs of the White House, including the White House conservatory, and First Lady Ida McKinley.​

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• Henry Shmith Scrapbooks (mostly in German)

  • Henry Shmith (also spelled Heinrich Schmitz and Henry Schmidt) was born on August 21, 1899 in Germany. Shmith traveled extensively, working as a professional chef at many locations in the Delaware Valley region of the United States and frequently returning to Germany for visits. He settled in Glen Mills, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where he passed away in 1982. The Henry Shmith scrapbooks, 1924-1979 (bulk 1950-1975), consist of about 20 volumes compiled by Henry Shmith, with photographs as well as clippings, ephemera, stamps, greeting cards, and letters. The scrapbooks, heavily annotated by Shmith, mostly in German with some English, focus on areas in the Delaware Valley or in and around Germany (including Spiegelau).

  • This collection consists of about 20 scrapbooks compiled by Henry Shmith, with many photographs as well as clippings, ephemera, stamps, greeting cards, and letters. The scrapbooks are heavily annotated by Shmith, mostly in German with some English. There are some notes/signatures from people he met. Most of the scrapbooks focus on areas in the Delaware Valley or in and around Germany. Most of the photographs of Germany (including Spiegelau) date from after World War II, though there are a few from before and during the war (captions are minimal).

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•  Howell Papers

  • The Howell family were members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) who resided in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The Howell family papers, 1798-1929 (bulk 1830-1880), consist substantially of routine personal correspondence between several generations of the Howell family, particularly Sally R. Howell, Israel Howell, Mary Mott Howell, Joshua R.

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• J.C.Taylor Papers & Blueprints

  • J. C. (Joshua C.) Taylor (1873-1946) was a prominent banker and lawyer in the city of Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 1931 he established Taylor Memorial Arboretum in memory of his wife, Anne Rulon Gray. The J. C. Taylor business papers, 1903-1953 (bulk 1935-1953) consist mostly of legal and property-related documents, including a large number of blueprints.​​