Delaware County Pictures:

The pictures and postcards for this website are on the web page of each individual township and borough. I have over 4000 pictures of Delaware County, and if you are looking for a special picture please email me. In this website, I will be providing a series of historical photographs to illustrate the rich history of Delaware County.

One of the oldest known photographs of Delaware County is the 1855 picture of the 1724 Courthouse in Chester City. That picture is reproduced on this website's welcome page. In the 1860's the Philadelphia photographer, John Moran, did a series of photographs titled Western Landscapes. These pictures depict farmhouses in Delaware County, and only a few are known to exist to this day. It is not known how many were in the series. Also in the 1860's Stereo Views came into existence. Stereo Views of Delaware County are rare, even though sets were made of Chester and Media.

Media Idlewild Inn in Winter c.1890

In 30 years of collecting I have never seen any of the Chester Views, just ads in the Chester Times in the 1890's advertising them for sale. I have several of the Media Views. Also in 1897 the "Artwork of Delaware County" was published in 9 parts. Each volume has about 8 photographs of homes, landscapes etc. Few complete sets survive today. They can be viewed at the Delaware County Historical Society located at 408 Avenue of the States Chester, PA.

In the early 1900's picture postcards came into existence. Postcards became a fad and one could have postcards made of ones, family, home, street, church, school etc. Originally printed postcards done in Germany were considered the best, but after 1917 they could no longer be made due to World War 1.

Media Pa. An Old Residence c.1907 pc     Darby Commerce St. c.1910 pcp

After 1917 "real" photo cards as they are known came to be popular. Beginning in 1909 the Garraway Company of Rutherford, New Jersey made high quality Photo Cards of Delaware County. The Company would make deals with local pharmacies to sell their cards and make about 20 views of each town. The Garraway Co. made postcards of all the Chester Pike Communities including Chester and Darby. They also did Wayne and Collingdale. Their cards are highly collectible today. Thousands of postcards were made of Delaware County during the postcard craze from 1900 to 1930. Some Delaware County postcards were made after the Second World War too.

Rose Valley Pa. Guest House c.1904 pc     Glenolden Pa. Aerial View of Glendale Hghts. c.1948


As stated above, the Artwork of Delaware County published in 1897 by W. H. Parrish Co. is quite rare. Published in nine parts the folio size booklets can be viewed at the Delaware County Historical Society located at 408 Avenue of the States Chester, PA. Each Booklet contained some history of Delaware County and about eight photographs in each booklet. Nearly all the high quality pictures are impossible to recognize today, most of the pictures being taken in the Delaware County countryside. By clicking on the link below, you can see the entire contents of Volume One thru Nine of the series.

Please email me it would be greatly appreciated! This page will be updated weekly. keith106@rcn.com