Editing Aston Township, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
Aston was first settled in 1682 as a municipality and was incorporated as a township in 1688 (one of the first townships in Pennsylvania). Prior to 1687, Aston was known as '''Northley'''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ashmead|first1=Henry Graham|title=History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania|date=1884|publisher=L.H. Everts & Co.|location=Philadelphia|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924006215655/page/n323 290]|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924006215655|access-date=May 24, 2017}}</ref>  Edward Carter, who was the constable of the township, changed the name from Northley to Aston in remembrance of his old home of [[Aston, Oxfordshire|Aston]] in Oxfordshire, England.<ref>[http://astontownship.net/about-aston-pa/ Aston Township: About Aston]</ref>

In 1906, Aston became a first class township. The current boundaries of Aston were established in 1945, when the northwestern portion of the township seceded to form the borough of [[Chester Heights, Pennsylvania|Chester Heights]].<ref name="histofAT">{{cite web|last1=Dougherty|first1=Paul L.|last2=Ross|first2=Ruth M.|title=History of Aston Township|url=http://astontownship.net/about-aston-pa/history-of-aston-township/|website=Aston Township|access-date=March 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chesterheights.org/history.html |title=Chester Heights History |access-date=March 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309131238/http://www.chesterheights.org/history.html |archive-date=March 9, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In colonial times, Concord Road was the main road between [[Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania|Chadds Ford]] on [[Brandywine Creek (Christina River)|Brandywine Creek]] and [[Chester, Pennsylvania|Chester]]. The Seven Stars Inn, located at Concord Road's "Five Points" intersection, served as  overnight quarters for British General [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Cornwallis]] on September 13, 1777, two days after the [[Battle of the Brandywine]], as British forces slowly pursued George Washington's army.<ref name="phillycom">{{cite news|last1=O'Neill|first1=Robert F.|title=Tavern's Colorful Existence Spanned 2 Centuries Aston's Seven Stars Was The Site Of A Revolutionary War Hanging, A Trade Union's Birth And A Speakeasy.|url=http://articles.philly.com/1992-11-29/news/26006933_1_aston-lord-cornwallis-taverns|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030014852/http://articles.philly.com/1992-11-29/news/26006933_1_aston-lord-cornwallis-taverns|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 30, 2015|access-date=March 30, 2016|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=November 29, 1992}}</ref>

The following day, three Hessian soldiers were convicted of plundering a local house.  Two, selected by lot, were hanged by the third soldier, and the two corpses were left hanging. [[David Glasgow Farragut]] frequented the tavern as a young student in 1817. The Delaware County [[Odd Fellows]] were organized there in 1831 and during the 1920s, the tavern became a speakeasy. The building was destroyed in 1949 and replaced by a gas station.<ref name="phillycom"/>

A new veterans' memorial, dedicated to all veterans who lived in the township (and present-day Chester Heights prior to 1948) from the [[American Revolution]] to the present-day [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], along with Aston Township EMTs, police, and firefighters killed in the line of duty, has been built at the same intersection, opposite the former inn site. An unveiling ceremony occurred on November 11, 2006, with the formal dedication ceremony on April 28, 2007. Endless Pools, a major manufacturer of electric swimming machines, is headquartered and manufactures in Aston Township.