Editing Media, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
The history of the area goes back to [[William Penn]], but the area remained predominantly rural until the 20th century.<ref name="brief">{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaborough.com/community/brief-history-media-1900-1950|title=A Brief History of Media: 1900 to 1950|publisher=Borough of Media|work=Community|access-date=February 10, 2014}}</ref>

===17th century===
Land in the area was sold and settled soon after [[William Penn]] was named proprietor of the colonial-era [[Province of Pennsylvania]] in 1681 by [[King Charles II of England]]. Peter and William Taylor bought the land where Media is now located, directly from Penn.<ref name="walking">''Media: A Walking Tour'', published by the Borough of Media, 1990</ref> At the time, the land was located in [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]]. Providence Township was organized in 1684, and later divided into [[Upper Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Upper Providence]] and [[Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania|Nether Providence]] townships by 1690, even though they only had 40 taxable properties at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.delcohistory.org/ashmead/ashmead_pg652.htm |title=''History of Delaware County'' |access-date=2007-04-04 |archive-date=2007-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405092232/http://www.delcohistory.org/ashmead/ashmead_pg652.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.delcohistory.org/nphs/ |title=''Nether Providence Through the Years'' (Delaware County Historical Society) |access-date=2007-04-02 |archive-date=2007-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402110636/http://www.delcohistory.org/nphs/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The current borough, formed in 1850, sits between the two townships.

In 1683, the Court of Chester County approved the construction of "Providence Great Road", now [[Pennsylvania Route 252]]. The road, which runs north from [[Chester, Pennsylvania|Chester]] to within a few blocks of today's downtown, is shown on a 1687 map along with the names of local landowners.<ref>[http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/atlas/1687.html ''The City of Philadelphia Two Miles in Length and One in Breadth'' (Lower Merion Historical Society)]</ref> It forms the eastern border of the borough.

Thomas Minshall, a [[Quakers|Quaker]], was an early Media resident, settling just outside the small village then known as "Providence", along Providence Great Road. The village then included a tailor shop, blacksmith shop, wheelwright shop, barn and other buildings.<ref name="mhsh">{{cite web|title=History|url=http://mediahistoricalsociety.org/about-us/#history|website=Media Historical Society|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

Minshall bought {{convert|625|acre|ha}} from William Penn and arrived in 1682. The [[Providence Friends Meetinghouse]] was established at his house in February 1688.

===18th century===
The original Friends Meetinghouse was built out of logs in 1699 or 1700, and the current building was completed in 1814. A house on Minshall's property, built around 1750, still stands and was given to the citizens of the borough in 1975.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mediaborough.com/sites/default/files/fileattachments/minshall_brochure.pdf |title=Minshall House |access-date=2014-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714090534/http://www.mediaborough.com/sites/default/files/fileattachments/minshall_brochure.pdf |archive-date=2014-07-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1789, [[Chester County, Pennsylvania]] was divided, with the eastern portion becoming [[Delaware County, Pennsylvania]].

===19th century===
The area in the center of the new county remained rural through 1850. On March 11, 1850, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by Special Act of Assembly incorporated the Borough of Media, and made the sale of malt and spirituous liquors unlawful within its borders. At the same time, the county seat of [[Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Delaware County]] was moved to Media from Chester. The borough was formed from four farms purchased by the county, totaling only {{convert|480|acre|ha}}. The borders of the borough have not changed since that time.<ref name="egph">{{cite web|last1=Mayberry|first1=Jodine|title=Media, Pennsylvania|url=http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/media-pennsylvania/|website=Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia|publisher=Rutgers University|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

Streets were plotted in a rectangular grid around the location of the new courthouse, lots were sold at public auctions, and the construction of houses began. Sources agree that Minshall Painter, a descendant of Thomas Minshall, suggested the name "Media", but do not agree on the reason. The name most likely comes from the borough's [[median]] location in the direct center of Delaware County.<ref>{{cite book| last=Gannett| first=Henry| title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States| url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ| year=1905| publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office| page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n203 204]}}</ref>

===20th century===
In 1940, the [[American Guide Series|Pennsylvania guide]] described Media by noting that "[t]he majority of its houses, almost all built since the [[American Civil War]], sit far back on shaded lawns and seem somewhat gloomy. The borough has a large and prosperous business section and a few small industrial plants; many townspeople work in [[Philadelphia]] or [[Chester, Pennsylvania|Chester]]."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State|last=Federal Writers' Project|date=1940|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=1st|page=416|location=New York}}</ref>

The [[John J. Tyler Arboretum]] occupies part of Thomas Minshall's original {{convert|625|acre|ha}}. This farm and a nearby [[Lima, Pennsylvania|Village of Lima]] was used by the [[Underground Railroad]].<ref>Loretta Rodgers, "The Trackless Train: Tracking Delco's Role in the Underground Railroad" (Feb. 27, 1989), ''[[Delaware County Daily Times]]''</ref> The land was donated to a public trust in 1944 by an eighth-generation descendant. The arboretum was started as a private collection by brothers Jacob and Minshall Painter. In 1825, they began systematically planting over 1,000 varieties of trees and shrubs. Over twenty of their original trees survive, including a [[giant sequoia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tylerarboretum.org/tylers_history.htm |title=Tyler Arboretum History |access-date=2008-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224015810/http://www.tylerarboretum.org/tylers_history.htm |archive-date=2008-02-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Minshall Painter was also a leader of the [[Delaware County Institute of Science]], which was formed on September 21, 1833, with just four other members: George Miller, John Miller, George Smith, M.D., and [[John Cassin]]. The institute was incorporated in 1836. About 1850, Painter gave the institute the land where its building currently stands at 11 Veterans Square, and the building was constructed in 1867.<ref name="DelCoIS">{{cite web|title=History|url=http://delcoscience.org/history/|website=Delaware County Institute of Science|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

In the second half of the 19th century, Media was a summer resort for well-to-do Philadelphians. The borough's large vacation hotels included the Idlewild Hotel (1871) on Lincoln Street at Gayley Terrace, Chestnut Grove House or "The Colonial" (1860) on Orange Street, and Brooke Hall on Orange Street and Washington Avenue (now Baltimore Avenue). The Chestnut Grove was used for a year by nearby [[Swarthmore College]] due to a fire on its campus.<ref name="Swat">{{cite web|title=1881 Parrish Hall Burns|url=http://swat150.swarthmore.edu/1881-parrish-hall-burns.html|website=Swarthmore Sesquicentennial|publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

The [[West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad]] was built through Media on October 19, 1854. Electrified service was opened on December 2, 1928. Up to 50 trains passed through each day. The railroad became part of the [[Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad]] and eventually the [[Penn Central]]. [[SEPTA]] took over operations in 1983. [[Woodrow Wilson]] spoke at the Media Station in 1912 during his first [[1912 United States presidential election|election campaign]]. Trolley transportation lines spread to and through Media in the 1890s and early 1900s.<ref name="18501900a">{{cite web|title=A Brief History of Media: 1850 to 1900|url=http://www.mediaborough.com/community/brief-history-media-1850-1900|website=Media Borough|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="19001950b">{{cite web|title=A Brief History of Media: 1900 to 1950|url=http://www.mediaborough.com/community/brief-history-media-1900-1950|website=Media Borough|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Media PA Theater.JPG|thumb|The Media Theatre for the Performing Arts|200x200px]] [[File:Minshall House Media PA.JPG|thumb|Thomas Minshall house|200x200px]]
[[File:Media PA Keystone Marker.jpg|thumb|[[Keystone Marker]] from the 1920s gives one version of the origin of the town's name]]{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage = [[File:State St Media PA.JPG|210px]] | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et4rB2vm3hI Media, PA - Walking Tour], by Wanda Kaluza | video2 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXF_Q_Ni3RA Media, PA] CoyopaFilms}}The Media Theatre opened as a [[vaudeville]] house in 1927.<ref>[http://mediatheatre.org/about/history/ The Media Theatre for the Performing Arts - History]</ref> The first talkie film, ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'', was shown there. It remained a popular cinema through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1994, the theater underwent a $1 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=1000000|start_year=1994}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) restoration by Walter Strine Sr. and re-opened as the Media Theatre for the Performing Arts.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.mediaborough.com/community/brief-history-media-1950-present
| title = Restoration of an important landmark
| date = 2016
| website = www.mediaborough.com
| publisher = Media Borough
}}</ref> Shows produced there have included ''[[The Full Monty (musical)|The Full Monty]]'', ''[[Carousel (musical)|Carousel]]'' and ''[[Miss Saigon]]''.

On March 8, 1971, the [[Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI]] raided an [[FBI]] "resident agency" in Media. They later released thousands of documents to major newspapers around the country. These documents revealed FBI tactics such as the illegal wiretapping of civil rights leaders like [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and the recruitment of [[Scouting|Boy Scouts]] as informants, and confirmed for the first time the existence of [[COINTELPRO]], an FBI program to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" dissident groups in the United States.<ref name=burg>{{cite book| last=Medsger| first=Betty| title=The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI| date=January 2014| publisher=Random House| isbn=9780307962966| pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780307962959/page/592 592]| url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780307962959| url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=How to break into the FBI: 50 years later, Media burglars get local honors |url=https://whyy.org/articles/how-to-break-into-the-fbi-50-years-later-media-burglars-get-local-honors/ |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=WHYY |language=en-US}}</ref>

===21st century===
In June 2006, Media became the first town in the United States to follow over 300 towns in Europe in attaining [[fair trade certification]]. To meet the criteria for certification, Media passed a council resolution in support of [[fair trade]], served fair-trade coffee and tea in local government meetings and offices, ensured that a range of fair-trade products were available in local restaurants and businesses, raised popular support and provided media coverage for the fair-trade campaign, and convened a fair-trade steering committee to ensure continued commitment.<ref name="How now brown cow">{{cite web|title=How does a town become Fair Trade?|url=http://mediafairtrade.org/definition-of-fair-trade/how-does-a-town-become-fair-trade/|website=Media Fair Trade|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>