Паоли: История, битва и современность города

Paoli grew around an inn kept in 1769 by Joshua Evans, whose father bought from William Penn in 1719 near the current site of the Paoli Post Office. Evans named his inn after General Pasquale Paoli, a Corsican, after Paoli had received the 45th and final toast at a Saint Patrick's Day celebration. The inn's location on the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, about 20 miles (one day's drive for a horse drawn wagon) from Philadelphia, contributed to its success.

On the evening of September 20, 1777, near Paoli, General Charles Grey and nearly 5,000 British soldiers launched a surprise attack on a Patriot encampment, which became known as the Battle of Paoli. Having intercepted General Washington's orders to General Wayne regarding British rearguard actions, Grey directed his troops to assault the small regiment of Americans commanded by Anthony Wayne in an area near his residence. Not wanting to lose the element of surprise, Grey ordered his troops to remove the flint from their muskets and to use only bayonets or swords to launch a surprise sneak attack on the Americans under the cover of darkness. With the help of a Loyalist spy who provided a secret password, "here we are and there they go" and led them to the camp, General "No flint" Grey and the British overran several American pickets and launched their successful attack on the Continental Army camp. 201 American soldiers were killed or injured, while 71 were captured. The British suffered only 4 killed and 7 injured in comparison. Wayne's reputation was tarnished by the high casualties suffered in the battle, and he demanded a formal court martial to clear his name. On November 1, a board of 13 officers declared that Wayne had acted with honor.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5 km2), all land. Paoli borders other towns, such as Berwyn and Malvern. These three towns belong to either the Tredyffrin/Easttown or the Great Valley school districts.

As of the 2019 survey, there were 5,651 people, 2,552 housing units and 1,437 families residing in the CDP. The population density was There were 2,468 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.93% White, 5.36% Black, 0.09% Native American, 2.64% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. 0.85% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,361 households, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.89. 20.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males. The median household income was $73,050 and the median family income was $69,519. Males had a median income of $46,536 and females $34,702. The per capita income was $30,570. 4.7% of the population and 3.6% of families were below the poverty line. 8.0% of those under the age of 18 and 4.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District serves the portions of Paoli in Tredyffrin Township. The section of Paoli in Willistown Township is served by Great Valley School District. The portion of Paoli in T/E are divided between the zoned of Beaumont Elementary School in Easttown Township and Hillside Elementary School in Tredyffrin Township. The Great Valley elementary schools, Charlestown, K. D. Markley, Sugartown and General Wayne, all filter into Great Valley Middle School. Tredyffrin/Easttown operates two middle schools, Tredyffrin/Easttown and Valley Forge, and all district students attend Conestoga High School. Great Valley students attend Great Valley High School. Delaware Valley Friends School is a school for those with learning differences in Paoli located next to Station Square, a business complex. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia operates Catholic schools. St. Norbert School is in Easttown Township, and is outside of the Paoli CDP,

Tredyffrin Township Libraries operates the Paoli Library in Paoli. The Paoli Library is part of the Chester County Library System.

Paoli is served by the U. S. Route 202 freeway, U. S. Route 30 and Pennsylvania Route 252 connecting it to King of Prussia and Philadelphia. Historically, Paoli was on the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, which was later absorbed into the Lincoln Highway, and became US 30 still later. Many locals still call the route "Lancaster Pike".

For generations, Paoli was the western terminus of Pennsylvania Railroad commuter trains coming from Philadelphia on the Main Line. The "Paoli Local" became iconic in the western suburbs. Amtrak's Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian trains stop at Paoli station, but with the decline of long distance train travel, the stops are now less frequent. Commuters traveling by rail within Southeastern Pennsylvania use the Paoli station, although most local trains serving Paoli now terminate in Malvern, one stop to the west. SEPTA Regional Rail's Paoli/Thorndale Line (formerly R5) commuter rail runs between Thorndale and Philadelphia both ways every 30 minutes during the week. College students and city working suburbanites take the Paoli/Thorndale Line to school and work. Station to station, a trip from Paoli to Center City Philadelphia on the Paoli/Thorndale Line takes approximately 45 minutes, although some rush hour trains run directly between Paoli and 30th Street Station in under 30 minutes. Paoli is served by multiple SEPTA Suburban Bus routes. Local buses traverse Route 30 along the Main Line, and Paoli Pike is the main artery for buses heading to West Chester. The Route 92 bus connects Paoli to West Chester and the King of Prussia Transit Center at the King of Prussia mall. The Route 106 bus links Paoli to the other Main Line communities and the 69th Street Transportation Center. The Route 204 and Route 206 buses connect the Paoli station to Eagleview and the Great Valley Corporate Center respectively. In 2016, the majority of Paoli residents were found to drive alone on their way to work, while only 10.97% took public transportation.