Paoli

Finding Your Home

In the late 1900’s, the Pennsylvania Railroad built suburban commuter lines out from Philadelphia, spurring the growth of the city’s suburbs. The largest and longest of these lines, the “Main Line”, terminated in Paoli. Paoli today sits at the western edge of the Main Line and has a convenient shopping center with everything from a hardware store, a kitchenware store, clothing boutiques and local restaurants. Paoli residents reside in either Willistown Township (Chester County ) or Easttown and Tredyffrin Townships (Chester County), attending Great Valley High School or Conestoga High School, respectively.

On the evening of September 20, 1777, near Paoli, General Charles Grey and nearly 5,000 British soldiers launched a surprise attack on a small regiment of Patriot troops commanded by General Anthony Wayne in what became known as the Paoli Massacre. Not wanting to lose the element of surprise, Grey ordered his troops to empty their muskets and to use only bayonets or swords to attack the sleeping Americans under the cover of darkness. With the help of a Loyalist spy who provided a secret password and led them to the camp, the British launched the successful attack on the unsuspecting Pennsylvania regiment, stabbing them to death as they slept. It was also alleged that the British soldiers took no prisoners during the attack, stabbing or setting fire to those who tried to surrender. Before it was over, nearly 200 Americans were killed or wounded. The Paoli Massacre became a rallying cry for the Americans against British atrocities for the rest of the Revolutionary War.