Residents of Coatesville have had much to celebrate on their city’s 100th anniversary, including the county’s first black resident elected to the state House of Representatives, extensive infrastructure investments, snowballing economic development momentum and steady progress in the multi-faceted effort to lift Chester County’s only city out from being one of the region’s and state’s poorest communities.

Though a recent Main Line Today feature dwells on age-old problems and the worst of modern controversies to stoke fears that prosperity would drive up costs and drive out longtime residents — it’s titled “Towns on the Brink” and poses the question of “is it already too far gone?”, the article nevertheless provides ample evidence of Coatesville’s emergence into a new century of prosperity.

“It’s out of a difficult, tumultuous time that a resurgence is growing,” Coatesville Area School District Superintendent Cathy Taschner said in the Main Line Today feature.

There’s no doubt Coatesville has endured much adversity, but a resurgence is far from teetering on the brink.

“There are focused citizens, businesses, church leaders and youth outreach initiatives,” the piece stated. “And there’s a bold and effective philanthropic organization — the Brandywine Health Foundation — that’s filling service gaps.”

“This city is on the tip of everybody’s tongue,” Brandywine Health Foundation’s President and CEO Frances M. Sheehan is quoted as saying. “We have such pride of place in Chester County. Why would we tolerate such poverty and such struggle in the heart of the community? Why wouldn’t we come together to do something?”

Countless difference-makers like Sheehan, Taschner, Rep. Harry Lewis and many more are standing in the gap and leading the charge to breathe new life into Coatesville.  “We simply don’t give up,” says Regina Lewis.

“I have a vested interest,” said Lewis’ husband Harry, a Chester County native and retired Coatesville Area Senior High School principal. “I didn’t just start to care — all along, I’ve cared.”

Read more about Coatesville’s history and recent resurgence in Main Line Today here, and check out VISTA Today’s ongoing coverage of the latest Coatesville happenings here.