Londonderry Township
Londonderry Township sits in the southwestern part of Chester County, between Cochranville and West Marlborough Township. Its residents, largely Scotch-Irish settlers, voted to separate from Nottingham Township and the township was officially created in 1734. They named it after Londonderry (now Derry) in Ireland. Students attend the Octorara Area School District. Today Londonderry is a quiet, rural township of just over 11 square miles, home to 2,476 people at the 2020 Census. More than half of its land is permanently protected, and the Doe Run valley and the historic crossroads of Faggs Manor give it a strong sense of place.
Population: 2020 Census: 2,476
Median home value: $520,000 median sale price in 2025 (all home types, Chester County Planning Commission)
School district: Octorara Area School District
Postal codes: 19330 (Cochranville) and 19320 (Coatesville)
2025 property tax rate: 48.624 mills total: Chester County 5.164, Londonderry Township 0, Octorara Area School District 43.46 (Chester County 2025 millage chart)
Commute to West Chester: about 35 minutes
Commute to Kennett Square: about 25 minutes
Commute to Exton: about 35 minutes
Market overview
The Chester County Planning Commission reported a 2025 median sale price of $520,000 in Londonderry Township, across all home types. That is a little below the countywide median of $550,000 from 5,960 sales, and notably higher than several of its Octorara area neighbors. Londonderry is a small market, so the median can shift from year to year depending on the mix of homes that sell.
The housing stock is a mix of farms, country homes on acreage, older farmhouses and some newer single-family neighborhoods. The township's growth from farmland to suburb drew national attention in the 2007 book Last Harvest by Witold Rybczynski, which followed a Londonderry cornfield as it became the New Daleville neighborhood. Between the 2010 and 2020 Census counts, the township's population grew about 15%.
Schools and taxes
Londonderry is part of the Octorara Area School District, which serves municipalities in western Chester County and neighboring Lancaster County. The district runs a primary learning center, an intermediate school, a middle school and a high school, with its district office on Highland Road under an Atglen address.
Chester County's 2025 millage chart lists Londonderry's municipal real estate rate at 0 mills, so the total is 48.624 mills: 5.164 for the county and 43.46 for the school district. Those mills are applied to the county's assessed value, which is usually well below a home's market price, so look up a specific property's assessment in the county's property records before you estimate taxes. Separately, township voters approved a 0.25% earned income tax in 2003 to fund open space preservation.
Pennsylvania charges a 1% state realty transfer tax on a sale, and the local share is usually another 1%, split between the township and the school district. Your title company will confirm the exact figures at settlement.
Neighborhoods and what's here
Open space is the defining feature here. According to the township, more than 3,700 acres are permanently protected, which is more than half of Londonderry's land. About 1,750 acres were protected after the 2003 open space referendum, working with partners such as the Brandywine Conservancy, The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County, Natural Lands Trust and Chester County. The result is a landscape of pastures, hedgerows and stream corridors, with the Doe Run valley at its center.
Faggs Manor is the township's historic crossroads. It traces back to a 1682 grant from William Penn to John Fagg, and Faggs Manor Presbyterian Church, organized in 1730, still stands there with its old cemetery. St. Malachi Church, the John Ferron House and the Moses Ross House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the former Doe Run Meeting House, now a private home, dates to 1883. The township's own history notes an early sawmill built around 1765 along Big Elk Creek on Ewing Road, and early schoolhouses such as Ramsey School, Coates School and Forest Shade School.
Route 41 (Gap Newport Pike) runs through the middle of the township, Route 926 (Street Road) crosses the southern and central areas toward West Chester, and Route 796 heads south toward Jennersville. Londonderry borders Highland, West Fallowfield, Upper Oxford, Penn, London Grove and West Marlborough townships.
For buyers and sellers
Buyers should look closely at the land around a home as well as the home itself. If a property sits under an agricultural or conservation easement, read the terms, since they can limit subdivision and new building. On rural lots, ask about the well and septic system and include a water test and septic inspection in your due diligence. Because the county chart shows no municipal real estate millage for Londonderry, the property tax bill here is made up of the county and school district rates.
Sellers benefit from the township's protected setting and should highlight acreage, views over preserved land, barns and outbuildings, and any recent system updates. With limited sales each year, pricing should draw on comparable sales across Londonderry and neighboring townships in both the Octorara and Avon Grove areas. We help sellers present those strengths to buyers coming from Kennett Square, West Chester and northern Delaware.
Common questions
What school district serves Londonderry Township?
Londonderry Township is in the Octorara Area School District.
Does Londonderry Township charge a municipal property tax?
Chester County's 2025 millage chart lists Londonderry's municipal rate at 0 mills, so the 48.624 mill total is made up of the county and Octorara Area School District rates. Separately, township voters approved a 0.25% earned income tax for open space in 2003.
How much of Londonderry Township is preserved?
The township reports more than 3,700 acres of permanently protected open land, which is more than half of its area.