Edward W. Heston

Who was Edward W. Heston?

Edward Warner Heston was a lieutenant colonel in the Pennsylvania militia during the American Revolutionary War and later a Pennsylvania state senator.

During the Revolution, he entered service as a captain. In a skirmish with the British, he suffered a severe sword cut to the back of the head. He was taken prisoner and sent to Long Island, where he was held for seven months. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel by the close of the war.

He founded a village along the Lancaster Pike named Hestonville, in the former Blockley Township, now part of Philadelphia. The Heston Mansion, located near the current Heston School, was built in 1800 and was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1872; it was demolished in 1901 to make way for a railroad.

He also served as a judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. He was the father of 14 children.

He died at his residence in Hestonville and was buried in The Woodlands Cemetery.