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is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over a million pounds of mushrooms a year. To celebrate its heritage, Kennett Square has an annual Mushroom Festival. Its population was 5,273 at the 2000 census.
The area to become known as Kennett Square was originally inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans. The town was first called "Kennett", named after the River Kennett, Berkshire, England. The name "Square" was added to reflect the original land grant of one square mile of territory from William Penn's original land grant. The town was a major point on Baron Wilhelm von Knyphausen and General Sir William Howell's march to the Battle of Brandywine during the American Revolution. In 1853, a group of citizens asked for Kennett Square to be incorporated, and by 1855 it held elections. Many of its prominent citizens helped slaves escape on the Underground Railroad.
Kennett Square's William Swayne is credited with introducing mushroom growing to the area. He grew carnations, a popular local commodity around 1885, and wanted to make use of the wasted space under the elevated beds. He imported spawn from Europe and started experimenting with mushroom cultivation.
On April 1 1993, more than 140 workers at Kaolin Mushroom Farms stopped working. Known as the Kaolin Strike, this became one of the most notorious events in the mushroom industry. The workers complained of low wages and mistreatment. Before this, Kaolin had a good reputation as offering high salaries to its employees but was instantly vilified. After 30 days of protests and demonstrations the employees returned to work, although it wasn't until 1999 that negotiations had been resolved.
Kennett Square is the subject and setting of 19th century American author Bayard Taylor's novel,