Pennsylvania Route 401
State highway in Pennsylvania, US
Pennsylvania Route 401 (PA 401) is a 20.2-mile-long (32.5 km) east–west state route in Berks and Chester counties, located in southeast Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at PA 23 in Caernarvon Township, across the county line from Elverson. The eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in East Whiteland Township, a short distance west of Malvern. PA 401 is called Conestoga Road its entire length and runs through rural areas with suburban development toward the eastern part of the route. PA 401 follows a former turnpike chartered in 1809 known as the Little Conestoga Turnpike. PA 401 was designated along Conestoga Road between PA 29 (Phoenixville Pike) and US 30/PA 1 in 1928. The route was extended west to PA 23 in the 1930s, at which time the entire length was paved.
Route description
PA 401 begins at an intersection with PA 23 in Caernarvon Township, Berks County, heading southeast on two-lane undivided Conestoga Road. The route heads into agricultural areas as it crosses into the borough of Elverson in Chester County, where it runs between farmland to the north and rural areas of woods and homes to the south, crossing PA 82. After this junction, the road runs between housing developments to the north and rural areas to the south, crossing into West Nantmeal Township.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Pennsylvania Route 401” is state highway in Pennsylvania, US. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Pennsylvania, Route and State, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “state highway in Pennsylvania, US” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1337690. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1809 and 1928.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pennsylvania Route 401”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pennsylvania Route 401 primary sources, Pennsylvania Route 401 archive and Pennsylvania research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pennsylvania Route 401”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pennsylvania Route 401” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.