The popular nursery rhyme “Miss Mary Mack,” which can often be heard on school playgrounds throughout the country, is thought to have originated in West Chester, writes Jacob Uitti for American Songwriter. 

“Miss Mary Mack,” inspired by a performer in Ephraim Williams’ circus in the 1880s, was originally published in The Counting Out Rhymes of Children, an 1888 book by Henry Carrington Bolton. The version he included in the book was collected in West Chester. 

Today, the rhyme is well known in English-speaking regions, including the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. 

In fact, it is believed to be “the most common hand-clapping game in the English-speaking world.” 

Read more about the nursery rhyme’s origin in American Songwriter.