Historic Quaker Houses of Chester County, PA

The Barnes-Brinton House
Built ca. 1714. Chadds Ford, PA
By William Barns:

Above: The Barns-Brinton House at Chadds Ford. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus

  Blacksmith William Barns constructed this brick building ca. 1714. Barns used this house as him family’s home and as a tavern in the 1720s. The structure features Flemish bond masonry and a diamond-patterned gable.
James Brinton purchased this property in 1753. He was a grandson of William Brinton, one of Chester County’s early settlers. The Brintons owned the house until 1859. The single-lane Baltimore Pike ran along the south side of the building until the 1930s.. In 1938 the road was relocated to the north side of the building as part of the widening of Route 1 to three lanes.
The Chadds Ford Historical Society acquired the abandoned structure in 1969. Restoration was completed in 1978, at which time it was opened to the public for tours. Much of the original interior woodwork and hardware remain intact despite more than three centuries of use.

  Painting of the House by Andrew Wyeth in 1961
Before the House’s Restoration:

Above: Tenant Farmer, painting of the Barns-Brinton House by Andrew Wyeth, 1961. Image source: Delaware Art Museum

Above: Photo: Same view of the Barns-Brinton House in 2025. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus

Above: Andrew Wyeth in his studio ca. 1961 with Tenant Farmer, his painting of the Barns-Brinton House. Image source: Brandywine Museum of Art

 1931 Measured Drawing of the Parlor
Before Restoration in the 1970s:

Image source: This is the fireplace in the parlor / family side of the house, when the adjoining side was used as a tavern. Image source: Early Domestic Architecture of Pennsylvania, by Eleanor Raymond, EAIA, 1931, Internet Archive

 1959 Photo of the Parlor
Before Restoration in the 1970s
Historic American Buildings Survey:

Image source: This is the fireplace in the parlor / family side of the house, when the adjoining side was used as a tavern. Historic American Buildings Survey, Photo by Ned Goode, 1959, Library of Congress

 

 

Above: The Barns-Brinton House before the road was relocated to the north side of the house. Image source: HABS, Library of Congress.

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