Chester County PA Historical Society Museum
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
The Chester County PA Historical Society maintains a museum in West Chester, PA. The highlight of the museum is the extensive collection of Period furniture made in this county- mostly clocks, chests of drawers and spice boxes. The furniture is tastefully displayed in Period Room settings. The storage area has more pieces that can be accessed with permission.
Chester County furniture is more refined than Shaker and less fancy than city furniture. It is functional furniture that fit the needs of the rural household, a place to store your socks as I say. It is often decorated with Line and Berry or other inlay. I find it an attractive style that fits a modern home.
A large collection of Spice Boxes is on display.
The museum invites study of the furniture. Writing a proposal will likely get access to any piece(s) for study. For example, I spent a day there studying the layout of the line and berry patters to see if I could determine a strategy for developing the patterns. Indeed, they are geometrical patterns with simple geometrical relationships among the arc centers.
The building also houses a library of volumes relevant to the history of the area. The town has good places to eat.
