Exhibitions

Six galleries have permanent and changing exhibitions that highlight Chester County’s fascinating past. They draw on collections that span more than three centuries in southeastern Pennsylvania, interpreting daily life and work from 1680 to the present.  

Changing Exhibitions 

Photographs of Jane Latta, a Retrospective

Opens March 14, 2008

Photographs of Jane Latta, a Retrospective, will be on view to the public from March 14 through August 2008. The exhibit chronicles the fifty-year career of this adventurous Chester County woman photographer who documented cultures as diverse as her Amish and Mennonites neighbors to the life of plantation workers in Latin America.

Photograph of Jane Latta with her Rolleiflex camera aboard a United Fruit Company ship, 1950s.

Click here for more information.

Saving Our Treasures

Opens February 16, 2008

How does the Historical Society care for our collected cultural heritage? Take a look behind-the-scenes at a unique installation that shows how. From spectacular conservation treatments to acid free boxes you can learn the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions by the public.

Permanent Exhibitions

Chester County, a View of the Past

This introduction is a glimpse into the history of the people who settled this region. It interprets the customs, traditions and some of the remarkable natural resources that shaped their lives. Learn about a few early residents including Rebecca Pennock Lukens, the first successful ironmaster who operated the forge that eventually became Lukens Steel, and noted African-American writer Langston Hughes, a graduate of Chester County’s Lincoln University. Notice the dramatic hand-forged, nine feet tall sign, titled Protect Home Industry, carried in Charlestown Township by Henry Clay supporters during the 1844 presidential campaign and find out about Chester County’s quickly disappearing agricultural past.

Chester County Craftsmanship

The decorative arts gallery features the distinctive regional furniture produced in this county from its European settlement in the 1680s to the 1820s. The alcoves, which include architectural woodwork from several area houses, hold fine examples of spice boxes, chests of drawers and wainscot furniture. The alcoves also include furniture decorated with the regionally unique line and berry inlay design attributed to the Welsh artisans who settled here in the 1700s. Outstanding tall-case clocks made in the county are a particular attraction for anyone intrigued by technology and local craft traditions. 

History Lab

Children of all ages enjoy the hands-on activities in History Lab. This very popular activity area allows visitors to explore objects with both hands and eyes. Construct a Chester County Chippendale-style chair, dress in a reproduction nineteenth-century hoop skirt or Civil War officer’s coat, learn how to churn butter or do a week’s worth of washing.  

Past Exhibitions

A Quilt Sampler

2007-2008

Exhibition Highlights

• Anna Mary Brinton Pieced Silk Quilt
  Chester County, PA, 1857
• 4 Patch Autograph Quilt
  Hayseed Club of Philadelphia, 1896
• Primitive Hall Album Quilt Top
  Chester County, PA, 1842-43
  Members of the Pennock Family
• Neo-classical Whitework Quilt
  United States, 1802, Phebe Parke Tucker
• Fund-Raising Civil War Applique Quilt
  Newlin Township, PA, 1864
• Fund-Raising Signature Quilt
  Members of the St. Vincent Reformed Church
  Chester County, PA, 1920s

"All Dolled Up" in Old Chester County.

2006-2007
This magical, nostalgic exhibition captured the festive spirit of the holiday season, when gifts were exchanged, homes were decorated, and people wore their holiday finery.

Chester County A to Z.