Established in 1682, Chester County was established only one-year after King Charles the II of England granted William Penn a charter to create the province of Pennsylvania. Penn immediately divided the land into three counties, Chester, Philadelphia, and Bucks counties. Chester remains as one of the original three counties in Pennsylvania. In 1729, Lancaster County would be carved away from what was originally the northern parts of Chester County.

Starting in the 1890s, traditional barns seen on roadsides began getting bright paint with simple messages inscribed on them. No, it was not the precursor to the graffiti age we’ve seen. It was an extremely clever marketing strategy. What we now see as a historic landmark was once an innovative, state-of-the-art advertising scheme.