Historic Houses of Chadds Ford
Pre-Revolutionary War homes on the National Register of Historic Places
John Chads House It seems sparse now, but when it was built in 1725, John Chads’ House was the epitome of understated luxury. Nestled into a sloping hillside, the three-story house is simple, in keeping with Chads’ Quaker beliefs, but comfortable. The house retains many original features including the skinny staircase and uneven floorboards through which you can actually see into the basement kitchen.
The beehive oven still works and on weekends, costumed re-enactors serve up batches of home-baked bread. Barns-Brinton House You know those charming, historic B&B’s that are so popular? Forget it. This is how 18th century inns really looked. Built in 1714, the brick Barns-Brinton House (named after its two best-known owners), was a popular inn run by the very rowdy, frequently arrested, William Barns.
The owners lived in two cramped rooms on one side of the house, while guests slept on the other side. The tavern room features a caged bar, lots of 18th century furnishings and an enormous fireplace which is used for colonial cooking demonstrations.