Publisher’s Letter

It’s July, the 250th birthday of our nation! Perhaps less noteworthy, but important to us, it’s one month until the 50th birthday —about 600 issues — of County Lines Magazine!

We celebrate by publishing “A Year-Round Guide to County Lines Country.” We’ll take you on a tour of our top spots. First, we visit the Big Three: Longwood Gardens, the Brandywine Museum of Art and Winterthur. Then we visit six places — Valley Forge, the Brandywine and Paoli Battlefields, Yellow Springs, Historic Sugartown and the Colonial Pennsylvania Farmstead — to remind us of why we fought 250 years ago. We also recommend a stroll through 13 Town Tours and Village Walks throughout Chester County, focusing on the places, people and events that shaped our nation.

Our Guide takes a more modern turn with a tour of shopping towns on the Main Line and a trip to Lancaster County to visit its food hotspots. And we compile for you a guide to many more places for outings in the Brandywine Valley — amusement parks, zoos, nature centers, historic sites, museums and more.

There’s more to learn about Chester County’s role in the Revolution. In “Before the Storm,” Kim Andrews of the Chester County Community Foundation explains why Chester County was so important to the Revolution. Hint: its resources, geography and divided loyalties. In “Hannum, Hannah and Horace,” we highlight West Chester’s latest public mural, celebrating West Chester’s unique role in America’s story.

Read how after two years of war, as George Washington’s troops were nearly starving, they endured one of the darkest winters in American history. Hannah Till and Polly Cooper, as well as local millers, saved them. In our Brandywine Table column, Liz Tarditi shares their recipes in “Culinary Revolutionaries,” along with tips on getting flour ground at the Mill at Anselma.

Two-and-a-half centuries after the Revolution, the Brandywine Valley has, well, changed. Yet at “Barnard’s Orchard,” where they’re celebrating three centuries — not a mere two-and-a-half — they’re growing apples, peaches, pears, blueberries and blackberries.

Looking for an urban day trip this summer? Wilmington, only a short drive to the south, offers much to recommend it. Laurel Anderson cites “Nine Things We Love About Wilmington.” Going deeper into Delaware, I visit Delaware’s beach towns — Rehoboth and Dewey Beaches plus the southern “Quiet Resorts” of Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island — in “Summer Getaways.”

If you’re new to the Brandywine Valley, or considering it as a place to live, you’ll appreciate our “Newcomers Guide.” It features realtors, builders, designers, landscapers and other services to get you started. Newcomers and longtime residents should check out our Farmers Market Guide.

This issue also includes Marci Tomassone’s preview of music, theater and dance in the “Fall Guide to the Performing Arts,” and we look back at some “Best of the Best” dining winners.

As always, we have the Best Local Events coverage, along with tons of ideas for Family Fun, including where to see July 4th fireworks.

Perhaps you already have County Lines delivered to your mailbox. Lucky you! Save it for future reference. At CountyLinesMagazine.com, you can read the July issue online. At Issuu.com, you can read the digital issue. Or click “Get A Copy” on our website to find locations to pick up your own free print copy.

We hope you’d like to subscribe to County Lines. Do it on our website or call 610-918-9300. For single issues, try Baldwin’s Book Barn, Main Point Books, More Than Books, Bookish Notions, Wellington Square Bookshop or Reads & Co. Bookstore. Visiting an advertiser is also a great — and free — way to find copies!

We hope you enjoy this issue.

Thank you for reading.

Ed Malet, Publisher

610-918-9300

A Year-Round Guide to County Lines Country

The Brandywine Valley beckons. We’ll first visit its spectacular museums and gardens, then pay homage to the Revolutionary War, much of which took place in County Lines country. Today, you can still experience many of these historic sites and battlefields — Valley Forge, Paoli, Brandywine, Historic Sugartown, Yellow Springs.

Before the Storm

Before the Revolution, Chester County was home to people who wanted independence, people who remained loyal to the Crown and many, especially Quakers, who wanted no part of war at all. That tension made Chester County important. Its farms, mills, roadways and waterways, ironworks and proximity to Philadelphia made it central to the patriots’ cause. Chester County mattered because it fed people, moved goods and connected places. In 1777, war would arrive with full force. But the storm had already been gathering.

Barnard’s Orchard — A Three-Century Farm

The United States was born in 1776. But, in that year, Barnard’s Orchard was already 50 years old.

For eight generations, Barnards have tended the land. Today, the farm is known for its apples, but at the turn of the 20th century, greenhouses were built and flowers — sweet peas, carnations — were grown. Today, the farm devotes 18 of its 74 acres to about 30 kinds of apples, including heritage varieties. Peaches, pears, blackberries and blueberries are also grown — almost all sold from their onsite store.