Paoli

The town of Paoli grew around a 1769 inn kept by Joshua Evans, whose father bought 500 acres from William Penn. A suburb of Philadelphia, Paoli is located among several places of interest, such as Valley Forge Historical Park, site of the hard winter suffered by George Washington’s Continental Army before the tide turned in the American Revolution. A lifelong resident of Paoli, Wharton Esherick’s name should be more familiar, considering his work has been exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Crafts. Visitors to the Esherick Museum will appreciate his avant-garde designs in ...

The town of Paoli grew around a 1769 inn kept by Joshua Evans, whose father bought 500 acres from William Penn. A suburb of Philadelphia, Paoli is located among several places of interest, such as Valley Forge Historical Park, site of the hard winter suffered by George Washington’s Continental Army before the tide turned in the American Revolution. A lifelong resident of Paoli, Wharton Esherick’s name should be more familiar, considering his work has been exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Crafts. Visitors to the Esherick Museum will appreciate his avant-garde designs in wooden furniture and interiors; he changed the way artisans thought about the design potential of furniture and wooden structural forms. Another celebrated artist, John James Audubon fell in love with the American landscape and sketched native wildlife and flora at Mill Grove, now a property dedicated to his life and works. The grounds boast more than seven miles of trails and stunning views of Perkiomen Creek. Chanticleer is a property renowned for its gardens. Thousands of bulbs clothe the ground in spring, followed by orchards of flowering trees with native wildflowers blooming in the woods. Perhaps the most extraordinary display of Impressionist art outside of Paris, the Barnes Collection in Merion Station (Amtrak Ardmore Station), once private, is open to the public by reservation.

About the Expert

Joanne Miller is the author of several Moon guidebooks, including Pennsylvania Handbook, Chesapeake Bay Handbook, and Maryland/Delaware Handbook.