Chadds Ford grew along an important early thoroughfare where it crossed the Brandywine Creek. Travelers along this east-west highway between Philadelphia and Baltimore were obliged to ford the creek at property owned by businessman John Chads. At first, farms, mills, and homesteads composed the architectural landscape. As the town grew, so did businesses, such as the Gallagher General Store and the Chadds Ford Hotel. By the end of the nineteenth century, wealthy Philadelphians, attracted by Chadds Ford's pastoral setting, began to build stately summer homes. Around Chadds Ford features photographs from 1870 to 1950, when the town enjoyed the sophistication of these newcomers but still retained its rural flavor.