Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Signs

Now a symbol of the Penn Dutch areas of Pennsylvania and marketed as a quaint tourist item, hex signs originally were painted upon barns and outbuildings. There is much debate if they were simply decorative or if they carried extra meaning in the symbols and colors chosen. The German settlers in the south central region of Pennsylvania brought with them from their home country a love of decorative arts and a folk belief in the symbols and meanings behind them. This evolved into the ornate signs painted upon barns. Either for decoration or to ward off harm and invite the good qualities in, these colorful additions caught the attention of “English” outsiders when roads and automobiles opened up the country byways to tourists in the 1920’s. The term ‘hex’ sign was coined by outsiders to some debate. Some sources say the name is an English version of how the German word for six sounds when spoken in a Penn Dutch accent, one of the main themes of hex signs is a six pointed star, others say it’s from the German word Heks, meaning ‘witch’. Either way, these beautifully painted signs have made their, literal, mark on the country side.