In 1939, the Boyertown Body Works of Boyertown, Pennsylvania was commissioned by the Chrysler Corporation to build a few station wagon bodies using Dodge chassis.

One of the designs was called the Town and Country—allegedly it was said, because the front of the car looked “town,” and the rear “country.” The name stuck in the mind of Chrysler Division President David A.

Wallace, who secretly commissioned the engineering department at Chrysler’s Highland Park plant to build his vision of what the car should be.

Once completed, the car was shown to top brass; it was immediately ordered into production and introduced in March 1941 as a mid-year model.

Dubbed a “barrel-back” due to its unique design, it was essentially a station wagon available in six- and nine-passenger models.

Rather than a conventional trunk or tailgate, the luggage compartment was accessed via two doors hinged at the sides like two halves of a barrel.

All Town and Country examples were powered by Chrysler’s 112-ho...