Brandywine valley

Jenni and Will took us to the Brandywine Valley to places we have always wanted to visit but have never taken the time to see.

At the Hagley Museum we walked the Powder Yard Trail and learned how the DuPont Company made blasting powder and gun powder.

Will is explaining the workings of this model to our guide.

Inside the machine shop, totally renovated and working as it did in the day.

One of the gates.....

Dupont's workplace motto was, "Safety First."

All workers were checked at the gates for matches, alcohol, and metal in shoes, suspenders and belts. Even so, there were 288 explosions in the Brandywine powder mills between 1802 and 1921, resulting in 228 deaths.  After work, family  members met at the gates to meet their men or to receive bad news....

Brandywine River

Visitors' Center

Gun powder was used to build canals, roads, tunnels, quarry rock, and to clear land.  After the 1870s, dynamite made gun powder obsolete for most of this work.



We toured the Brandywine Battlefield where 11,000 continental soldiers spent the nights before the battle.  Washington established a rear guard defense used to stop the pursuing British during an American retreat at the end of the battle.

Visitors' center

Benjamin Ring House used as Washington's headquarters

Benjamin Ring, a local Quaker was a sympathizer of the Patriot cause and offered his home built in 1731 and typical of a traditional Quaker residence.

Trying out a whirlygig bought at the gift shop.

Cemetery flag at the Brandywine Baptist Church

Lunch at the local eatery, beautifully covered with blooming pots.