Brandywine Creek (Christina River)

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Brandywine Creek
Brandywine Creek near Wilmington

Brandywine Creek near Wilmington

Data
Water code US :  213697
location Pennsylvania , Delaware
River system Delaware River
Drain over Christina River  → Delaware River  → Atlantic Ocean
confluence from East Branch and West Branch Brandywine Creek
39 ° 55 ′ 21 ″  N , 75 ° 38 ′ 58 ″  W
Source height 53  m
muzzle at Wilmington in the Christina River Coordinates: 39 ° 43 '55 "  N , 75 ° 31' 53"  W 39 ° 43 '55 "  N , 75 ° 31' 53"  W.
Mouth height 0  m
Height difference 53 m
Bottom slope 1.7 ‰
length 32 km
Catchment area 777 km²
Drain MQ
 12 m³ / s
Medium-sized cities Wilmington
Brandywine River in Wilmington

Brandywine River in Wilmington

Cristina River and Brandywine Creek catchment area

Cristina River and Brandywine Creek catchment area

The Brandywine Creek (also called the Brandywine River ) is an approximately 32 km long left tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States . It flows into the Christina River at Wilmington , which in turn flows into the Delaware River a little later .

Run

The river arises as the East Branch and West Branch Brandywine Creek in western Chester County . The two arms join about 10 miles south of Coatesville , Pennsylvania between East Bradford and Pocopson . The river continues southeast through Chester County, passes Chadds Ford in Delaware County, and then enters Delaware state about 8 km north of Wilmington. There it flows through the Brandywine Creek State Park into Wilmington and flows east of the center into the Christina River, about 3 km above its confluence with the Delaware River estuary . The lower reaches of the river is classified as the Pennsylvania Scenic River with a few smaller tributaries.

history

At the confluence of Brandywine Creek and Christina River, Fort Christina was founded in 1638, the first settlement of the New Sweden colony . The Lenni Lenape (Delawaren) called the watercourse Wauwaset and the early Dutch and Swedish settlers called it Fiskiekylen ("Fischbach"). The current name probably goes back to an English settler named Andrew Braindwine.

The river crossing at Chadds Ford on the road from Baltimore to Philadelphia was the scene of the Battle of Brandywine in the American War of Independence on September 11, 1777 , after which the British took what was then the seat of the Philadelphia Continental Congress . At this point the 20 now houses  hectares large Brandywine Battlefield Park .

An artist colony called the Brandywine School , founded by Howard Pyle , also takes its name from the river . It also included NC Wyeth , Andrew Wyeth, and Jamie Wyeth . Chadds Ford is home to the Brandywine River Museum , which houses numerous works by these artists.

Use of hydropower

The river crosses the Fall Line a little above Wilmington , which lies at the transition from the Piedmont Plateau to the coastal plain . Numerous mills and hydropower plants were built on the steep drop with a height difference of around 100 meters. Among other things, the first black powder mills ( Eleutherian Mills ) from DuPont and the first paper mill in the United States were located here - in their place later one of the world's largest textile mills - the now closed Bancroft Mills - as well as grain and textile mills. One of the mill streams is preserved in Brandywine Park in central Wilmington. This park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s .

Brandywine Village

The Swedish settler Tyman Stidham started operating the first mill on Brandywine Creek in 1687. Brandywine Village was founded around 1735 on the opposite bank of Wilmington. By 1743 Oliver Canby owned three mills in the village. At this point there was already a weir and a mill stream south of Brandywine Creek.

In 1760 a bridge was built and Joseph Tatnall built two more flour mills. The millers cooperated in the marketing and quality of their products. Brandywine Superfine flour was shipped from Delaware Bay to other areas on the American Atlantic coast and the West Indies before the War of Independence .

Prior to the Battle of Brandywine, General Anthony Wayne took his headquarters in Brandywine Village and the Continental Army camped nearby.

literature

Web links

Commons : Brandywine Creek  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brandywine Creek ( English ) In: Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  2. ↑ Chadds Ford History ( English ) Retrieved on January 25, 2011th
  3. ↑ Greater Brandywine Village ( English ) In: 1730-1820 Milling, the Revolutionary War and Industrial Innovation . Retrieved January 25, 2011.