The Brandywine Valley, meandering from southeastern Pennsylvania into Delaware, preserves pre-Revolutionary War farms, 19th-century mansions, and some of the most ornate gardens in the country. Along a dozen mile-stretch of Route 1, you'll find a museum for the renowned local school of painting, Revolutionary War sites, friendly wineries, bucolic streams and farmscapes, historic taverns, the mushroom capital of America, and the legacy of the region's very own aristocratic family, the Du Ponts.
A QUICK WORD about the Du Ponts, since the family’s influence and heritage has touched this region ever more than the famed Wyeth clan of local painters. The Du Ponts emigrated here from post-Revolution France and used their talent for industry—and flair for decorative gardens and mansions—to transform a few Brandywine gunpowder mills into one of the world’s leading chemical and textile industries.
Among many, many innovations, Du Pont industries invented the first: synthetic rubber, nylon, Teflon, Stainmaster, Kevlar, and Lycra spandex. So whether you wear sheer hose, stretch pants, or a bullet-proof vest, or if you have forgotten what it was like actually to scrub a pot or have to call a carpet cleaner, the Du Ponts have changed your life.
GETTING YOUR BEARINGS
InsertArt(1941853)There are far too many sights and attractions to list here, so we’ll just concentrate on the heart of the Brandywine Valley, which lies about 20 minutes south of Philadelphia (or north of Wilmington, Delaware) along the stretch of Route 1 between the crossroads hamlet of Chadds Ford (www.chaddsfordhistory.org), which lies at the crossing of at Route 100 and the Brandywine River itself in Wyeth country, and the bustling small town of Kennett Square (www.kennett-square.pa.us), surrounded by Du Pont memories.
The regional tourist office is at the entrance to Longwood Gardens on Route 1 just outside the town of Kennett Square (800/228-9933, www.brandywinevalley.com). Ask the staff about the fascinating history of the tourist office building itself—from 1853 a meeting house for abolitionist Quakers, part of the Underground railroad, and a lecture hall hosting the era’s foremost foes of slavery, including Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Lucretia LaMott, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth.
The three major Brandywine sights do charge hefty admissions, but all are worth it. Offset the wallet drain with a shopping jaunt a few miles down Route 202; warehouse-sized superstores and endless shopping centers loom as you cross the Delaware border and the official welcome billboard reminds you that this state is the “Home of Tax-Free Shopping.”
WYETH COUNTRY
Driving down Route 1 from Philadelphia, after passing the suburban branch of the Franklin Mint (where they make all the collectibles) and descending into the valley itself, you’ll notice things becoming markedly more rural. Soon you’ll see on your right the entrance to the Brandywine Battlefield (www.ushistory.org/brandywine), where in 1777 George Washington suffered an early but rather educational defeat, and his 19-year-old French colleague General Lafayette became a hero. The visitors center/museum has the usual informative-if-dated film and displays, and on the property are preserved two venerable farmhouses, one each serving for Washington and Lafayette as home and HQ during the battle (the insides are only visitable on scheduled guided tours, for which you must pay). From 1 to 4pm on the second Sunday of each month from Apr through Oct (Apr 13, May 11, June 8, July 13, Aug 10, Oct 12), reenactors—both soldiers and civilians—try to recreate what life would have been like round these parts on the eve of the battle. The big reenactment, with the battle and all, takes place on Sunday, Sept 14, but they charge admission for this one. Otherwise, admission to the park and museum are free, and it’s open Tuesday to Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday noon to 5pm.
Just a little ways past it to the left is the entrance to the Brandywine Museum (610/388-2700, www.brandywinemuseum.org). It showcases the Brandywine School of painting (plus some Hudson valley School artists), especially the local Wyeth artistic dynasty—N.C. Wyeth’s original paintings that were used to make the illustrations in such classics as Treasure Island; his son Andrew’s delicate, intense studies; and moody watercolors by grandson Jamie (who currently splits his time between the Brandywine valley and a house in Maine). The core of the museum is installed in an old streamside mill—look for the worn old circular millstones set into the cement of the ground’s walkways—and features a lovely tiny park with bronze animal sculpture and benches to sit and watch the water flow by. Included in the admission is a shuttle just down the road to visit N.C. Wyeth’s house and studio. The museum is open daily 9:30am to 4:30pm. Admission is $6.
You can self-tour Chaddsford Winery, 632 Baltimore Pike/Route 1 (610/388-6221, www.chaddsford.com), a family-run operation for 21 years that bottles about 18 different wines. Wine Spectator magazine even rated their Chardonnay tops on the East Coast. There is a regular schedule of fun events--special tastings, live music, wine classes--and they sell cheese, salamis, and crackers (and wine, of course) for picnicking on the patio and lawn tables overlooking a few strings of vines imported from Tuscany. It's open daily noon to 6pm, and you pay $5 to sample nine wines (but you get to keep the souvenir glass).
LONGWOOD GARDENS & MARVELOUS MUSHROOMS
In 1906, Pierce Du Pont bought the old 1798 Pierce's Park to save it from loggers. By the 1920s, the family penchant for gardening turned these 1,050 acres into Longwood Gardens, widely regarded as the best horticultural display in America, located on Route 1 just outside Kennett Square (610/388-1000, www.longwoodgardens.org). Spend a few hours exploring the 20 indoor gardens, over 11,000 species of plants, and a complex array of fountains in the some 20 outdoor gardens that are used to put on evening shows in summer and December.
The gardens are open Nov and Jan 5 to Mar 9am to 5pm; April, May, Sept and Oct 9am to 6pm; June to Aug 9am to 6pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, to 10:15pm Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (the fountains are turned on these nights); Thanksgiving to Jan 4 9am to 9pm. Admission is $12 ($8 on Tuesdays) Jan 6 to Apr 17, $14 ($10 on Tuesdays) Apr 18 to Nov 26, and $15 daily Nov 27 to Jan 4.
InsertArt(1941855)Incidentally, little Kennett Square is proud to be the largest producer of mushrooms in the U.S., though the farms are located underground so it's hard to appreciate this fungal breadbasket (pop into the local Dairy Queen mentioned below for some great fried 'shrooms).
DU PONT DECORATIVE EXTRAVAGENCE: WINTERTHUR
Winterthur, five miles south of Route 1 on Route 52, just over the Delaware border (800/448-3883, www.winterthur.org) is not only the best museum of decorative arts in America, it is also a unique museum of U.S. regional interior design, showcasing in 175 rooms the styles of dozens of American homes dating back as far as 1640.
This was the vision of preservation-minded Henry Francis Du Pont, who used his vast wealth to buy up authentic period homes in order to salvage a single room from each--from baseboards to chandeliers and all the furnishings in between--and tack it onto his hybrid mansion. You may pass from the door of a simple Shaker living room into a sumptuous townhouse study, then come across a mansion's sweeping staircase.
The vast park, woods, and gardens surrounding it are lovely, too, second in this region only to Longwood; a 30-minute garden tram ride is included with admission. Both museum and grounds are open daily, 10am to 5pm. Admission is $10, $15 to pick one of seven thematic tours (45 minutes to an hour), or $25 with a semi-private, small group 2-hour tour.
BRANDYWINE BEDROOMS
The official Web site at www.brandywinevalley.com lists and links to dozens of lodging options, including all the chains, but here are a few independents and cheap motels that fall through the cracks, plus a couple of the best-located (and less pricey) of the local B&Bs and farms that invite you to stay.
The Hillside Motel, 458 Baltimore Pike/Route 1 in Glen Mills just before you get to the core of the Valley (610/459-9796), has barely acceptable bare-bones rooms and surly management, but it's darn cheap--doubles are $43 Sunday to Thursday, $47 weekends.
Nearby--and quite a sight nicer--Crier in the Country, 1 Crier in the Country Lane at Route 1 (610/358-2411, www.crierinthecountry.com; $65), has canopied queen beds and Victorian furnishings, plus does a room-and-dinner (and breakfast) package at their fine restaurant (first and second courses plus dessert) for $100 per couple.
Most inns and B&Bs in and around Chadds Ford/Kennett Square charge over $100. Prices are a smidgen lower in West Chester, 10 miles north of Route 1 on Route 202. Check out the Microtel (888/619-9292, www.fieldhotels.com/miswc.htm; $59 last-minute rates on the Web site, or $69 on weekends with the second night half-off or the third night free), and the Abbey Green Motor Lodge, 1036 Wilmington Pike/Route 202 (610/692-3310; $65).
Amongst the cheaper B&B you'll find
The Bankhouse,
875 Hillsdale Rd. (610/344-7388, www.bbonline.com/pa/bankhouse; $70-$75 with shared bathroom, $90-$95 with private bathroom), or the
1810 House,
1280 W. Strasburg Rd. (610/430-6013, www.bbonline.com/pa/1810house; $85 weekdays, $95 weekends).
There are also two working farms you could stay on that are located about halfway between the Brandywine Valley and the famed Pennsylvania Dutch Country, should you want to visit both regions: Elver Valley Farm, 432 Sawmill Road, off Route 41 in Chochranville (877/863-5837, www.pafarmstay.com/elvervalley; $55 in the Guest House, $45 cabin for family of 4); and The Olde Stone Guesthouse, 1599 Swann Rd. in Atglen, off Route 30 between Routes 10 and 41 (888/642-9107, www.oldestoneguesthouse.com; $65-$75, or $85 in the private Spring House).
DINING IN THE BRANDYWINE
Hank's Place, on Route 1 at Chadds Ford (610/388-7061), is a little diner/cafe that caught Gourmet magazine's attention with its breakfasts, though the cheap lunches are good, too, and dishes rarely cost over $6.
Chadds Ford Tavern, on Route 1 at the Battlefield, 1 mile north of Route 100 (610/459-8453, www.chaddsfordtavern.com), serves $5.25 to $6.95 sandwiches (and a full dinner menu) in dark wood booths under a hammered tin ceiling.
The unassuming Dairy Queen, on Route 1 just north of Kennett Square, has long been a requisite Brandywine stop for Philly cognoscenti to grab an order of deep fried mushrooms fresh from the famed local farms for just $1.52.
The main drag in Kennett Square is lined with eateries. The Half Moon Cafe, 108 W. State St (610/444-7232, www.halfmoonrestaurant.com; closed Sun), has scrumptious and eclectic salads and sandwiches for $4.95-$7.95, and hand-pulled ales and beers, including a few local microbrews. A few doors down, Enzo's (no phone) does a slice of pizza and a coke for $2.50.
On Route 52 just over the Delaware border, Buckley's Tavern (302/656-9776) has been a popular bar with the locals since 1950 and does delicious $6 burgers.
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Copyright © 2003 Newsweek Budget Travel, Inc.
Associate Editor Reid Bramblett is from suburban Philadelphia, as was dragged--er, taken--at least annually to Longwood Gardens and Winterthur as a child who was, shall we say, not terribly interested in endless greenhouses and rambling mansions. He survived, and grew up to write travel guidebooks for Eyewitness, Frommer's, and the Idiot's and For Dummies series (yes, both of them) before joining the Budget Travel staff in 2002.