Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route

Travelling south on Philadelphia Pike -- which becomes North Market Street at the Wilmington city line at the foot of steep Penny Hill -- takes one to the Brandywine Village section of the city. During the Revolutionary War and in the years which immediately followed, it was a separate mill town. Superfine flour milled there was exported, via the Delaware River, not only to the other colonies-cum-states but also to Europe.

Brandywine Village today includes a row of well-preserved houses which date back to the period. All are privately owned and are used for a variety of purposes. The strip is bounded on the north by the impressive Episcopalian Cathedral of St. John and one the south by a condominium complex on a side street called, appropriately enough, as Superfine Lane.

(click on photos to enlarge)

A short walk across the Market Street bridge, which spans the Brandywine, and along South Park Drive to West Street takes one to the preserved First Presbyterian Church, which predates the Revolutionary War and was used during the war by the British, who briefly occupied Wilmington, as a hospital for soldiers wounded during the Battle of the Brandywine. The church is open to the public on selected days.

The battle was fought in and around Chadds Ford, Pa., which lies about 10 miles upstream and can be reached via U.S. Route 202, which begins at Concord Avenue at the northern edge of Brandywine Village and U.S. Route 1.