Brandywine Creek (Christina River tributary)
Brandywine Creek (also called the Brandywine River) is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine (the main stem) is 20.4 miles (32.8 km) long and is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River with several tributary streams. The East Branch and West Branch of the creek originate within 2 miles (3 km) of each other on the slopes of Welsh Mountain in Honey Brook Township, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of their confluence.
| Brandywine Creek | |
|---|---|
Hagley mill race on the Brandywine | |
Christina River Basin, including Brandywine Creek | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania, Delaware |
| Cities | Chadds Ford, PA, Wilmington, DE |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | West Branch Brandywine Creek |
| • location | Honey Brook Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania |
| • coordinates | 40°06′51″N 75°55′35″W |
| • elevation | 850 ft (260 m) |
| 2nd source | East Branch Brandywine Creek |
| • location | Honey Brook Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania |
| • coordinates | 40°07′09″N 75°53′15″W |
| • elevation | 686 ft (209 m) |
| Source confluence | |
| • location | East Bradford and Pocopson Townships, Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA |
| • coordinates | 39°55′21″N 75°38′58″W |
| • elevation | 184 ft (56 m) |
| Mouth | Christina River |
• location | Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware, USA |
• coordinates | 39°43′55″N 75°31′53″W |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 20 mi (32 km) |
| Basin size | 300 sq mi (780 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Wilmington |
| • average | 408 cu ft/s (11.6 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Christina River → Delaware River → Delaware Bay → Atlantic Ocean |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Plum Run Radley Run Harvey Run Wilson Run Beaver Creek Ramsey Run Rocky Run Husbands Run Alapocas Run |
| • right | Pocopson Creek Bennetts Run Ring Run Craigs Mill Run |
The mouth of the creek on the Christina River in present-day Wilmington, Delaware, is the site of the New Sweden colony, where colonists first landed on March 29, 1638. The Battle of Brandywine was fought around the creek near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 1777, during the American Revolution. Water-powered gristmills in Brandywine Village, near the creek mouth, and the nearby DuPont gunpowder mill were important in developing American industry before the introduction of steam power.