11/15/2023 0 Comments Brandywine boston millsPowder mills were an especially dangerous place to work. “Turbines began to replace the water wheels.” “In the 1830s, mill technology changed,” says Clawson. After the war, foreign competition resumed. Though most material for clothing was then manufactured in Great Britain, early trade disputes, followed by the War of 1812, enticed American manufacturers-among them du Pont-to open woolen mills along the Brandywine. It was also an explosive perfect for carving out roads, canals and mine quarries. “He began buying up properties on both sides of the river starting in 1801-1802,” says Clawson.ĭu Pont de Nemours’ intention was to become a leader in the production of the black powder used as ammunition for hunting game and making war. Others cropped up on sites where previous mills had been destroyed by flood or fire, because the locations were good ones.Īrriving from France at the beginning of the 19th century, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemoursand his family were late to the milling industry. Many changed hands and names multiple times, along with the materials the mills produced. Additionally, there was to be no turbidity to the water as it left the mill.”Īs Clawson points out mill sites on the map and relates their histories, it quickly becomes apparent that it would be almost impossible to account for them all. “But they also had to get the approval of the people who owned the land opposite. “Mill owners had water rights to the center of the stream,” he says. Pointing to the map, he explains the public policy of the day. With his handlebar mustache, hair parted in the middle and modern clothing with a historic flair, Clawson looks the part of an archivist. More than 60 pounds of weight on the paddles lining the wheel would set it spinning.The water then flowed back into the creek for its continued journey to the Delaware Bay. Mill races channeled water into the building. The gradual decline in the Brandywine’s altitude was just right for powering the giant wheels used to grind ingredients or move machinery. “All along the river were great places for mills,” Clawson says. A reference archivist at Hagley Museum, he keeps a historical map on his office wall at the Soda House, which was once a storage building for black powder ingredients. Lucas Clawson is one of the foremost authorities on local mills. Here and there, traces of other mills linger as pieces of rock and brick peaking through the undergrowth. The du Ponts’ milling legacy has been preserved for visitors and researchers as the Hagley Museum & Library in Wilmington. Post Office, an art gallery and a studio. Breck’s Mill, on the opposite side of the creek from Walker’s, now houses a U.S. Walker’s Mill in Wilmington is an office building. Hoffman’s Mill in Chadds Ford is now the Brandywine River Museum of Art. Today, almost all of the mills have vanished, with the exception of a few preserved for other purposes.
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