The Brandywine River winds from Southeastern Pennsylvania into Delaware carving out the beautiful rolling hills and valleys that are the landmarks of the Brandywine Valley. The Valley is where the Battle of Brandywine was fought, where the Du Pont's made their fortunes, built a company, and their mansions and gardens at Longwood, Winterthur, Hagley and Nemours that attract millions of visitors from around the world. Historians tell us that the Lenape Indians called the Brandywine River, "Wawaset", "Sittacunck" and "Tankopanican". Swedish settlers called it the Fish Kill (kill meaning creek in Swedish) for the large amount of fish in the creek particularly shad and alewives. The origin of the name Brandywine is unclear. Some say it comes from a story recounting the wreck of a Dutch ship at the mouth of the stream carrying "brandywine" - a potent Dutch spirit. Most historians, however, believe it comes from an early settler, Andreas Brainwende (or Brantwyn), who established one of the first grain mills on the lower river. http://www.hsd.org/DBV/ http://www.thebrandywine.com/