The Brandywine Valley

Story and Photographs by Kris Grant

The Brandywine Valley is nestled amidst the rolling hills of southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, where the Battle of Brandywine was fought back in 1777, and northern New Castle County, Delaware, where the paper was milled for the Declaration of Independence and America’s first currency. So much to see, so little time…

My advice? Fly into Philadelphia International Airport, and if you haven’t yet seen Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, spend an afternoon taking in those historic sites. Then rent a car and beat it on down the road to the Brandywine Valley!

In less that an hour you will behold a countryside so beautiful and so bucolic, that it held the attention of one of America’s most notable artistic families – the Wyeths – for three generations. Not only that, grand estates from two branches of the du Pont family have evolved into magnificent venues that inspired me with their horticultural wonders and their richness of American art and antiquities.

Greater Philadelphia is known as America’s Garden Capital with more than 30 horticultural assets located within a 30mile radius. The crown jewel of them all is Longwood Gardens.

Known as one of the world’s greatest gardens, Longwood Gardens features 1,100 acres of meadows and woodlands and offers indoor and outdoor gardens and a breathtaking Grand Conservatory. It is also home to North America’s most significant fountain collections.

I began my tour of Longwood Gardens in the late afternoon, meeting Nina Kelly, director of marketing and communications for Chester County, the southern Pennsylvania county where much of the Brandywine Valley lies.

Nina timed our tour so that I could take in the evening’s illuminated “Festival of Fountains” show, themed “Swan Lake.” Indeed, the fountains danced, shooting water high in the air, with culminating fireworks, all synchronized to Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece. This year, the festival runs May 11 – Sept. 24.

Longwood Gardens’ history began when George Peirce, a Quaker farmer, purchased 402 acres of English-claimed land from William Penn. His son, Joshua, cleared and farmed the land and in 1730 built a brick farmhouse that has been enlarged and still stands today. Joshua’s sons planted a 15-acre arboretum and by 1850 it was one of the nation’s finest. But by the early 20th century, descendents had lost interest and the arboretum began to deteriorate.

When the property was about to be sold to a lumber mill operator, 36-yearold Pierre S. du Pont, an entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family came to the rescue, purchasing the property to save the trees. Over the next several years, he transformed the simple country farm into a horticultural masterpiece and in 1921 opened the gardens to the public and in 1937, established the nonprofit Longwood Foundation.

Longwood has great plans for its future: Longwood Reimagined will take 17 acres of its core garden experience and transform it into public spaces that keep with Longwood’s tradition of blending fountains and horticultural displays. A series of terraces will overlook meadows and the centerpiece, the new West Conservatory, a 32,000-square-foot greenhouse designed by New York City based multi-disciplinary design firm WEISS/MANFREDI, will feature asymmetrical crystalline peaks.

Inside, Mediterranean gardens designed by Reed-Hilderbrand landscape architects will feature a variety of species that will float over a plane of water under glass.

What a treasure it was to discover the Brandywine Museum of Art! The museum is known internationally for its collections of the Wyeth family – featuring galleries dedicated to the work of N. C., Andrew and Jamie Wyeth – as well as a fine collection of American illustration, still life and landscapes. It’s all housed on three floors inside a 19th-century mill fronting the Brandywine River that has been expanded with a dramatic steel-and-glass addition.

The museum also features a beautiful restaurant with views of Brandywine River, and a gift shop, featuring art-inspired gifts, prints of the Wyeths’ works and many of the classic books illustrated by N. C. Wyeth.

Newell Convers (“N. C.”) Wyeth (1882 – 1945) created more than 3,000 paintings and illustrated 112 books, 25 of them for Scribner’s Publishing, known as Scribner Classics. The first of these was “Treasure Island” and the proceeds paid for N.C.’s studio, attached to his family home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Tours of the studio, which remains much as N. C. left it, can be arranged through the Brandywine Museum. Tours are also available of Andrew Wyeth’s studio and the nearby Kuerner Farm, which was a major source of inspiration for Andrew Wyeth for over seventy years.

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) is recognized as one of the most important American artists of the 20th century. For more than seven decades, he painted the regions of Chadds Ford, where he was born, and midcoast Maine, where he spent most of the summer months.

Andrew was the youngest of N. C. and Carolyn Wyeth’s five children, all of whom entered creative pursuits. In his early years, Andrew worked under the tutelage of his father, who encouraged him to work as both an illustrator and painter. At age 15, Andrew launched his career as a watercolorist with a one-man show at the Macbeth Gallery in New York City, receiving immediate critical acclaim. He became a skilled master of egg tempera, a medium that employs the ancient method of blending dry pigment with egg yolk and water and applying them in layers. The time-consuming practice yields opaque, lustrous colors.

I had to ask about the Helga Pictures as they came to be known – the series of paintings that Andrew had done between 1971 and 1985 of Helga Testorf, who served as a nurse to terminally ill Karl Kuerner. Andrew did 268 paintings and drawings of Testorf, many of which depicted her nude, in the sanctuary of the Kuerner family farmhouse. When the paintings were made public in 1986 in conjunction with a sale of 240 of them to a Pennsylvania art collector, two of the images ended up on the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines in the same week. What was the nature of their relationship? Andrew and Helga remained tight-lipped throughout their lifetimes. It did, however, create a strain on his marriage to Andrew’s wife of 46 years, Betsy, who was also his business manager. Just after the sale went through, she told the New York Times, that she had seen paintings of the model in Andrew’s studio from time to time and inquired about her identity. ‘’I had this kind of female curiosity,’’ Mrs. Wyeth said. ‘’I would say, ‘Andy, who is she?’ And there was always this vague response. He would tense right up. But the work was so beautiful, it didn’t really bother me. I decided I would say nothing at all, just enjoy the picture.’’ Sadly, the art collector sold the Helga pieces to an international artist group in 1989 for $40 million.

Jamie Wyeth, Andrew’s son (born 1946) is an American realist painter, best known for portraiture. Jamie was approached by members of the Kennedy family to paint a posthumous portrait of President John F. Kennedy. His portraiture also extends to animals that surround him in Chadds Ford. One of his most famous works was on display at the museum:

“Portrait of Pig” is a 1970 oil-on-canvas of a neighbor’s enormous pig that Jamie rendered life-size.

Nestled in the hills of northern Delaware (and just 10 minutes south of Longwood Gardens), Winterthur is an unrivaled museum of American decorative arts, a superb naturalistic garden, and an outstanding research library. It reflects the interests and vision of its founder, Henry Francis (“H. F.”) du Pont.

Winterthur (pronounced “winter tour”) Museum, Garden & Library is situated on 979 acres near Brandywine Creek. The museum contains 175 period-room displays and approximately 90,000 objects. Most rooms are open to the public for tours, with knowledgeable docents stationed along the way.

H. F. du Pont (1880–1969) was born at Winterthur and, in his words, “always loved everything connected with it.”

The Winterthur story begins four generations before H.F. came onto the scene. His great-great grandfather Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours left postRevolutionary France in 1800, and settled in the Brandywine Valley where he founded a gunpowder manufacturing plant. Gunpowder became the source of the family’s wealth, which later expanded into chemical engineering and automotive manufacturing, including General Motors.

H. F. was a shy young man. Five older siblings died before him, none of them reaching adulthood. His younger sister Louise became a historic preservationist and a founding trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

In the years before World War I, Henry traveled extensively to study the great gardens of Europe. He took over management of the entire Winterthur estate in 1914, developing its farmland and raising a prize-winning herd of HolsteinFriesian cows. At Winterthur’s height, the property exceeded 2,500 acres. More than 250 workers tended the property and livestock. In addition to managing the farms, H. F. continued designing new areas and perfecting the Winterthur garden throughout his life.

You can tour the gardens in open-air trams, with guides providing narration about the flora (They pointed out 200 and 300-year-old trees, extended invitations to come back in May when thousands of rhododendrons are in bloom, and told us there are 2,000 azalea plants in Azalea Woods). There are lots of on-and-off stops should you wish to wander.

I was surprised (and pleased) to learn that H. F. had been influenced by two New England estates he visited, both in 1923 that stimulated his interest in American antiques. One was the estate of Electra Havemeyer Webb in Shelburne, Vermont, which I also visited last summer, just a month before heading to the Brandywine Valley. The other estate was Beauport, Henry Davis Sleeper’s summer home in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Sleeper was one of the country’s first professional interior designers. (I’ve added Beauport to my ‘must visit” list.)

Until his death in 1969, H. F. divided his time among his other homes in Southampton, Long Island; Boca Grande, Florida; and New York City. It was Winterthur, however, that he always called home—the place where he lived with his wife, Ruth, and two daughters.

I was fortunate to visit Winterthur during a special exhibition, Jacqueline Kennedy and H.F. du Pont: From Winterthur to the White House. In 1961 the First Lady was just 31 when she asked reserved octogenarian Henry Francis du Pont to chair her Fine Arts Committee that advised on the renovation of the White House. Du Pont used his contacts and expertise to acquire donations of fine art and furniture so that the renovation would reflect the best in American design. Their partnership culminated in a televised tour of the White House, led by the First Lady, which became the most watched program in American history at that time.

Another fascinating exhibit was Winterthur’s collection of soup tureens. Ranging from the elegant and beautiful to the whimsical and weird, the collection of more than 500 tureens in both precious metals and ceramic, include some valued at half a million dollars. A gift of 121 tureens was made in 1996 by the Campbell Soup Company. Considered a statement of wealth, several of the tureens date back to the 17th century and include those used by monarchies throughout Europe and Russia. In this country, George Washington owned several tureens.

In the heart of the Brandywine Valley you’ll find a square-mile tract of land that makes up the borough of Kennett Square, a city incorporated in 1855, whose history goes back even farther to the days of the Revolutionary War. That’s when thousands of British troops holed up in the vicinity as they prepared to take on General Washington and his troops on the ill-fated date of Sept. 11, 1777. Ill-fated? Yeah, we lost that battle, but eventually won the war.

By the late 1800s, agriculture in the form of mushrooms took hold here. Each year, 800 million pounds of mushrooms are shipped out of Kennett Square, supplying 65 percent of the nation’s mushrooms. Now that’s something to celebrate, and this picturesque village does just that each September. In fact, the banners were up across State Street, heralding the Mushroom Festival that would commence the following week.

The town is promoted by the Kennett Collaborative, whose mission is so endearing I must include it here: “We long to see Kennett Square become the most beautiful town in America, where people from different backgrounds, generations, and walks of life are welcome and can afford to live and contribute to the community, where new architecture complements old, where creativity flourishes and where everyone can belong and prosper.” Doesn’t that mission statement all by itself make you want to visit? Yes!

I met Jack Lodge of the Chester County CVB at Letty’s Tavern for lunch. Of course, I had to try the Mushroom Pizza, and it did not disappoint, with a rich mixture of fontina cheese, mushroom duxelle, and pan-seared mushrooms.

We stopped in at The Mushroom Cap, where I learned about all things fungi. The shop sells fresh mushrooms, gifts, collectibles, cookbooks and gourmet mushroom products. A portion of the store is dedicated to the history of mushroom farming in the area and there’s a short video that shows you how it’s done.

Shop manager Holly pulled out the cream of the crop of the ‘shroom varieties: Chicken of the Woods sell for $30 a pound and have the texture of chicken. She advised that Maitake mushrooms are said to have medicinal qualities. Pom Poms, which are good for your cognitive abilities, she said, taste like crab. Another exotic mushroom, the Royal Trumpet, was so named for its body type that resembles the musical instrument.

Jack and I ducked into several more shops including Mrs. Robinson’s Tea Shop, where you’ll find more than 200 tea varieties and its sister store next door, Sweets and Treats. Talula’s Table is a gourmet market by day and a destination farm-to-table dinner experience by night. Reservations for its eight-course tasting menu become available one year in advance of the numerical calendar date. (You can also check their website for last-minute cancellations.)

Yes! You can find some mighty pleasing wines in the Brandywine!

Chaddsford Winery, the oldest and largest of Pennsylvania’s wineries, is housed in a former 17th century dairy farm and has been a staple on the local scene since 1982. The venue includes outdoor patio spaces, an inviting lawn, a newly renovated barrel room and food trucks on most days. The wines are grown in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland with upwards of 30,000 cases produced annually, which range from dry to dessert sweet. And there’s one nongrape wine, its popular Spiced Apple wine, made from a combination of tart and sweet apples grown in West Seneca, New York. I particularly enjoyed a 2021 Chardonnay, with nuances of honeysuckle and ripe pear, and a 2021 Sparkling Rose.

Galer Estate Vineyard & Winery was just around the corner from my bed and breakfast, the Inn at Whitewing Farm and I joined winemaker Virginia Mitchell in tasting several of their award-winning varieties (they’ve won more than 150 since the winery opened in 2011). My favorite: Gruner Veltliner, with refreshing acidity and flavors of lime, grapefruit, grass and herbs.

Brad and Lele Galer started their winery in 2005 in nearby Pocopson and two years later bought the former Folly Hill Winery. After four years of building a fermentation room, tasting room, French Oak barrel room, a wine bottling and labeling facility, they opened in 2011. In addition to the winery’s rich wooded interior, there’s also a raised patio; you are welcome to bring your own food for picnics overlooking the Galer vineyard. Approximately 80 percent of the grapes are grown in Chester County; including plantings on the property.

Brad is a pharmaceutical executive and neurologist and also is the lead singer in the rock band, “The Pharmers.” His passion for wine is what led the Galers on their wine journey; Lele manages the winery. She is also an artist and welder (www.lelegaler.com), writes about art in local papers, runs art shows and manages the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail.

My last stop in the Brandywine Valley was in the town of West Chester at The Artisan Exchange – a fantastic and novel turnkey manufacturing and marketing co-op for budding entrepreneurs. I found myself wishing more communities had a similar opportunity!

Every Saturday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. you can shop at an unique outdoor market where much of the manufacturing is done right on the adjacent premises in a large commercial space, which has been subdivided into spaces as small as 130 square feet for individual businesses to set up operations. The brainchild of Frank Baldassarra, Artisan Exchange solves one of the biggest challenges for fledgling businesses – finding affordable, flexible and approved manufacturing space. At the heart of the exchange is a collaborative approach to production. In addition to their own proprietary space, each member has access to a shared sanitization station and a shipping/receiving/delivery corridor including loading docks. The exchange also has a fully equipped commercial kitchen that can be rented by the hour for even more flexibility.

I really enjoyed shopping at the exchange’s Saturday market and meeting the owners of some of the 60 current businesses that can also be accessed on the exchange’s website, www.artisanexchange.com. This friendly group of owners was happy to share samples of cheeses, empanadas, pasta, Thai food, homemade cookie dough, gourmet popcorn, even bourbon whiskey. Frank and Marilyn Baldassarre’s Golden Valley Farms

Coffee Roasters, family owned for over 30 years, is also manufactured on the premises. Their coffees are “Triple Rated” -- organic, Fair Trade and bird-friendly – now how can they be all that but also rich and delicious? Maybe it’s because its owners are giving back to their community in oh-so-many ways!

As I drove down gently winding Valley Road, looking for The Inn at Whitewing Farm, I marveled at the estates and gardens on the rolling hillsides. When a small sign and long drive pointing up to the Inn, I sensed this would be something special. It was truly what an ideal bed-and-breakfast could be.

The Inn at is owned by Lance and Sandy Shortt and their daughter Samantha. Lance and Sandy have known each other since their early teen years.

I parked my car near the 1700s-era Farmhouse and Lance escorted me by golf cart across immaculately kept grounds with rare trees and blooming perennials to the Pond House Cottage, which looked out over a spring-fed pond. (There’s also a spring-fed pool with Jacuzzi and tennis court for day and night play.)

It was heaven as I enjoyed a glass of wine on my porch, watching the fountain dance in the pond beyond. I slept well that night in my king-sized bed of crisp white linens. The next morning I headed to the farmhouse where Lance, his hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, was preparing an awesome breakfast. I heard him singing in the kitchen, “Peaceful, easy feeling…” Lance later told me he had played in bands in his earlier years and one of his buds is Tim Schmit, a singer/songwriter and bass guitarist with the Eagles. (Yes, Tim has been out to the inn.)

While rock-n-roll runs through Lance’s veins, it quickly became evident that Lance’s true calling was in culinary arts. The Shortts owned a tiny restaurant in Exton, Pennsylvania, which they expanded into a lively Italian-style family restaurant and thriving catering business. Lance was catering more and more events including weddings of 300+ people and thought it would be really cool to have an event space where he could base his catering.

When he got a tip that a property was for sale near Longwood Gardens, Lance drove out to see what is now Whitewing Farm. He was sold. But when he escorted Sandy out to the property, she told him he was out of his mind. “She refused to get out of the car,” Lance said with a wince, noting her fierce objections to the farm’s 20-mile distance from the restaurant. Yet Lance persisted, Sandy came around, and the Shortts bought the 13-acre estate in 2009. For ten years, Lance drove back and forth, working the restaurant by night and preparing breakfasts with Sandy at the Inn each morning and evolving into the innkeeping business. Five years ago, he sold the restaurant.

“And we still kind of like each other,” Sandy quipped.

“I don’t deserve all this,” Lance countered. Oh yes you do, Lance!

The website contains all the usual and useful information– things to do, places to stay, events, dining and shops. But what really intrigued me (and handy for my next visit) is the tab on “Towns and Villages” and under that “Must-Visit Main Streets”): I now want to check out Phoenixville and St. Peter’s Village. Also, Coatesville, a steel town on the brink of redevelopment. And Downieville, where a farmer’s market was the first place that pretzels were sold by the founders of Auntie Anne’s.

www.brandywinevalley.com

Kennett Square

Here are two websites that will acquaint you with all the shops, restaurants, events, farmers market, craft breweries and places to stay in Kennett Square. I particularly liked the profiles on the people who are following their passions in the community.

www.kennettcollaborative.org

www.mushroomfestival.org

The Inn at Whitewing Farm Bed & Breakfast

You can find many bed & breakfasts, hotels, extended stays and campground recommendations at the Chester County CVB website (above). But I heartily recommend a stay at Whitewing Farm, as it epitomizes all that is the Brandywine Valley.

www.innatwhitewingfarm.com

Letty’s Tavern

Pizza, elevated pub food, full bar in a welcoming, historic setting www.lettystavern.com

Portabellas of Kennett Square

One dinner entrée, Stroganoff, is described as “Prime Beef Short Ribs, Brandy, Cremini Mushrooms, Potato Dumplings, White Truffle Sour Cream.” You get the picture – high-end offerings, often incorporating mushrooms.

www.portabellosofkennettsquare.com

Talula’s Table

To enjoy this farm-to-table dining experience, reservations must be made one year in advance; call in at 7 a.m. to nab one of two tables: (610) 444-8255. www.talulastable.com

La Michoacana Homemade Ice Cream (Kennett Square)

Who says ice cream has to be vanilla? From La Michoacana’s 75 total flavors, 35 are offered daily, with unusual flavors such as its popular sweet corn, guava, avocado or cantaloupe.

www.lamichoacanahomemadeicecream.com

Chaddsford Winery

www.chaddsford.com

Galer Estate Vineyard & Winery

www.galerestate.com

Brandywine Valley Wine Trail www.bvwinetrail.com

County Cheers

A guide to Chester County’s craft breweries, wineries, pubs and watering holes. www.countycheers.com

www.longwoodgardens.org

Brandywine Museum of Art

www.brandywine.org

Brandywine Battlefield (Chadds Ford, PA)

Experience the largest single-day land battle of the American Revolution.

Admission ($8, adults; $7, seniors; $5, youth, 3 – 11) includes access to an 18-minute orientation film, the museum, and guided house tours (Fridays and Saturdays only) of both Washington’s HQ and the Gideon Gilpin House)

www.brandywinebattlefield.org

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

www.winterthur.org

Artisan Exchange

Outdoor and online market featuring artisanal foods and gift items. www.artisanexchange.com