Beginning in Delaware and ending in Pennsylvania, the Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway showcases some of the most beautiful scenery and historically significant sites in the mid-Atlantic. Starting at Rodney Square in Wilmington, DE and following the Route 52 and Route 100 corridors beyond the state line to Chadds Ford, PA, this looping scenic byway tells the story of the DuPont family, one of America’s wealthiest industrial families who were integral to the economic development of the Brandywine Valley. Their legacy left us with sprawling estates, world renowned gardens, and extraordinary art collections, most of which have now been turned into libraries, museums, hotels, education centers, and other cultural institutions. But theirs is not the only story this Byway has to tell. The Battle of Brandywine, a key battle in the Revolutionary War, was fought on the Valley’s lush grounds. Nearly 100 years later, that same landscape inspired the founding of the Brandywine School of Art, a uniquely American style of illustration that emphasizes the natural environment and whose influence can be seen in painters like N.C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, and Normal Rockwell. And Wilmington, DE., has over a dozen sites that played an essential role in the Underground Railway, where Harriet Tubman heroically led hundreds of enslaved people to safety and freedom. This unforgettable journey through vibrant, pedestrian-friendly villages and the gentle rolling hits of the Brandywine Valley landscape is a true original. No other corridor so clearly and directly depicts the relationship between transportation, the regional economy, and culture. With an unparalleled concentration of historic sites, magnificent estates, and glorious gardens, the Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway abounds with visions of a vanished century.