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116-520: The park covers the early colonial history of Delaware and the role Delaware played in the establishment of the nation, leading up to it being the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It tells the unique story of the early settlement of the Delaware Valley by the Dutch, Swedes, Finns, and English and their relationship with Native Americans. It also seeks to preserve the cultural landscape of

232-601: A Recorded Minister in Manchester . His 1835 book A Beacon to the Society of Friends insisted that the inner light was at odds with a religious belief in salvation by the atonement of Christ. This Christian controversy led to Crewdson's resignation from the Religious Society of Friends, along with 48 fellow members of Manchester Meeting and about 250 other British Quakers in 1836–1837. Some of these joined

348-577: A Swedish colonist, Tyman Stidham, opened the first mill on the Brandywine, near Wilmington. Holme's 1687 map shows only five land claims along the Brandywine, all near present-day Chadds Ford. Land claims of the earlier Swedish and Dutch colonists were not noted on this map. While the Lenape still remained along the Brandywine, they had by this time been decimated by European diseases and wars with Susquehannock and later Iroquois tribes over control of

464-507: A charge of religious blasphemy . According to Fox's autobiography, Bennet "was the first that called us Quakers, because I bade them tremble at the word of the Lord". It is thought that Fox was referring to Isaiah 66:2 or Ezra 9:4 . Thus the name Quaker began as a way of ridiculing Fox's admonition, but became widely accepted and used by some Quakers. Quakers also described themselves using terms such as true Christianity, Saints, Children of

580-569: A few feet above sea level in Wilmington. The steep descent powered many early industrial activities, including flour milling and the original DuPont gunpowder mills, while the navigable channel to the Delaware River and Delaware Bay allowed manufacturers to load ocean-going ships from near their mills. By 1687, a Swedish colonist, Tyman Stidham opened the first mill on the Brandywine, near Wilmington. About 1735, Brandywine Village

696-510: A great people to be gathered". Following this he travelled around England, the Netherlands, and Barbados preaching and teaching with the aim of converting new adherents to his faith. The central theme of his Gospel message was that Christ has come to teach his people himself. Fox considered himself to be restoring a true, "pure" Christian church. In 1650, Fox was brought before the magistrates Gervase Bennet and Nathaniel Barton, on

812-550: A judge to quake "before the authority of God". The Friends are generally united by a belief in each human's ability to be guided by the inward light to "make the witness of God" known to everyone. Quakers have traditionally professed a priesthood of all believers inspired by the First Epistle of Peter . They include those with evangelical , holiness , liberal, and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity, as well as Nontheist Quakers . To differing extents,

928-494: A meeting house in 1672 that was visited by George Fox in the same year. They were able to establish thriving communities in the Delaware Valley , although they continued to experience persecution in some areas, such as New England . The three colonies that tolerated Quakers at this time were West Jersey , Rhode Island , and Pennsylvania , where Quakers established themselves politically. In Rhode Island, 36 governors in

1044-568: A more structured organisation, which led to separate women's meetings. Through the women's meetings, women oversaw domestic and community life, including marriage. From the beginning, Quaker women, notably Margaret Fell , played an important role in defining Quakerism. They were involved in missionary work in various ways and places. Early Quaker women missionaries included Sarah Cheevers and Katharine Evans. Others active in proselytising included Mary Penington , Mary Mollineux and Barbara Blaugdone . Quaker women published at least 220 texts during

1160-574: A national Famine Relief Committee in May 1942, encouraging a network of local famine relief committees, among the most energetic of which was the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, Oxfam . Irving and Dorothy Stowe co-founded Greenpeace with many other environmental activists in 1971, shortly after becoming Quakers. Some Quakers in America and Britain became known for their involvement in

1276-638: A new world rather than fighting to destroy the old", as did the American Friends Service Committee . Birmingham in England had a strong Quaker community during the war. Many British Quakers were conscripted into the Non-Combatant Corps during both world wars. After the two world wars had brought the different Quaker strands closer together, Friends from different yearly meetings – many having served together in

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1392-677: A peak of 60,000 in England and Wales by 1680 (1.15% of the population of England and Wales). But the dominant discourse of Protestantism viewed the Quakers as a blasphemous challenge to social and political order, leading to official persecution in England and Wales under the Quaker Act 1662 and the Conventicle Act 1664 . This persecution of Dissenters was relaxed after the Declaration of Indulgence (1687–1688) and stopped under

1508-662: A series of trials in the Court House when prominent Quaker abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors Thomas Garrett and John Hunn were accused of violating the Fugitive Slave Act. The Garrett trial was an inspiration to Harriet Beecher Stowe for certain scenes in Uncle Tom's Cabin . The New Castle Green was first laid out as a town common in the 1650s by the Dutch colonists who founded New Castle. It

1624-664: A statement of faith known as the Richmond Declaration . Supported by many of the older, longstanding members in the London Yearly Meeting, Braithwaite saw the Richmond Declaration of Faith as being a bulwark against "unsound and dangerous doctrine" in times when Friends were "in a state of discipline and warfare". This statement of faith was agreed to by 95 of the representatives at a meeting of Five Years Meeting Friends, but unexpectedly

1740-854: A variety of industries. Two notable examples were Abraham Darby I and Edward Pease . Darby and his family played an important role in the British Industrial Revolution with their innovations in ironmaking. Pease, a Darlington manufacturer, was the main promoter of the Stockton and Darlington Railway , which was the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives. Other industries with prominent Quaker businesses included banking ( Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays PLC ), pharmaceuticals ( Allen & Hanburys ), chocolate ( Cadbury and Fry's ), confectionery (Rowntree ), shoe manufacturing ( Clarks ), and biscuit manufacturing ( Huntley & Palmers ). Voltaire 's Letters on

1856-644: Is an enclosed park that preserves the original landing site, known as "The Rocks," of the colonists who established New Sweden in 1638, the first European settlement in the Delaware Valley. After negotiating with the local Leni Lenape to purchase the land, the settlers disembarked from their ships, the Fogel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel , and built a fort and town at this site. As the colony grew, more settlers arrived and spread out, establishing outposts in New Jersey , outside present-day Philadelphia , and along

1972-520: Is located a block away from the spot where William Penn first arrived in America in 1682, and is bounded by several historic structures, including the Court House, the 1809 federal Arsenal, and the 1703 Immanuel Episcopal Church on the Green where founder George Read is buried. The Sheriff's House, built in 1857, abuts the Court House and will eventually serve as First State National Historical Park's headquarters and Visitor's Center. The Court House and

2088-576: Is now the Mid-India Yearly Meeting. Later it spread to Madagascar from 1867, China from 1896, Sri Lanka from 1896, and Pemba Island from 1897. After the 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus between Christians and Druze, many missionaries flocked to Ottoman Syria . These missionaries included Friends from several nations. The Friends Syrian Mission was established in 1874, which among other institutions ran

2204-499: Is one of the oldest courthouses in the country and played a role in a number of historic events that shaped the nation. The cupola of the Court House is the center of a 12 mile circle that forms the border between Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland ; the most famous attempt to survey these borders, incorporating the circle, was the Mason-Dixon line . The building was used as the meeting place for Delaware's colonial assembly, and

2320-535: Is owned by the city of Dover, with the National Park Service owning a conservation easement. It is approximately 40 miles south of the park headquarters in New Castle. Brandywine Valley (formerly Beaver Valley) consists of land originally purchased in the early 1900s by Quaker industrialist and conservationist William Poole Bancroft , whose goal it was to preserve as much land as possible along

2436-623: Is so, so important that this state, where it all began, has sites that reflect our extraordinarily old, among the oldest, histories of settlement on this continent and that we unite with all the other states in celebrating that." Despite this, while the bill was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, it failed to pass in the full Senate and was not approved in the House committee. The Mt. Cuba Center donated over $ 20 million to The Conservation Fund enabling it to purchase

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2552-665: Is still felt with over 16 Quaker Meetings and several Quaker schools operating in the area. The Quaker millers near the mouth of the Brandywine cooperated in maintaining quality and branding the flour. "Brandywine Superfine" flour was shipped all along the Atlantic coast and to the West Indies even before the American Revolution. A base point for surveying the Mason-Dixon line , known as the Stargazers' Stone,

2668-663: The Act of Toleration 1689 . One modern view of Quakerism at this time was that the direct relationship with Christ was encouraged through spiritualisation of human relations, and "the redefinition of the Quakers as a holy tribe, 'the family and household of God ' ". Together with Margaret Fell , the wife of Thomas Fell , who was the vice-chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and an eminent judge, Fox developed new conceptions of family and community that emphasised "holy conversation": speech and behaviour that reflected piety, faith, and love. With

2784-537: The Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution from Rhode Island Quakers, trial by jury, equal rights for men and women, and public education. The Liberty Bell was cast by Quakers in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. Early Quakerism tolerated boisterous behaviour that challenged conventional etiquette, but by 1700, its adherents no longer supported disruptive and unruly behaviour. During the 18th century, Quakers entered

2900-476: The Brandywine River Valley. Russ Smith, the park's first superintendent, described its mission in part as, "I think it's... the recognition that it's not all about Jamestown and Plymouth Rock. There were 13 different traditions established in the 1600s that came together in 1776. The designation helps shine a light on that story. The way this place differs from other places is the diversity of

3016-497: The Brandywine River to ensure its scenic rural beauty remained for future generations as the cities of Wilmington and Philadelphia continued to expand. Much of the land has remained unchanged since it was set aside for preservation, and it includes forests and rolling farmsteads that were once primarily settled by the Quakers who followed Penn to America. The tract is adjacent to Delaware's Brandywine Creek State Park , and

3132-588: The Brandywine Valley National Scenic Byway runs through it. Brandywine Valley is owned by the National Park Service. It is approximately 12 miles north of the park headquarters in New Castle. Brandywine Valley is the largest component of First State National Historical Park, comprising 1,100 acres (220 of which extend into southeastern Pennsylvania). It is open for recreational activities such as hiking, horseback riding, biking, and kayaking. Located in Wilmington, Fort Christina

3248-764: The Conestoga Valley to Brandywine flour mills. A group of painters, including N. C. Wyeth , Andrew Wyeth , Jamie Wyeth and Howard Pyle , are referred to as the " Brandywine School " especially for their landscape works which depict the Brandywine valley. Many of their works are on view at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford. The Brandywine crosses the Fall Line just north of Wilmington. The elevation falls from about 160 feet (49 m) above sea level in Chadds Ford, to just

3364-762: The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms . Later he was also the primary author of the Articles of Confederation , and was one of the drafters of the U.S. Constitution. The plantation is a National Historic Landmark. Prior to the creation of the First State National Monument, Delaware did not have a unit of the National Park System within its borders, a fact which was troubling to U.S. Senator Tom Carper . Beginning in 2002, Carper began holding hearings around

3480-540: The Delaware River . The Swedes, Dutch and English disputed possession of the area until 1674, when the English gained control. William Penn was granted a charter for Pennsylvania in 1681 and gained control over the "lower three counties," as Delaware was then known, soon thereafter. The population of New Sweden had only reached about 1,000, on the western shore of the Delaware, by the time of Penn's arrival. By 1687,

3596-524: The East Branch and West Branch , downstream of the confluence, is defined as Brandywine Creek and continues to flow southeast through Chester County, past Chadds Ford , Delaware County, Pennsylvania then enters the state of Delaware about 5 miles (8 km) north of Wilmington . The creek continues south through First State National Historical Park and Brandywine Creek State Park , into Wilmington, where it flows through Brandywine Park near

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3712-645: The Great Separation of 1827, which resulted in a parallel system of Yearly Meetings in America, joined by Friends from Philadelphia, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Baltimore. They were referred to by opponents as Hicksites and by others and sometimes themselves as Orthodox. Quakers in Britain recognised only the Orthodox Quakers and refused to correspond with the Hicksites. Isaac Crewdson was

3828-711: The Inward light . They were imprisoned in harsh conditions for five weeks and banished by the Massachusetts Bay Colony . Their books were burned, and most of their property confiscated. In 1660, English Quaker Mary Dyer was hanged near Boston Common for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony. She was one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs . In 1661, King Charles II forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism. In 1684, England revoked

3944-574: The London Yearly Meeting for the same reason in 1865. They formed a separate body of Friends called Fritchley General Meeting , which remained distinct and separate from London Yearly Meeting until 1968. Similar splits took place in Canada. The Yearly Meetings that supported John Wilbur's religious beliefs became known as Conservative Friends . In 1887, a Gurneyite Quaker of British descent, Joseph Bevan Braithwaite , proposed to Friends

4060-767: The Nobel Peace Prize . Religious strife in the Kingdom of England had existed for centuries, with proto-Protestant groups (mainly the Lollards ) popping up before the English Reformation brought radical ideas to the mainstream. During and after the English Civil War (1642–1651) many dissenting Christian groups emerged, including the Seekers and others. A young man, George Fox ,

4176-782: The Penn's Creek Massacre of 1755. Early colonial Quakers also established communities and meeting houses in North Carolina and Maryland, after fleeing persecution by the Anglican Church in Virginia. In a 2007 interview, author David Yount ( How the Quakers Invented America ) said that Quakers first introduced many ideas that later became mainstream, such as democracy in the Pennsylvania legislature,

4292-606: The Plymouth Brethren . Orthodox Friends became more evangelical during the 19th century and were influenced by the Second Great Awakening . This movement was led by British Quaker Joseph John Gurney . Christian Friends held Revival meetings in America and became involved in the Holiness movement of churches. Quakers such as Hannah Whitall Smith and Robert Pearsall Smith became speakers in

4408-474: The Quietist period in the history of their church, becoming more inward-looking spiritually and less active in converting others. Marrying outside the Society was cause for having one's membership revoked. Numbers dwindled, dropping to 19,800 in England and Wales by 1800 (0.21% of the population), and 13,859 by 1860 (0.07% of population). The formal name "Religious Society of Friends" dates from this period and

4524-700: The Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank, which still exist today and is affiliated with the Friends United Meeting . The Swiss missionary Theophilus Waldmeier founded Brummana High School in Lebanon in 1873. Evangelical Friends Churches from Ohio Yearly Meeting sent missionaries to India in 1896, forming what is now Bundelkhand Yearly Meeting . Cleveland Friends went to Mombasa , Kenya , and started what became

4640-576: The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade , or The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, were Quakers: John Barton (1755–1789); William Dillwyn (1743–1824); George Harrison (1747–1827); Samuel Hoare Jr (1751–1825); Joseph Hooper (1732–1789); John Lloyd; Joseph Woods Sr (1738–1812); James Phillips (1745–1799); and Richard Phillips. Five of the Quakers had been amongst

4756-548: 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. The mouth of

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4872-593: The University of Delaware Water Resources Center. Download coordinates as: Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends , a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations . Members refer to each other as Friends after John 15:14 in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers because the founder of the movement, George Fox , told

4988-467: The established Church of England . The Quakers, especially the Valiant Sixty , sought to convert others by travelling through Britain and overseas preaching the Gospel. Some early Quaker ministers were women. They based their message on a belief that "Christ has come to teach his people himself", stressing direct relations with God through Jesus Christ and belief in the universal priesthood of all believers. This personal religious experience of Christ

5104-429: The fur trade with Europeans. Their estimated population had fallen from 10,000–20,000 in 1600 to 2,000 in 1682. The Lenape signed a series of treaties with the Europeans, beginning with a 1682 treaty with William Penn, but were forced out of eastern Pennsylvania by the time of the French and Indian War . During the 1720s and 1730s, the Lenape claimed that William Penn had granted them all the land 1 mile on each side of

5220-413: The log cabin into America. They called the creek Fiskiekylen, or "Fish Creek", and the Dutch heritage is also reflected in Fiske Creek and variant names using the Dutch word "Kill" or stream, Bainwend Kill, Brandewyn Kill, and Brandywine Kill. The creek's current name may be from an old Dutch word for brandy or gin, brandewijn, or from the Swedish word brännvin (swedish vodka). During the colonisation of

5336-404: The 1650s, individual Quaker women prophesied and preached publicly, developing charismatic personae and spreading the sect. This practice was bolstered by the movement's firm concept of spiritual equality for men and women. Moreover, Quakerism initially was propelled by the nonconformist behaviours of its followers, especially women who broke from social norms. By the 1660s, the movement had gained

5452-480: The 1780s helped local mills increase their efficiency, ushering in the Industrial Revolution . The first paper mill in Delaware, Gilpin's mill in north Wilmington, opened in 1787. This site was later used by one of the largest textile mills in the world, Bancroft Mills , which is now closed. In 1796, the village contained 12 mills that could grind 400,000 bushels of grain per year. By 1806, there were "about fifty or sixty snug brick, stone, and frame houses" in

5568-412: The 17th century. However, some Quakers resented the power of women in the community. In the early years of Quakerism, George Fox faced resistance in developing and establishing women's meetings. As controversy increased, Fox did not fully adhere to his agenda. For example, he established the London Six Weeks Meeting in 1671 as a regulatory body, led by 35 women and 49 men. Even so, conflict culminated in

5684-661: The Bible as secondary to the individual cultivation of God's light within. With Gurneyite Quakers' shift toward Protestant principles and away from the spiritualisation of human relations, women's role as promoters of "holy conversation" started to decrease. Conversely, within the Hicksite movement the rejection of the market economy and the continuing focus on community and family bonds tended to encourage women to retain their role as powerful arbiters. Elias Hicks 's religious views were claimed to be universalist and to contradict Quakers' historical orthodox Christian beliefs and practices. Hicks' Gospel preaching and teaching precipitated

5800-411: The Brandywine River. The park is a National Historic Landmark and includes a monument by Swedish sculptor Carl Milles that was donated by Sweden for the colony's tricentennial anniversary. Old Swedes' Church is located in Wilmington about a block from Fort Christina, where the New Sweden colony was first established. Built in 1698, it is one of the oldest churches in the United States. It was built on

5916-511: The Brandywine Valley. Native Americans of the Algonquian -speaking Lenape (or Delaware) Nation lived in the area between the Hudson River Valley and southern Delaware before the European settlement. They lived by hunting, farming corn, beans, and squash, and by fishing. The Brandywine had an especially rich shad fishery. The Lenape called the creek Wauwaset, Wawasiungh, or Wawassan, and other Native American names for it included Suspecough and Trancocopanican. The first European settlement on

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6032-439: The Brandywine are on the National Register of Historic Places . Several dams block passage to American shad ( Alosa sapidissima ) spawning runs which cannot access the Pennsylvania reaches of the river. The first of eight dams on Brandywine Creek was removed in 2019, enabling shad to migrate further up the river. The plan to remove all eight dams is known as "Brandywine Shad 2020" and has been led by Professor Jerry Kauffman of

6148-432: The Brandywine was Swedish. On March 29, 1638, Peter Minuit , who had earlier explored the area for the Dutch, founded the colony of New Sweden near the confluence of the Christina and Brandywine, at Fort Christina , in present-day Wilmington. About 600 Swedes, Finns, and Dutch settled in New Sweden. They tended to settle along the Delaware River rather than move inland along the Brandywine and are credited with introducing

6264-443: The British forces, was marching north on Baltimore Pike (now U.S. Route 1 ) toward Philadelphia and needed to ford the Brandywine near Chadds Ford. General George Washington , massed most of his American forces on the banks of the creek near Chadds Ford, and protected other fords as far as 5 miles (8.0 km) north and 3 miles (4.8 km) south. The Brandywine Battlefield Park covers only 50 acres (200,000 m ), but during

6380-419: The Conservation Fund could not continue to hold onto the Woodlawn property, increasing the urgency. This led to the presidential proclamation on March 25 creating the National Monument. The Conservation Fund donated the 1,100 acres of Woodlawn land to the National Park Service, becoming the Brandywine Valley unit. Language redesignating the First State National Monument as the First State National Historical Park

6496-479: The Downingtown Log House, was built about 1700 where the road between Philadelphia and Lancaster, later known as the Lancaster Pike , crossed the east branch. Thomas Moore built a grist mill in 1716 and Roger Hunt built another in 1739, which operated through at least 1908. Both the Downingtown Log House and the Roger Hunt Mill still stand today. Milltown was the halfway point on the journey between Philadelphia and Lancaster, so several inns served travelers, including

6612-438: The English (1733) included the spirit of commerce and religious diversity in Great Britain, with the first four letters based on the Quakers. Quakers have a long history of establishing educational institutions. Initially, Quakers had no ordained clergy , and therefore needed no seminaries for theological training. In England, Quaker schools sprang up soon after the movement emerged, with Friends School Saffron Walden being

6728-506: The Five Years Meeting due to a concern of what they saw as the allowance of modernism in the FYM. Some Orthodox Quakers in America disliked the move towards evangelical Christianity and saw it as a dilution of Friends' traditional orthodox Christian belief in being inwardly led by the Holy Spirit . These Friends were headed by John Wilbur , who was expelled from his yearly meeting in 1842. He and his supporters formed their own Conservative Friends Yearly Meeting. Some UK Friends broke away from

6844-425: The Friends Ambulance Unit or the American Friends Service Committee, or in other relief work – later held several Quaker World Conferences. This brought about a standing body of Friends: the Friends World Committee for Consultation . A growing desire for a more fundamentalist approach among some Friends after the First World War began a split among Five Years Meetings . In 1924, the Central Yearly Meeting of Friends

6960-537: The Friends avoid creeds and hierarchical structures . In 2017, there were an estimated 377,557 adult Quakers, 49% of them in Africa followed by 22% in North America . Some 89% of Quakers worldwide belong to evangelical and programmed branches that hold services with singing and a prepared Bible message coordinated by a pastor (with the largest Quaker group being the Evangelical Friends Church International ). Some 11% practice waiting worship or unprogrammed worship (commonly Meeting for Worship ), where

7076-410: The Green are owned by the state of Delaware, with the National Park Service owning a conservation easement on them. The Sheriff's House is owned by the National Park Service. The Dover Green was first laid out as a public space in 1717 by William Penn's surveyors, and has been host to several historic events. The Declaration of Independence was read to the citizens of Dover from the Green in 1776, and it

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7192-455: The Light, and Friends of the Truth, reflecting terms used in the New Testament by members of the early Christian church. Quakerism gained a considerable following in England and Wales, not least among women. An address "To the Reader" by Mary Forster accompanied a Petition to the Parliament of England presented on 20 May 1659, expressing the opposition of over 7000 women to "the oppression of Tithes". The overall number of Quakers increased to

7308-449: The Manchester Conference in England in 1895, one thousand British Friends met to consider the future of British Quakerism, and as a result, Liberal Quaker thought gradually increased within the London Yearly Meeting. During World War I and World War II , Friends' opposition to war was put to the test. Many Friends became conscientious objectors and some formed the Friends Ambulance Unit , aiming at "co-operating with others to build up

7424-452: The Massachusetts charter , sent over a royal governor to enforce English laws in 1686 and, in 1689, passed a broad Toleration Act. Some Friends migrated to what is now the north-eastern region of the United States in the 1660s in search of economic opportunities and a more tolerant environment in which to build communities of "holy conversation". In 1665 Quakers established a meeting in Shrewsbury, New Jersey (now Monmouth County), and built

7540-558: The Midwest. Acceptance of the theory of evolution became more widespread in Yearly Meetings who moved toward liberal Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, creationism predominates within evangelical Friends Churches, particularly in East Africa and parts of the United States. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the so-called Quaker Renaissance movement began within London Yearly Meeting. Young Friends in London Yearly Meeting at this time moved away from evangelicalism and towards liberal Christianity. This movement

7656-424: The New Castle Court House Museum, the Dover Green, Fort Christina, Old Swedes' Church, the John Dickinson Plantation, Stonum (home of founder George Read ), Lombardy Hall (home of founder Gunning Bedford Jr. ) and the Ryve's Holt House. Following the conclusion of the study, Carper and other members of Delaware's congressional delegation proposed the First State National Historical Park Act of 2011, which included

7772-406: The Revolution" and considered one of the foremost founding fathers of the country. His Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania and " The Liberty Song " (which included the first use of the phrase "united we stand, divided we fall"), were early articulations of the rights of the British citizens in America. As a delegate to the Continental Congress , Dickinson authored the Olive Branch Petition and

7888-469: The Richmond Declaration was not adopted by London Yearly Meeting because a vocal minority, including Edward Grubb , opposed it. Following the Christian revivals in the mid-19th century, Friends in Great Britain sought also to start missionary activity overseas. The first missionaries were sent to Benares ( Varanasi ), in India, in 1866. The Friends Foreign Mission Association was formed in 1868 and sent missionaries to Madhya Pradesh , India, forming what

8004-460: The Ship Inn (c. 1730), the King-in-Armes or Washington Inn (1761), the Half-Way House (1790), and the Swan Hotel (1800). In the 1880s, Downingtown became known for its paper mills. Coatesville on the west branch became famous for producing iron goods as early as 1810, and later, rolling steel plate. Lukens Steel Company has dominated the economy of the town since 1810 ; today, Cleveland Cliffs continues to make steel there. These places near

8120-445: The Swedes the creek was called brännvins kilen. It has been asserted that in 1655, a Dutch vessel carrying brandy, wintered in the stream and was sunk due to ice accumulation. The name might also derive from an early mill owner, Andreas Brainwende or Brantwyn. A 1681 map labels the creek Brande wine Cr. Thomas Holme 's 1687 map of Pennsylvania gives the name as simply Brandy Wine and shows it flowing into Christian Creek and then

8236-401: The Wilkinson–Story split, in which a portion of the Quaker community left to worship independently in protest at women's meetings. After several years, this schism became largely resolved, testifying to the resistance of some within the Quaker community and to the spiritual role of women that Fox and Margaret Fell had encouraged. Particularly within the relatively prosperous Quaker communities of

8352-748: The Woodlawn Tract in Beaver Valley with the intention of including it in a future park once the land became available for donation at the end of 2012. In February 2013, the First State National Historical Park Act was proposed again in the new Congress. The revised legislation included the Woodlawn property but dropped Stonum and Lombardy Hall. The bill was approved in Senate committee on March 14, 2013, but

8468-464: The abolitionist movement. In the early history of Colonial America , it was fairly common for Friends to own slaves, e.g. in Pennsylvania . During the early to mid-1700s, disquiet about this practice arose among Friends, best exemplified by the testimonies of Benjamin Lay , Anthony Benezet and John Woolman , and this resulted in an abolition movement among Friends. Nine of the twelve founding members of

8584-604: The aforementioned sites but did not include the Woodlawn tract at Beaver Valley which was eventually included in the National Monument. The act garnered high-profile support from former Delaware resident Ken Burns , who had recently earned critical acclaim for his documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea . Burns stated, "We have been able to, as an expansive country, drink in our entire history, good and bad, and embrace it all. We Americans are bound together not only in geography but in time by these places. It

8700-657: The battle British troops marched about 6 miles (9.7 km) north, fording the creek above the forks, to outflank Washington's forces. Before the battle, General Anthony Wayne had his headquarters in Brandywine Village, across the creek from Wilmington, and Continental troops camped nearby, near Lovering Avenue. The poet Bayard Taylor wrote of the battle and the creek: And once thy peaceful tide Was filled with life-blood from bold hearts and brave; and heroes on thy verdant margin died, The land they loved, to save. These vales, so calm and still, Once saw

8816-608: The city center. Brandywine Creek joins the Christina River 1 mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Wilmington and about 2 miles (3 km) upstream from the mouth of the Christina, which also includes flows from the White Clay Creek and Red Clay Creek basins, and finally discharges into the Delaware River estuary . The confluence of the Christina and Delaware rivers is the approximate dividing point between

8932-664: 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

9048-528: The creek, and complained that mill dams on the creek were ruining their shad fishery. Hannah Freeman (1730–1802), believed to be the last Lenape to have lived in Chester County, is buried in Embreeville , near the forks of the creek. The valley was settled by Quakers , and other dissident Protestants, following Penn's Charter. Their activities were mainly farming and milling. Quaker influence

9164-510: The eastern United States, the focus on the child and "holy conversation" gave women unusual community power, although they were largely excluded from the market economy. With the Hicksite–Orthodox split of 1827–1828, Orthodox women found their spiritual role decreased, while Hicksite women retained greater influence. Described as "natural capitalists" by the BBC , many Quakers were successful in

9280-411: The first 100 years were Quakers. West Jersey and Pennsylvania were established by affluent Quaker William Penn in 1676 and 1682 respectively, with Pennsylvania as an American commonwealth run under Quaker principles. William Penn signed a peace treaty with Tammany , leader of the Delaware tribe, and other treaties followed between Quakers and Native Americans. This peace endured almost a century, until

9396-457: The first half of the 20th century before the country's independence in 1963. International volunteering organisations such as Service Civil International and International Voluntary Service were founded by leading Quakers. Eric Baker , a prominent Quaker, was one of the founders of Amnesty International and of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament . The Quaker Edith Pye established

9512-539: The flour. "Brandywine Superfine" flour was shipped all along the Atlantic coast and to the West Indies before the American Revolution. A mill race once used to provide water power is still in working condition in Brandywine Park, designed in the 1890s by Frederick Law Olmsted , near downtown Wilmington. To the north, Downingtown on the east branch was originally known as Milltown. Its first building,

9628-515: The foeman's charge,—the bayonet's gleam; And heard the thunders roll from hill to hill From morn till sunset's beam. Early paper mills were located along the creek, during the Revolution. They supplied Benjamin Franklin 's print shop and also supplied the paper to print Continental currency and the Declaration of Independence . The Conestoga wagon was first built to haul grain from

9744-501: The footwear firm of C. & J. Clark and the big three British confectionery makers Cadbury , Rowntree and Fry ; and philanthropic efforts, including abolition of slavery, prison reform , and social justice . In 1947, in recognition of their dedication to peace and the common good, Quakers represented by the British Friends Service Council and the American Friends Service Committee were awarded

9860-642: The freshwater Delaware River and the saltwater Delaware Bay . In Pennsylvania, Chadds Ford, Elam, Downingtown , Unionville , and parts of West Chester , are all in the Brandywine Valley, as well as the Delaware towns of Centreville , Greenville , Montchanin , Hockessin , and Yorklyn . Nearby Avondale (in the White Clay Creek basin) and Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (in the Red Clay Creek basin) are often considered part of

9976-488: The informal group of six Quakers who had pioneered the movement in 1783, when the first petition against the slave trade was presented to Parliament. As Quakers could not serve as Members of Parliament, they relied on the help of Anglican men who could, such as William Wilberforce and his brother-in-law James Stephen . By the beginning of the American Revolutionary War , few Friends owned slaves. At

10092-464: The introduction of steam power. The headwaters of both the East Branch and West Branch of Brandywine Creek are in western Chester County, Pennsylvania , near Honey Brook . The East Branch and West Branch flow southeast for 27.4 miles (44.1 km) and 33.1 miles (53.3 km), respectively, to their confluence about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Coatesville , between East Bradford Township and Pocopson Township . The combined drainage of

10208-455: The more urban, wealthier, Orthodox Quakers. With increasing financial success, Orthodox Quakers wanted to "make the Society a more respectable body – to transform their sect into a church – by adopting mainstream Protestant orthodoxy". Hicksites, though they held a variety of views, generally saw the market economy as corrupting, and believed Orthodox Quakers had sacrificed their orthodox Christian spirituality for material success. Hicksites viewed

10324-520: The most prominent. Quaker schools in the UK and Ireland are supported by The Friends' Schools' Council. In Australia, Friends' School, Hobart , founded in 1887, has grown into the largest Quaker school in the world. In Britain and the United States, friends have established a variety of institutions at a variety of educational levels . In Kenya, Quakers founded several primary and secondary schools in

10440-804: The most successful Friends' mission. Their Quakerism spread within Kenya and to Uganda , Tanzania , Burundi , and Rwanda . The theory of evolution as described in Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) was opposed by many Quakers in the 19th century, particularly by older evangelical Quakers who dominated the Religious Society of Friends in Great Britain. These older Quakers were suspicious of Darwin's theory and believed that natural selection could not explain life on its own. The influential Quaker scientist Edward Newman said that

10556-552: The oldest Swedish homes remaining in existence in the country. The house serves as a museum dedicated to interpreting early Swedish colonial life. Old Swedes' Church is a National Historic Landmark, and is not to be confused with another church known as Old Swedes' , located in Philadelphia. This plantation house, built in 1740 outside of Dover, was the boyhood home and country estate of John Dickinson , known as "the Penman of

10672-570: The original burial site for Fort Christina and so its cemetery contains graves dating back to the 1630s. The pulpit was carved in 1698 and is believed to be the oldest in the United States by the NPS. The church itself is built from Swedish bricks that had originally been used as ballast by the ships which brought the colonists to America. The churchyard includes the Hendrickson House , a Swedish home dating back to 1690 and believed to be one of

10788-567: The religious beliefs of Joseph John Gurney were known as Gurneyite yearly meetings. Many eventually collectively became the Five Years Meeting (FYM) and then the Friends United Meeting , although London Yearly Meeting , which had been strongly Gurneyite in the 19th century, did not join either of these. In 1924, the Central Yearly Meeting of Friends , a Gurneyite yearly meeting, was started by some Friends who left

10904-656: The religious movement and introduced Quaker phrases and practices to it. British Friends became involved with the Higher Life movement , with Robert Wilson from the Cockermouth meeting founding the Keswick Convention . From the 1870s it became common in Britain to have "home mission meetings" on Sunday evening with Christian hymns and a Bible-based sermon, alongside the silent meetings for worship on Sunday morning. The Quaker Yearly Meetings supporting

11020-808: The restructuring of the family and household came new roles for women; Fox and Fell viewed the Quaker mother as essential to developing "holy conversation" in her children and husband. Quaker women were also responsible for the spirituality of the larger community, coming together in "meetings" that regulated marriage and domestic behaviour. The persecution of Quakers in North America began in July 1656 when English Quaker missionaries Mary Fisher and Ann Austin began preaching in Boston. They were considered heretics because of their insistence on individual obedience to

11136-580: The settlement. You had Dutch, Swedes, Finns, then the English, the Germans. The Netherlands were like the melting pot of Europe. So you had the Germans there, the French, the Belgians, and all these people were here in the Delaware Valley in the 1600s. You had that diversity and you also had a tradition of tolerance. As I tell people, while Virginia was jailing Baptists and New England was burning Quakers, there

11252-743: The site was the largest gunpowder producer in the country. During the Civil War alone, over 4 million barrels of gunpowder were produced here. The mills, which operated until 1921, are now part of the Hagley Museum and Library . By 1815, several toll roads connected the village with Pennsylvania's grain-growing regions, including the Lancaster, Kennett and Concord Pikes. These roads later became Delaware Route 41 , Delaware Route 52 , and parts of US 202 combined with Delaware Route 202 . The millers cooperated in maintaining quality and branding

11368-428: The state and soliciting suggestions from residents for sites that would be worthy of inclusion in a new National Park unit. These efforts culminated in 2006, when Congress directed the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study of historic and scenic sites in Delaware's coastal areas. After concluding its study in 2009, the National Park Service recommended the creation of a National Historical Park including

11484-503: The theory was "not compatible with our notions of creation as delivered from the hands of a Creator". However, some young Friends such as John Wilhelm Rowntree and Edward Grubb supported Darwin's theories, using the doctrine of progressive revelation. In the United States, Joseph Moore taught the theory of evolution at the Quaker Earlham College as early as 1861. This made him one of the first teachers to do so in

11600-471: The tragic and fateful voyage of the slave ship Sally . Brown broke away from his three brothers, became an abolitionist, and converted to Christian Quakerism. During the 19th century, Quakers such as Levi Coffin and Isaac Hopper played a major role in helping enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad . Black Quaker Paul Cuffe , a sea captain and businessman, was active in

11716-470: The unplanned order of service is mainly silent and may include unprepared vocal ministry from those present. Some meetings of both types have Recorded Ministers present, Friends recognised for their gift of vocal ministry. The proto- evangelical Christian movement dubbed Quakerism arose in mid-17th-century England from the Legatine-Arians and other dissenting Protestant groups breaking with

11832-479: The village. In 1795, Jacob Broom built the first cotton mill on the Brandywine, a few miles north of the village, but it burned down two years later. In 1802, Broom sold the site, complete with a working dam and millrace , to Eleuthère Irénée du Pont , who paid $ 6,740 for the 95 acres (380,000 m ). Gunpowder mills, known as the Eleutherian Mills , operated on the site from 1802, and by 1810,

11948-584: The war's end in 1783, Yarnall family members along with fellow Meeting House Friends made a failed petition to the Continental Congress to abolish slavery in the United States . In 1790, the Society of Friends petitioned the United States Congress to abolish slavery. One example of a reversal in sentiment about slavery took place in the life of Moses Brown , one of four Rhode Island brothers who, in 1764, organized and funded

12064-546: The war, forming groups such as the Free Quakers and the Universal Friends . Later, in the 19th century, there was a diversification of theological beliefs in the Religious Society of Friends, and this led to several larger splits within the movement. The Hicksite–Orthodox split arose out of both ideological and socioeconomic tensions. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Hicksites tended to be agrarian and poorer than

12180-481: Was acquired by direct experience and by reading and studying the Bible . Friends focused their private lives on behaviour and speech reflecting emotional purity and the light of God, with a goal of Christian perfection . A prominent theological text of the Religious Society of Friends is A Catechism and Confession of Faith (1673), published by Quaker divine Robert Barclay . The Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887)

12296-434: Was adopted by many Orthodox Friends and continues to serve as a doctrinal statement of many yearly meetings. Quakers were known to use thee as an ordinary pronoun, refuse to participate in war , wear plain dress , refuse to swear oaths , oppose slavery , and practice teetotalism . Some Quakers founded banks and financial institutions, including Barclays , Lloyds , and Friends Provident ; manufacturers including

12412-561: Was dissatisfied with the teachings of the Church of England and nonconformists . He claimed to have received a revelation that "there is one, even Christ Jesus, who can speak to thy condition", and became convinced that it was possible to have a direct experience of Christ without the aid of ordained clergy. In 1652 he had a vision on Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England, in which he believed that "the Lord let me see in what places he had

12528-543: Was established in Embreeville 31 miles (50 km) west of Philadelphia and 15 miles (24 km) north of the Maryland-Pennsylvania border by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in 1764. They used the adjoining John Harlan house as their center of operations until 1768. The creek lends its name to the 1777 Battle of Brandywine of the American Revolutionary War . General William Howe , commanding

12644-516: Was founded across the creek from Wilmington. Quakers Elizabeth Levis Shipley, her husband William Shipley, and Thomas Canby were important in establishing the village and its supporting flour mills. By 1743, a dam and a millrace south of the creek had been built. In 1760, a bridge was built at the current site of the Market Street Bridge, and the north race and two more flour mills were built by Joseph Tatnall . Oliver Evans in

12760-526: Was freedom of religion on the Delaware River even before William Penn arrived. There is a common misconception that the English were the only ones who had any kind of representative government, and so that's where we got it. Well, the Netherlands were a Republic. The Swedes were not an absolute monarchy, so there was a tradition of self-determination as well." The sites contained within the park are: The New Castle Court House, which dates back to 1730,

12876-605: Was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2015 . The bill also added the Dickinson Plantation, Fort Christina, and Old Swedes' Church to the park. The NDAA was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. Brandywine Creek (Christina River) Brandywine Creek (also called the Brandywine River ) is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in

12992-517: Was particularly influenced by Rowntree, Grubb, and Rufus Jones . Such Liberal Friends promoted the theory of evolution, modern biblical criticism , and the social meaning of Christ's teaching – encouraging Friends to follow the New Testament example of Christ by performing good works. These men downplayed the evangelical Quaker belief in the atonement of Christ on the Cross at Calvary . After

13108-561: Was probably derived from the appellations "Friends of the Light" and "Friends of the Truth". Conservative Friends (US 2K) Friends United Meeting (US 25K, world 170K) Evangelical Friends Church International (US 34K, world 200K) Beaconite Friends General Conference (US 22K, world 32K) Around the time of the American Revolutionary War , some American Quakers split from the main Society of Friends over issues such as support for

13224-656: Was started by some Friends who left the Five Years Meeting. In 1926, Oregon Yearly Meeting seceded from the Five Years Meeting , bringing together several other yearly meetings and scattered monthly meetings. In 1947, the Association of Evangelical Friends was formed, with triennial meetings until 1970. In 1965, this was replaced by the Evangelical Friends Alliance, which in 1989 became Evangelical Friends Church International . In

13340-522: Was the site of the mustering of a Continental Army regiment during the Revolution. When the proximity of the British navy threatened New Castle, the state changed its capital city to Dover in 1777, and a State House was built just off the Green in 1787. At a tavern which once stood on the Green, a convention ratified the Constitution on December 7, 1787, making Delaware the first state. The Green

13456-423: Was where the assembly voted in favor of independence from both Pennsylvania and England in 1776. The Declaration of Independence was read from the Court House's second floor balcony, and Delaware's first Constitution was drafted and adopted here. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase was impeached over his actions in the Court House during a trial in 1800. In 1848, U.S. Chief Justice Roger Taney presided over

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