Wilmington State Parks is a
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
located in
Wilmington,
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
. Open year round, the park is approximately of land mostly situated along the
Brandywine Creek. The state park is made up of a group of smaller parks that are administratively managed as a single unit.
Although much of the land comprising Wilmington State Parks is owned by the city of Wilmington, the park is operated and maintained by the
Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) of the state of Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
, a branch of the state's
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. The state park was created in 1998 when the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation assumed management responsibilities, though the individual parks are much older, with the oldest dating back to 1886.
There are numerous statues, monuments, and memorials in Wilmington State Parks, including
war memorials
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
as well as statues and memorials to historically significant Wilmingtonians such as Rear Admiral
Samuel Francis Du Pont
Samuel Francis Du Pont (September 27, 1803 – June 23, 1865) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family. In the Mexican–American War, Du Pont captured San Diego, and was made commander of the Ca ...
, U.S. Secretary of State
Thomas F. Bayard
Thomas Francis Bayard (October 29, 1828 – September 28, 1898) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat from Wilmington, Delaware. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he served three terms as United States Senate, United States ...
, conservationist
William Poole Bancroft
William Poole Bancroft (July 12, 1835 – April 20, 1928) was an American industrialist who later became an important figure in the land conservation movement. His belief that the beauty of the Brandywine region should be protected against urban ...
, and shipbuilder
William H. Todd. There is also a memorial to President
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
and a memorial bridge dedicated to
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
near a
parade ground
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...
where the general reviewed his troops during the
Revolutionary War.
Admission to the parks is free, with the exception of admittance to the
zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological g ...
.
Units of Wilmington State Parks
Wilmington State Parks consists of four smaller parks. Three of them are along the Brandywine and are connected to one another: Brandywine Park, Rockford Park, and H. Fletcher Brown Park. The fourth, the Hobbs Tract, is located about four miles away in
Greenville.
Brandywine Park
Brandywine Park is the oldest of Wilmington's parks, having first been established in 1886 after prominent industrialist and conservationist William Poole Bancroft convinced the Delaware legislature to create a Board of Park Commissioners. The park was designed in consultation with landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
who, upon viewing the land along the Brandywine Creek, enthusiastically endorsed it as the best location for a park.
The park is approximately 178 acres and it spans both the north and south banks of the Brandywine. Much of the park has been preserved as a mix of wilderness and open space with walking trails and scenic views of the creek and surrounding woods. The open space section of the park includes two formal gardens, a rose garden and a
cherry blossom
A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...
garden. The
Brandywine Zoo
Brandywine Zoo is a small zoo that opened in 1905 in Brandywine Park in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. It is located on the banks of the Brandywine River. The zoo is managed by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation and supported ...
was created in 1904 and now occupies 12 acres of the park.
Brandywine Park also includes active recreational facilities including playgrounds, athletic fields, and Baynard Stadium.
Kentmere Parkway, a half-mile stretch of roadway, was designed by Bancroft and
John Charles Olmsted
John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920), was an American landscape architect. The nephew and adopted son of Frederick Law Olmsted, he worked with his father and his younger brother, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., in their father's firm. After their fat ...
to serve as a
greenway to connect Brandywine Park to Rockford Park. The parkway was built in 1891 and features a large, tree-lined median.
Rockford Park
The 104 acre Rockford Park was initially established in 1889. The initial 59 acres of land were provided by William Poole Bancroft and his brother,
Samuel
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
. Much of the park consists of cultivated lawn that slopes gently upward to a large knoll overlooking the Brandywine.
At the top of the hill is one of Wilmington's most iconic landmarks, Rockford Tower. The 115-foot tall stone structure, which was built between 1899 and 1901, serves as both a water tower and an observation tower as its top floor is an observation deck with large arching windows that provide a 360 degree view of the park and the city of Wilmington. The tower is directly across the river from the
DuPont Experimental Station
The DuPont Experimental Station is the largest research and development facility of DuPont. Located on the banks of the Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware, it is home to some of the most important discoveries of the modern chemical indus ...
, where the company produced gunpowder in the early 20th century. Initially the city could not allow public access to the tower due to liability concerns over the risk of explosions from the gunpowder mills, but now the tower is open to park visitors in season.
H. Fletcher Brown Park
H. Fletcher Brown Park is the smallest of the Wilmington State Parks units. It is located slightly downstream from Brandywine Park. The park is on the site of a former vocational high school. The park offers a scenic overlook of the Brandywine Creek and its historic millrace, which once fed local industry along the creek but now supplies Wilmington's drinking water.
The park (and the vocational school which previously occupied the site) is named after Harry Fletcher Brown, a prominent chemist and philanthropist who served as a Vice President of the
DuPont Company
DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...
and developed gunpowder innovations that helped win
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. There is a statue of Brown in the park created by sculptor
Charles Parks.
Hobbs Tract
The Hobbs Tract is 62 acres of land adjoining
Valley Garden Park, the former summer estate of U.S. Senator
T. Coleman du Pont, in Greenville. Though the city of Wilmington owns the main section of Valley Garden Park, the expansion land is owned by the state of Delaware, which purchased it in 2004.
Previously, it had been part of a
Du Pont family
The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817). It has been one of the richest families in the United States since the mid-19th century, when it founded its fo ...
farm estate owned by Patricia Hobbs, the great-granddaughter of
Eugene du Pont
Eugène du Pont (November 16, 1840 – January 28, 1902) was an American businessman who served as the first head of the modern-day DuPont corporation.
Life and education
Du Pont was born on November 16, 1840 at Hagley House in New Castle C ...
. The estate had served as the location of
Twin Lakes Brewing Company and was the childhood home and art studio of painter
George Alexis Weymouth
George Alexis Weymouth (June 2, 1936 – April 24, 2016), better known as Frolic Weymouth, was an American artist, whip or stager, and conservationist. He served on the United States Commission of Fine Arts in the 1970s and was a member of the ...
, Hobbs' brother.
The state also owns a conservation easement on 12 additional acres of the farm.
Former units of Wilmington State Parks
When the park was created in 1998, it originally included the 145 acre Alapocas Woods. The park dated back to 1910, when it was formed by land donations from William Poole Bancroft and
Alfred I. du Pont, as the two men saw the opportunity to create a new public park during the planning for du Pont's adjacent
Nemours estate
The Nemours Estate is a country estate with ''jardin à la française'' formal gardens and a French neoclassical mansion in Wilmington, Delaware. Built to resemble a French château, its 105 rooms on four floors occupy nearly . It shares the gro ...
. Alapocas Woods was situated along the Brandywine Creek, across from Rockford Park and
Bancroft Mills
Bancroft Mills is an abandoned mill complex along Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. It has been the site of some of the earliest and most famous mills near Wilmington and was the largest and longest running complex along ...
and just north of Brandywine Park.
Beginning in 2002, Alapocas Woods was significantly expanded and was made into a separate state park,
Alapocas Run State Park
Alapocas Run State Park is a state park, located in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, along the Brandywine Creek and its Alapocas Run tributary. Open year-round, it is in area. Much of the state park was created from land originally prese ...
. It is still connected to Wilmington State Parks through the
Northern Delaware Greenway Trail, a 10.4 mile trail that runs through Alapocas Run into Brandywine Park.
Nearby state parks
The following state parks are within of Wilmington State Parks:
*
Alapocas Run State Park
Alapocas Run State Park is a state park, located in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, along the Brandywine Creek and its Alapocas Run tributary. Open year-round, it is in area. Much of the state park was created from land originally prese ...
(New Castle County)
*
Auburn Valley State Park
Auburn Valley State Park (formerly Auburn Heights Preserve) is a state park, located in Yorklyn, Delaware, United States. The park, which is around 360 acres, preserves the former home and estate of the Marshall family as well as portions of the ...
(New Castle County)
*
Bellevue State Park (New Castle County)
*
Brandywine Creek State Park
Brandywine Creek State Park is a state park, located north of Wilmington, Delaware along the Brandywine Creek. Open year-round, it is in area and much of the park was part of a Du Pont family estate and dairy farm before becoming a state park ...
(New Castle County)
*
Fort Delaware State Park
Fort Delaware State Park is a Delaware state park on Pea Patch Island in New Castle County, Delaware. A fortress was built on Pea Patch Island by the United States Army in 1815, near the conclusion of the War of 1812, to protect the harbors o ...
(New Castle County)
*
Fort DuPont State Park
Fort DuPont State Park is a Delaware state park located in Delaware City, Delaware. Fort DuPont itself, named after Rear Admiral Samuel Francis duPont, was used as a military base from the Civil War through World War II, and was part of a thr ...
(New Castle County)
*
Fort Mott State Park
Fort Mott, located in Pennsville, Salem County, New Jersey, United States, was part of the Harbor Defenses of the Delaware, a three-fort defense system designed for the Delaware River during the postbellum and Endicott program modernization p ...
(
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
)
*
Fort Washington State Park
Fort Washington State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Springfield and Whitemarsh Townships, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The park is noted for the springtime flowering of dogwood trees, and is popular with families for picnics and hi ...
(
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
)
*
Fox Point State Park
Fox Point State Park is a Delaware state park on along the Delaware River in New Castle County, Delaware in the United States. The park, which opened in 1995, has been built atop a former hazardous waste site that has been rehabilitated under an ...
(New Castle County)
*
Lums Pond State Park
Lums Pond State Park is a Delaware state park near Bear, New Castle County, Delaware in the United States. The park surrounds Lums Pond, an impoundment built by the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on St. Georges Creek. The C&D built the pond as a ...
(New Castle County)
*
Marsh Creek State Park
Marsh Creek State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Upper Uwchlan and Wallace Townships, Chester County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is the location of the man-made Marsh Creek Lake. With an average depth of 40 feet (73 fe ...
(Pennsylvania)
*
Norristown Farm Park
Norristown Farm Park is a Pennsylvania state park in East Norriton and West Norriton Townships and the Borough of Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Located just off of Interstate 276 on West Germantown Pike, it ...
(Pennsylvania)
*
Parvin State Park
Parvin State Park is a state park located in the southwestern part of New Jersey. Situated around Parvin Lake on the edge of the Pine Barrens, the park includes pine forests, hardwood forests, and swamps. The park is located near Pittsgrove Town ...
(New Jersey)
*
Ridley Creek State Park
Ridley Creek State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Edgmont, Middletown, and Upper Providence Townships, Delaware County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park, about north of the county seat of Media, offers many recreational act ...
(Pennsylvania)
*
White Clay Creek Preserve
White Clay Creek Preserve is a Pennsylvania state park along the valley of White Clay Creek in London Britain Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park was donated by the DuPont Company in 1984 for the purpose of ...
(Pennsylvania)
*
White Clay Creek State Park (New Castle County)
References
External links
Wilmington State Parks
{{authority control
Parks in New Castle County, Delaware
State parks of Delaware
Tourist attractions in Wilmington, Delaware
Protected areas established in 1998
1998 establishments in Delaware