A Highway to History In Delaware

It maybe only a tiny state but Delaware has a lot to offer including the national scenic byway historical route.

It’s only 10 miles on Route 52 from Exit 7 on Interstate 95 in Wilmington, Delaware to the end of Kennett Pike in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Yet that short stretch of road is perhaps the single most historic thoroughfare intersecting I-95 in its entire 1,925 mile trek from Maine to Miami. Perhaps that’s why it’s a certified “National Scenic Byway.”

The “path” that would become the “pike” dates back to the late 17th century when it linked Wilmington with the agriculturally-rich highlands of southeastern Pennsylvania near Kennett Square. In 1811 Kennett Road was purchased and christened the “Wilmington and Kennett Turnpike,” and it slowly became the principal travel “spine” in northern Delaware with ribs that linked a host of world-class du Pont mansions and estates in the region.

It’s those estates and the quaint villages that grew up around them that make Kennett Pike one of America’s premier “Highways to History.” For the first hundred feet (off of I-95), Route 52 is known as Delaware Avenue. Then it veers west as Pennsylvania Avenue, where it passes “Gilbralter” the former home of Hugh Rodney Sharp and his wife Isabella du Pont Sharp. Owned and Operated by Preservation Delaware, Gibralter features an exquisite formal garden designed and restored by legendary landscape architect, Marion Cruger Coffin. The gardens are open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 to 5 for self-guided tours. Additional hours are available by appointment.

A few hundred feet further, “the Pike” passes a 250 year-old stone mansion called “Goodstay,” which is now owned by the University of Delaware. While the house is certainly historic in its own right, it’s the Goodstay gardens that get all the press. A 100 year-old wisteria vine arches over the gate to the garden, which is planted with irises, roses, peonies, daffodils, daylilies and azaleas. As a final touch, there are 30 pink blossoming magnolia trees leading to a circular reflecting pool. The Goodstay gardens are open to the public without charge every day during daylight hours.

But Goodstay is dwarfed by two dupont estates just off the Pike in Wilmington - Hagley Museum and Library, the ancestral home of the du Pont family in Delaware and site of the first du Pont black powder mills; and the 300-acre country estate of the late industrialist and philanthropist Alfred I. du Pont, Nemours Mansion & Gardens,  The 47,000 sq. ft. mansion was built in 1909-1910 and looms over massive formal gardens. It is furnished with fine antiques, famous works of art, beautiful tapestries, and other treasures. Quite simply, Nemours is the grandest of the grand du Pont estates in the Brandywine Valley. The mansion and gardens are both open for tours between May and December, but tickets can be hard to come by so call early!

Historic “Saint Joseph’s on the Brandywine” Catholic church is literally within walking distance of Hagley. St. Joseph’s was built in 1841 by DuPont Company stone masons on property donated by Charles I. DuPont. The cost of construction was financed largely through loans and gifts from the DuPont Company and family. St. Joseph’s church and cemetery are listed for three different historical associations in the National Register of Historic Places.

Driving further north, you’ll discover the 1,000-acre estate of Henry Francis du Pont, called “Winterthur.” The 13-story mansion houses the largest collection of American furniture and decorative arts in the world, displayed in175 rooms connected to a 20,000 square foot exhibition gallery. Across the street from Winterthur lies the Delaware Museum of Natural History, founded by John E. du Pont in 1972.

When you leave Winterthur and the Natural History Museum, you’ll pass through the National Historic District of Centreville, a quaint village of about 50 shops and restaurants, and several privately-owned historic houses. The center of Centreville is Buckley’s Tavern, a wonderfully eclectic eatery that caters to any and all types of customers – from princes to paupers. For a more genteel fare, try the Centreville Café. Centreville is also home to one of the region’s finest art galleries, Hardcastle Gallery, but you’ll have to keep a sharp eye as it’s set back off the road on the east side just south of Owl’s Nest Road.

Not to be outdone, Pennsylvania has its own historic village on Kennett Pike, the Fairville National Historic District about five miles north of Centreville. Fairville looks like something out of a storybook. Dotted with antique stores and small shops, the village is probably best known for its historic bed & breakfast, the Fairville Inn. For the less affluent, the Mendenhall Inn is just south of Fairville on Kennett Pike.

Kennett Pike terminates at Baltimore Pike which is U.S. Route 1 (the principal Maine to Miami route until I-95 was built). But there’s so much more to tell you about. So far I’ve only mentioned the extraordinary historical and cultural sites that are directly on Kennett Pike! Within five miles on either side of the Pike are several more world-class museums and country estates, including the Brandywine River Museum and Longwood Gardens on Baltimore Pike. For more historical information about the entire region, visit the Delaware History Museum and Research Library on the downtown Wilmington campus of the Delaware Historical Society.

A complete list of articles by the Wilmington Tourism Examiner can be found at http://www.examiner.com/x-25324-Wilmington-Tourism-Examiner