Eleutherian Mills, Gunpowder mill in Brandywine Valley, Delaware, US
Eleutherian Mills is a former gunpowder factory along the Brandywine River in Delaware, with stone buildings in Georgian style and preserved production structures. The site extends along the riverbank with millwheels, channels, and warehouses connected by paths through trees.
A French immigrant founded the factory in the early 1800s, using waterpower from the river for production. Manufacturing continued for over a century until operations at this location ceased in the early 1920s.
The name Eleutherian comes from Greek meaning freedom, reflecting values the founder brought from revolutionary France. Visitors today walk through gardens mixing European formal layouts with native plants that workers once tended between shifts.
The grounds are now part of a museum offering tours through workshops and residential buildings on weekdays and Saturdays. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes as paths to production buildings cross uneven ground and stairs.
Workers rang a bell before each work shift to give everyone time to clear dangerous areas. The facility produced roughly half of all gunpowder used by Union troops during the American Civil War.
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