Brandywine Battlefield Park closing Friday

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At the close of business Friday, Aug. 14, the Brandywine Battlefield Park will be closed and the employees will be furloughed.

Mike Harris, museum educator at the park said employees received word about 2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11. Harris said the park will be shut down and so far there are no known plans for the facility.

“There’s no deal in place with Chadds Ford Township yet to keep it open,” Harris said.

Harris sent an e-mail 3 p.m. Tuesday advising people of the imminent closing. He and four part-time employees will be furloughed, but one maintenance person will remain–at least for now.

At about 3:30 p.m., township Supervisors’ Chairman George Thorpe said he was aware of the closing but could not comment until he had further information.

Thorpe and other supervisors have been working to gather support to take over the operation of the park since the state announced it would stop funding the park.

Delaware County Council has already agreed to provide $55,000 and Thorpe is hoping Chester County will do the same.

“If Chester County gives us $55,000, that would give us enough to do the job for one year, but that would be minimal,” he said in a recent interview.

He would like to get $350,000 total, but “we could do something for less.” He said he doesn’t know what that something would be.

In addition to money from the two counties, Thorpe is looking to get another $100,000 from the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. Those funds would be a combination of services–utilities and maintenance–plus cash, he said.

Thorpe will be asking other townships, such as Pennsbury, Pocopson and Birmingham to kick in $5,000 each, the same amount Chadds Ford and Concord townships will contribute.

“$5,000 from the townships is doable,” Thorpe said. “The associates still need to make a commitment.”

The associates are the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates. That group’s president, Linda Kaat, said the associates have $30,000 to contribute and will do so once a series of agreements are reached.

Kaat said the township must first reach an interim agreement with PHMC, then the township and associates would be free to enter into their own agreement if both parties choose.

A state study that led to PHMC stopping operation said the township and the associates should operate the park.

The was a touch of irony two days before the official closing date as more than a dozen bicyclists, members of the Lafayette Riding Club, toured the park. They were met with the news that park would be closing.

The club was named after the Marquis du Lafayette who served with Gen. George Washington at the 1777 Battle of Brandywine and was wounded in that fight.

Club founder Dr. Andre Mas, a retired cardiologist, said it was sad to learn about the park’s closing especially considering its significance in U.S./French relations and that the club members’ visit was part of the annual Ride de Lafayette.

He said he would try to get some newspaper stories written when he returned to France to generate awareness and money to help get the park reopened.

Current club President Chris Davies, of California called the park a “site of shared history.”

He called the closing “tragic.”

“This is a place for education for young people and for adults as well, a place for young people to get interested in history and to spark an interest in learning more.”

(Editor's  note: This story has been updated since it  was first uploaded.)

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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