Every experienced general knows that no matter how good the battle plan, the plan will likely have to change as soon as the first shots are fired. While not that dramatic, the Brandywine Battlefield Park’s March opening had to be postponed from late March until this coming Wednesday, June 8.
Ever since the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission stopped operating the park on Route 1 in Chadds Ford, the facility has been run by the volunteer friends group, the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates.
The associates would close the park in December, perform necessary maintenance, and then reopen in March. That routine hit a snag this year.
A planned renovation went longer than planned and when that work was inspected, it was learned that the visitors’ center was structurally unsound and was condemned until needed repairs were made.
“We were supposed to open the end of March,” said Andrew Outten, the park’s education director. “But the [renovation] project got delayed. We were then told we’d open in the middle of April. The middle of April came around and during the final inspection, structural damage was noticed in the rafters. There was deterioration and disrepair.”
At that point the building was condemned, and the only people allowed in were repair crews, inspection personnel and PHMC people, he said.
Outten said no one seemed to know the scope of the work or how long it would take, so the park held off announcing any of its programs. They finally got back into the building in mid-May.
“Even then we weren’t sure how long it would be before we could re-open, but we are going to open this coming Wednesday,” he said.
He said grants covered the $175,000 cost of the renovation. Those grants came from PHMC — $75,000 — and $100,000 from DCNR, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
What was the cost of the structural repair?
“I have no idea,” he said, adding that he hasn’t seen or heard the numbers yet.
When the public finally gets back in, people will find a brighter gift shop area with a little more room since part of the renovation included moving the checkout counter. There are also new lights, ceiling and freshly painted walls.
Programs planned for earlier this spring were either cancelled outright or will be rescheduled. One event to replace the Encampment day that was missed is planned for August, right before the Sept. 11 Remembrance Day.
Regular tours will resume right away, running Wednesday through Sunday for now, but the park hours will run Tuesday to Sunday, beginning the end of June.
Summer History Camp will resume the last week of June, and Outten said they are still taking reservations for the camp. Parents interested in getting their kids into the camp should go to the park website, www.brandywinebattlefield.org
The park will also be running a lecture series with guest speakers coming in once or twice a month, and there might be some daily musket demonstrations.
“We’re also having some new cool stuff coming in by the end of the summer,” he said.
One of those items is a chevau de fries. He described it as a pike, about 30 feet long, with spikes on the end that go into the river, sitting just below the water line, to snag enemy boats.
Outten said the chevau de fries that the park would get was found after it had washed up near a yacht club along the Delaware River near New Hope. It was then sent to Eastern Caroline University to be preserved. PHMC got it from the university and has deemed Brandywine Battlefield Park an appropriate place for it to be displayed.
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.
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...
Comments