Brandywine Falls Then and Now
 

In the early 1800's, Brandywine Falls was the inspiration for one of the earliest industrial developments in the Cuyahoga River Valley.  Today, few traces remain of the millworks and Village of Brandywine, but until the 1870's, the Wallace mills and the small but prosperous village that grew up along side them contributed significantly to the economic and population expansion of the valley.

Between 1814 and 1821, Wallace, with the help of other investors, built and began operating a saw mill, a grist mill, and a woolen factory.  A distillery was also built near the mills.  The whiskey it produced was often used as legal tender and became known as "Brandywine Currency".  The grist mill was built on the south side of the creek, where the ruins of its sandstone block foundation still stand.

By 1820, Wallace had moved his family to Brandywine, and the beginnings of a village... a school, a store, and a post office... were established.  The Wallace family also began a farming and timbering operation which owned 710 acres of land in the area.

A severe flood in the year 1843, destroyed the woolen mill.  In spite of the losses, the Village of Brandywine continued to grow.  It reached its zenith in 1852.

In 1848, James Wallace, George's son, began building the Greek Revival style home that still prominently stands 100 yards north of the falls, and is today an eloquent bed and breakfast.

James and his wife lived at, Brandywine for the next 20 years.  From the mid-century on, however, the village began to decline due to new modes of transportation that came to the Western Reserve.  The newly completed Ohio-Erie Canal and the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie railroad line opened up competition from commercial centers springing up throughout the area.  Village families began to relocate to these newer centers.  Finally the Post Office closed and Brandywine lost its identity.  In 1870 James Wallace sold his home and land and retired to a small farm in Macedonia.

1900's

By 1900, only 4 houses and the old school remained  of the Village of Brandywine.  From 1914 until his death in 1949, the well-known Cleveland watercolorist William Sommers lived at Brandywine and used the schoolhouse as his studio.

In the 1920's, Willie B. Hale of the Hale Farm and Village family, tried to revive the industry at Brandywine by moving his electrical supply company into the old grist mill.  This accounts for the newer concrete block on top of the old foundation.  Twice it was struck by  lightning and burned.  Mr. Hale moved his company away from Brandywine Falls and into a newly built concrete structure that still stands behind the Wallace house.

In the 1969, three of the four remaining village homes and the school were destroyed to make way for Interstate 271.  The former Lemoin house, built in 1859 and standing about 100 yards south of the highway on Brandywine Road, is now the only structure still standing that was actually a part of the village proper.

In 1982, Brandywine Falls and the 81 acres that remained of the Wallace land became a part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area.  The walkways and observation decks that now allow a close observation of the 63 foot waterfall and the 120 foot deep gorge were built by the Park Service in the spring of 1990.  The walkway builders were presented with a distinguished award for the ingenuity and design of their remarkable creation.

Information gathered with assistance from the National Park Service.