William Poole Bancroft, a wealthy Quaker mill owner and conservation visionary, began a preservation effort in the early 1900s that continues today. Anticipating encroaching city sprawl and dwindling open space, he started buying parcels of land in the Brandywine Valley region to protect its pastoral landscape for future generations, and in 1901 he created the Woodlawn Trustees to carry out his vision after his death. Through Bancroft's foresight and the philanthropy of the Mount Cuba Center, more than 1,300 acres became part of First State National Historical Park. The rolling hills and valleys of this landscape, with forests, meadows, and streams flowing into Brandywine Creek, create a topography not found elsewhere in Delaware, and the area locally known as Beaver Valley supports many kinds of recreation.

Photo: Pete Skillman