Alapocas Run State Park in Wilmington, Delaware, grew from early twentieth-century efforts by William Poole Bancroft to preserve open space along the Brandywine as the city expanded. Land first assembled as Alapocas Woods later became part of Wilmington State Parks and was expanded into the modern park through additional public and donated acreage. Its three hundred fifty-nine acres combine woodland trails, athletic fields, picnic areas, and historic structures. A granite quarry that operated from eighteen seventy to nineteen thirty-eight now serves climbing, rappelling, and earth science programs, while the nineteen fourteen Blue Ball Barn, once part of Alfred I. du Pont’s Nemours dairy operation, now houses the visitor center and exhibits.

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