Brandywine Village, Ohio is a former settlement located near Brandywine Falls in Summit County

Summit County, Ohio

Summit County is an urban county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 542,899. In the 2010 Census the population was 541,781. Its county seat is Akron...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is within the boundaries of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Cuyahoga Valley National Park preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio. The park is the only national park in Ohio.Cuyahoga means "crooked river" in Mohawk....

. The site lies on the border between Northfield Center Township

Northfield Center Township, Summit County, Ohio

Northfield Center Township is one of the nine townships of Summit County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,931 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county, it borders the following townships and municipalities:...

 and Sagamore Hills Township

Sagamore Hills Township, Summit County, Ohio

Sagamore Hills Township is one of the nine townships of Summit County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 9,340 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships and municipalities:...

.

History

The Village of Brandywine was first settled in 1814 when George Wallace, taking advantage of the water power, built a sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

 at Brandywine Falls. It was a thriving community. Over the next decade, the Village of Brandywine added a whiskey distillery, gristmill

Gristmill

The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

, woolen mill, and a dozen houses. In 1824, Wallace transferred his property to his sons who then formed the Wallace Brothers Company. Business thrived for the next 30 years.

Eventually, Brandywine's prosperity dried up. The Ohio and Erie Canal

Ohio and Erie Canal

The Ohio Canal or Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed in the 1820s and early 1830s. It connected Akron, Summit County, with the Cuyahoga River near its mouth on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Scioto County, and then...

, and later the railroads, shipped goods to the cities of Akron

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

 and Cleveland

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

, leaving towns like Brandywine behind.

Except for the barn and house built by James Wallace in 1848 only a few hidden foundations remain of the Village of Brandywine. Near the falls, some foundations of the old gristmill can still be seen. The James Wallace House has been restored and now serves as a bed and breakfast

Bed and breakfast

A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...

, The Inn at Brandywine Falls.