Lower Dam and North Short Millrace

Lower Dam and North Short Millrace. . , the Lower Dam and North Short Millrace are two, mid-to-late 18th century structures associated with Wilmington's early industrial development. The structures supplied water power to a collection of commercial flour mills downstream known as the Brandywine Mills. Portions of the structures are still visible within the landscape, including larger boulders in the creekbed (below this overlook) and an intact section of a stone millrace wall along the north bank. The head gate section of the millrace was reinforced in the nineteenth century with a web of wrought iron straps to protect the stone structure from the flood damage., [Captions:] , Above: Circa 1816 Fairlamb and Reid, Mill Seats on the Brandywine River. This map illustrates the concentration of commercial mills located at the tidewater of Brandywine Creek by the early nineteenth century, as well as the locations of the dams and millraces that powered these factories. , Image courtesy of Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware, Left: Lower Dam remains on the north bank of the Brandywine Creek (December 2018).