Historians aren’t sure where the Brandywine River on Delaware County’s western border with Chester County, got its name or who named it.

According to the river’s entry on Wikipedia, The Lenape indians called the creek Wauwaset, Wawasiungh, or Wawassan, and other Native American names for it included Suspecough and Trancocopanican.

Early settlers from Sweden, Finland, and Netherlands called the creek Fiskiekylen, or “Fish Creek”.

The Dutch heritage is also reflected in Fiske Creek and variant names using the Dutch word “Kill” or stream, Bainwend Kill, Brandewyn Kill, and Brandywine Kill.

The creek’s current name may be from an old Dutch word for brandy or gin, brandewijn, or from the name of an early mill owner, Andreas Brainwende or Brantwyn.

Pennsylvania’s first Surveyor General Thomas Holme’s 1687 map of Pennsylvania gives the river’s name as simply Brandy Wine and shows it flowing into Christian Creek and then the ‘Dellaware’ River.

While the origin of the name is unclear, no one disputes the 80 mile-long Brandywine River is a beautiful recreation and environmental sanctuary that deserves Pennsylvania’s 2017 River of the Year award!

You can help the Brandywine win that distinction by casting your vote now.