National Chrysanthemum Society USA

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Tours

We are offering only one official tour this year.

On Thursday, October 27, we are offering a bus ride and self-tour of various historic sites in center city Philadelphia. The bus will drop riders at a point close to Independence Hall. From there you can tour the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Philadelphia Art Museum (with the steps made famous in the movie Rocky), the Franklin Institute, and a number of other historic sites.

The bus will leave the hotel at 9:00 a.m. and will pick riders up for the return trip to Kennett Square at 3:00 p.m. You should have about 5 hours to explore historic Philadelphia.

We are also going to try something new this year. Since we think that many attendees will be driving, you may want to do some touristy visits on your own as you have the time. We will post a list at the registration table on which a person can list where they are going, when they are leaving, and how many others they could take along. We will call it "Carpool Touring." We will have maps to supplement the brochures which you can find in the hotel. What are some of the likely spots to visit?

1. Brandywine River (Wyeth) Museum in Chadds Ford, PA (about 5 miles): Exhibiting American art in a 19th-century grist mill, the Brandywine River Museum is internationally known for its unparalleled collection of works by three generations of Wyeths and its fine collection of American illustration, still life, and landscape painting. Brandywine River Museum

2. Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, 5105 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE 19807 (about 7 miles): Almost 60 years ago, collector, and horticulturist Henry Francis du Pont (1880-1969) opened his childhood home, Winterthur, to the public. Today, Winterthur (pronounced "winter-tour") is the premier museum of American decorative arts, with an unparalleled collection of 85,000 objects made or used in America between about 1640 and 1860. The collection is displayed in the magnificent 175-room house, much as it was when the du Pont family lived here.

   Winterthur is set amidst a 1,000-acre preserve of rolling meadows and woodlands. Designed by du Pont, its 60-acre naturalistic garden is among America's best. Winterthur

3. Hagley Museum and Library, 201 Hagley Creek Rd, Wilmington, DE (about 10 miles): Located on 235 acres along the banks of the Brandywine River, Hagley is the site of the gunpowder works founded by E. I. du Pont in 1802. This example of early American industry includes restored mills, a workers' community, and the ancestral home and gardens of the du Pont family. Visit Hagley Museum website.

4. Brandywine Battlefields (about 6 miles): The Battle of Brandywine brings to life the largest engagement of the Revolutionary War, fought on September 11, 1777, between the Continental Army led by General George Washington and the British forces headed by General William Howe. Visit Brandywine Battlefields

5. Of course we hope that many of our attendees will venture into Kennett Square itself. It is only about 2 miles from the hotel. Kennett Square and Historical Kennett Square Before the European settlers came to this region it was populated by the Lenni-Lenape Indians. The name Kennett originates with Francis Smith who came to this region in 1686. He was a native of Devizes, in Wiltshire, England, in which there is a village called "Kennett." The name is first mentioned in court records in 1705. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century Kennett was a small village located where the road from Chester to Baltimore intersected with the road from Lancaster to Wilmington. It was at this intersection that the Unicorn Tavern was built in 1735 by Joseph Musgrave, the largest landowner in what is now Kennett Square. In 1776 Musgrave sold his property to Colonel Joseph Shippen, the uncle of Peggy Shippen, who became the wife of Benedict Arnold. Antebellum Kennett was an important region in the Underground Railroad, and many prominent citizens of Kennett Square and the surrounding region played an important role in securing freedom for runaway slaves. You can even take a tour of the secret passages around Kennett. It was in Kennett Square that the grain drill was invented by Samuel and Moses Pennock (patented on March 12, 1841), and improvements for the corn sheller and harvester (1857), and the first four-wheel road machine (1877). Their business, S & M Pennock & Sons, eventually grew into the American Road Machinery Company. Other local inventors included James Green, inventor of a hay knife; Bernard Wiley, inventor of the famous Wiley Plow; John Chambers, inventor of the asbestos stove plate; and Cyrus Chambers, who patented a machine for folding papers, and a brick making machine. It was on the Chambers property that the first circular saw in Chester County was built in 1835. Another large business, still operating, was Fibre Specialty Manufacturing Company, now NVF Co., which built its first plant in Kennett Square in 1898. Kennett Square's most famous citizen was Bayard Taylor (1825-1878). A resident of Kennett Square, this nineteenth-century author, diplomat, poet, and journalist published over forty books, including Views A-Foot, Eldorado, a translation of Famp;aust (which Mark Twain called the best of all English translations), and local favorite, The Story of Kennett. Bayard Taylor died in Berlin while serving as Minister to Germany under President Hayes. Another famous citizen was Herbert Jefferis "Herb" Pennock (1894-1948). He was a great left-handed pitcher in the American League and later a Phillies' executive. His active career was in the American League with Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. During his career, he won five World Series games and never lost one. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1948. Over 51% of the nation's mushroom crops are grown in the Kennett Square area. The Mushroom Cap in the heart of downtown Kennett Square offers a 10-minute video showing how the mushroom industry began in Kennett Square, how and where the mushrooms are grown, how they are picked, and what their nutritional value is. Fresh mushrooms are available daily (one pound free with a $10 purchase), as well as mushroom gifts and Kennett Square souvenirs.