The Benjamin Ring House/Washington's Headquarters

The Benjamin Ring House/Washington's Headquarters

(c.1720, reconstructed 1952)
Ye Great Road to Nottingham (now U.S. Route 1), Brandywine Battlefield Park
Birmingham Township (now Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County)
Historic House Museum

On the eve of the Battle of Brandywine, General George Washington established his headquarters in the farmhouse of Benjamin Ring, a Quaker farmer and miller.  The house stood within easy access of Chads’ Ford where the British were expected to cross the Brandywine.  Washington held a council of war with his generals in the the Ring house on September 9th to plan his strategy.  During the 20th century, the house fell into disrepair and was extensively damaged by fire in the early 1930s.  Today, visitors can tour the reconstructed house, seeing it much as it was on that late sultry summer day in 1777.

Houses Standing During the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777

The Barns-Brinton House
Birmingham Meeting
Brinton's Mill
Daniel Davis House
Dilworth's Town Inn
Howe's Headquarters/The George Gilpin House
The John Chads House
Lafayette's Quarters/The Gideon Gilpin House
Old Kennett Meeting
Pennsbury/Lancaster Inn
Springdale Farm
Washington's Headquarters/The Benjamin Ring House
William Brinton 1704 House
William Harvey House

 

 

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© 2010 Chadds Ford Historical Society (CFHS) is a private, non-profit, community based, volunteer organization that has restored and maintains three pre-Revolutionary buildings which are open to the public as House Museums. Education programs for schoolchildren are conducted year-round by appointment. Events hosted by the Society include Chadds Ford Days, The Great Pumpkin Carve, and Candlelight Christmas.