Brandywine

History

William H. Early named the town of Brandywine as property he owned in the mid-19th century. The CDP consists of the property he owned in the 19th century. It is thought to be named after the Battle of Brandywine of the American Revolutionary War. Brandywine was developed on the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad's Pope Creek (Southern Maryland) line in about 1873 and was the only town on the route that developed into a railroad town. On September 1, 1877, around 4 p.m., a small 2.7 magnitude earthquake struck Brandywine. In 1912, the Bank of Brandywine was chartered from what had previously been the Southern Maryland German-American Bank. Although located between the substantial bedroom cities of Clinton and Waldorf, Brandywine remained rural until after the turn of the twenty-first century, when shopping centers—including big-box stores—and small residential developments were built. Despite the building of both a major highway overpass and a roundabout in 2019, the community is still notorious for traffic slowdowns due to both daily local commuters and interstate travelers. As of 2024, two new townhouse developments are under construction. The following is a list of historic sites in Brandywine, which includes Baden and T.B. identified by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, none of which are currently museums: {|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:98%" ! | ! width = 25% | Site Name ! width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image ! |Location ! class="unsortable" | M-NCPPC Inventory Number ! class="unsortable" | Comment |-- ! | 1 | Black Swamp School | | 19011 Croom Road | 87A-057 | Designated in 2009; Officially 1899 "Colored School No. 2, District 8" in Horsehead |-- ! | 2 | Black Walnut Thicket | | 15508 Letcher Road East | 86B-010 |…

Geography

The CDP and town are adjacent to the southern border of Prince George's County, lying east and west of busy Maryland Route 5/U.S. Route 301, which merge at Brandywine. Brandywine CDP is bordered by Accokeek to the west, Clinton and Rosaryville to the north, Croom to the northeast, and Cedarville to the southeast, all in Prince George's County. Waldorf in Charles County borders Brandywine to the south. The Brandywine zip code area encompasses parts of both counties and includes Cedarville and Baden. Designated as part of the Prince George's County rural tier, it is primarily rural with a suburban and commercial center.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Accokeek Academy
  Elementary · Accokeek · 1,567 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Oxon Hill High
  High · Oxon Hill · 1,553 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Chesapeake Math and IT South Public Charter
  Other · Upper Marlboro · 1,486 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• Frederick Douglass High
  High · Upper Marlboro · 1,159 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Gwynn Park High
  High · Brandywine · 1,140 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Crossland High
  High · Temple Hills · 1,082 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Friendly High
  High · Fort Washington · 881 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• James Madison Middle
  Middle · Upper Marlboro · 873 students · 19:1 ratio