BRANDYWINE – The Junction of U.S. Route 33, coming off Shenandoah Mountain from Virginia, and Sugar Grove Road has always been the commercial corner – actually the only corner – in Brandywine.

Unincorporated, the town is a census-designated place of a half square mile located in Pendleton County. The small town lies along the South Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River at its confluence with Hawkes Run. In 2010, its population was 218.

Located nearby within the George Washington National Forest is the Brandywine Recreation Area which includes camping sites and hiking trails near Brandywine Lake, a reservoir on Hawkes Run created by the South Fork Structure Number 13 Dam.

Brandywine has always offered the closest trade center for the surrounding small farms and rural area stretching toward Sugar Grove 12 miles to the south, and Franklin 12 miles to the northwest.

In the 1940s Albert Joseph operated the Dew Drop Inn – “and stagger out,” the locals would always add under their breath, built on the south side of Route 33.

Joseph operated a gas station and sold beer inside. He ran a regular bar with a juke box, a pin-ball machine and later a pool table. His wife, Mary, ran the kitchen in the back and served hot meals on tables set around the floor. A lot of her early customers were construction workers at the Naval Research Lab facility which later became the “Upper Base” operated by the NSA. Brandywine resident Harry Lee Scott remembers: “Old George Hoover used to ride his horse down to the Dew Drop Inn, tie him to an old wooden fence, enjoy his beer – lots of beer, then the horse would take him right on home.”

Charles Franklin “John” Scott bought the place in the 50s and turned it into a small grocery store. He sold out in 1970 to his son, Harry Lee, who enlarged the grocery store in 1975 and provided an area to buy hot deli food, sandwiches and drinks with space to sit and enjoy it.

“They always sold gas at that site,” Harry Lee Scott said.

In the 1920s Lon Trumbo relocated his store from the north side of Route 33 to a new store he built across the road next to the Dew Drop Inn.

Trumbo and his wife, Jane, lived above the store which sold gasoline and groceries. They were known to trade farmers’ chickens, eggs and hides for produce. Trumbo’s was a gathering place for everybody, especially in the winter time around a hot pot-belly stove,” said Gene Boggs, former county magistrate and Trumbo’s grandson.

Trumbo was renowned for a registered Morgan stallion, named Paul, which he purchased in 1924 for the astronomical price of $2,400. Trumbo rode Paul around the area to stand him at stud, Boggs said. Many of the area’s finer riding, buggy and hard working horses were sired by Paul through the 1930s.

Trumbo’s was torn down in the 1950s to make way for a widened relocated Sugar Grove Road needed to bring in equipment and construction material for the upper base and former Navy Base.

Today, the latest business under construction on the north side of 33 will be a $2.2 million Family Dollar store with more than 8,000 square feet of retail space offering clothing, grocery items, cleaning tools and sundries.

Across the road on the south side, Harry Lee Scott’s H & J Superette, was purchased and torn down by Franklin resident Mark Lambert, owner of the Long Mountain General Store on Troublesome Valley Road. Lambert is constructing the 4,880 square foot Brandywine General Store

“It’s a convenience store with gas and diesel pumps. We’ll have a delicatessen with cold sandwiches and salads, snacks, hand-dipped ice cream and a small dining room,” Lambert said.

Featuring West Virginia memorabilia and West Virginia University stuff, the store will offer hunting and fishing gear, case knives, camping supplies, handmade wood products, metal signs, prints, posters and toys, Lambert said.

On the second story, Lambert has future plans to locate private vendors selling such things as antiques and homemade craft items.

Wesley Cook will be store manager and Ann Kiser will manage the food products.

Added to his other store, Lambert will offer 9000 square feet of merchandise.

“We had outgrown the Long Mountain store and, instead of adding on there, decided to buy the Brandywine site and build from scratch. We hope to attract customers from the surrounding areas. Perhaps we can attract people from over the mountain to come over here on the weekends – that would reverse the trend a little bit where people here go over there to shop,” he said with a smile.

Both new stores hope to open in April or May, if the weather permits.