Wilmington, Delaware, is really a combination of two towns. Wilmington proper rises from the banks of the navigable Christina River and prospered as a convenient place to collect farm products from the interior of Delaware and central Pennsylvania. At its back, though, is a tributary of the Christina River, known as Brandywine Creek. Navigable for only a short distance, the creek quickly rises into the Piedmont and through a series of small falls, provides a dependable source of power for mills. Small boats, or shallops, sailed up to the base of these falls, unloaded their grain, and loaded back up with what became known as "Superfine" flour, some of the best flour produced in America. These mills were known as the Brandywine Mills and the town around them, Brandywine Village.