[8] In March 1883, the Delaware State Legislature passed a law forming the Wilmington Board of Park Commissioners.

Ten unpaid men were appointed to the board to plan and build Wilmington parks.

The commissioners hired Frederick Law Olmsted, the famous landscape architect to find the best places to house these parks.

Right across the river from where the current zoo is located lived an Irishman named Archibald Rowan.

On the land where the zoo now stands, there was a public amphitheater where people would go to hear famous orators of their time.

In 1904, Dr. James H. Morgan came to the Board of Park Commissioners with the idea of starting a zoo in Wilmington.

Between 1921 and 1928, the zoo had donations of eleven elk, three buffalo, two eagles, five monkeys, goats, two black bears, ducks, parrots, two raccoons, one groundhog, and three alligators.

Carpenter raised funds by donating the profits from family night at the Philadelphia Phillies professional baseball game.

All of the exhibits were brightly painted and housed farm animals donated each spring by area farmers.

Many generations of the regional community celebrated by revisiting the zoo and sharing sentiments of their affection for the animals and the importance of the Brandywine Zoo in their formative years for introducing them to the role that people have in species survival and environmental conservation Today, the Brandywine Zoo covers 4.7 acres (1.9 ha) of land along the Brandywine River and features animals from the Americas, temperate and tropical Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islands.

In any given year, the zoo has about 50 to 70 community volunteers serving in the education department, animal care, maintenance, as general guides, assisting in research programs, and contributing professional services.

Many local citizens are active volunteers of the Delaware Zoological Society and some serve as the board of directors.

[10] Zhanna was transferred to the Bronx Zoo in January 2017 per the AZA's Species Survival Plan.

The zoo has Andean condors, a variety of felines such as bobcat and serval, red panda, capybara, bald eagles, and more.

The current list of animals include:[3] The Brandywine Zoo participates in a variety of projects to promote conservation both in Delaware and abroad.