Du Pont Legacy

The du Pont family carries one of the most significant names in the history of American entrepreneurship. Beginning with a gunpowder manufacturing mill on the Brandywine River in 1802, the du Ponts built the DuPont Company, a global giant of industry that fueled the growth and development of Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley for centuries.  

The du Pont story begins at Hagley Museum and Library, the 235-acre site where the original gunpowder mills still stand. A collection of 5,000 patent models is on display here, tracing the ingenuity of American inventors far beyond the DuPont Company itself.  

Marvel at the 90,000-piece collection of American decorative arts at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, which has been transformed from a du Pont family property into America’s foremost museum of the decorative arts.  

The du Pont name is also associated with spectacular horticultural and botanical displays at Longwood Gardens — 1,077 acres in size and just minutes from historic Kennett Square, Pennsylvania — and Mt. Cuba Center, where native plant cultivation and sustainability take center stage. At Nemours Estate, explore one of the largest and finest examples of a formal French garden or tell the stories of the vintage automobiles in the chauffeur’s garage. 

In Wilmington itself, trace the du Pont legacy at the Gilded Age splendor of the famed HOTEL DU PONT or the riverside oasis of the DuPont Environmental Education Center.  

Hagley Museum and Library

Hagley is a large, indoor-outdoor museum experience with hundreds of years of history. Explore the new Nation of Inventors exhibition celebrating diverse stories of American innovation. Join…

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

Please note: Winterthur is closed to the public from January 8-March 1. Members can continue to enjoy daily dawn to dusk access to explore the grounds. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Brandywine…

Mt. Cuba Center

Please Note: Our Gardens are closed for the season. Join us for the 2024 season starting April 3. Voted “Best Botanical Garden” in the 2020 USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards, Mt. Cuba Center is…

Longwood Gardens

Explore one of the great gardens of the world, featuring 1,100 acres of meadows, gardens, and woodlands including a 4-acre Conservatory. With dazzling horticulture displays, majestic fountains and…

Nemours Estate

Please note: Nemours Estate is now closed for the season and will reopen on April 2, 2024. Explore the elegance of a 77-room Mansion, a Chauffeur's Garage with vintage automobiles, and 200-acres of…

HOTEL DU PONT

Located in the downtown landmark du Pont building, across the street from Rodney Square, the “grande dame” of Wilmington takes guests back to a time of craftsmanship and courtesy, ease and elegance…

DuPont Environmental Education Center

Located along the Christina River and on the edge of the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge, DuPont Environmental Education Center (DEEC) is where the city, river, and marsh meet. The refuge is…