2008 Woodie Awards
Hagley Museum preserves duPont family's past
Molly MacMillan
Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: News
Although Delaware may not have the ancient ruins and estates of Europe, it still has a rich history. The duPont family has made an effort across New Castle County to protect Delaware history and the duPont family collections by preserving several family properties.
The Hagley Museum is operated by the duPont family in Wilmington and is currently displaying a watercolor exhibit with works created by Francis B. Crowninshield at Elutherian Mills, the family home built in Greenville at the beginning of the 19th century. Crowninshield's paintings illustrate landscapes that reflect the lifestyle of the wealthy painter whose wife, Louise, was a member of the duPont family.
Jill MacKenzie, external affairs head at Hagley, said the exhibit provides a glimpse into the posh life of the couple, who only lived in Wilmington for two months out of the year, between the time they spent in Florida and Massachusetts. The rest of the museum focuses on the gunpowder industry and the life of a DuPont company worker.
"Hagley is a great way to see how the duPonts made their money," MacKenzie said. "At Winterthur and Longwood Gardens, you can see how they spent it."
She said approximately 25 percent of the visitors at the museum are school children and the other 75 percent are adult tours and casual visitors. The museum draws visitors from the region and museum employees work closely with elementary schools around the area to fulfill curriculum requirements.
Tour guide Anne Hummel informs guests about the family patriarch and founder of the DuPont gunpowder mill, Eleuthere Irenee DuPont. He was an agriculturalist and botanist who left France in the 18th century. The plot of one of his former gardens was rediscovered and restored near Elutherian Mills in 1958.
Louise was Eleuthere's great-granddaughter and came into possession of the first family home in the 1920s after the property housed non-family members, including World War I soldiers for several decades, Hummel said. Louise was raised at the neighboring DuPont farm estate, Winterthur, and made visits to her grandparents at Elutherian Mills during her youth.
The Hagley Museum is operated by the duPont family in Wilmington and is currently displaying a watercolor exhibit with works created by Francis B. Crowninshield at Elutherian Mills, the family home built in Greenville at the beginning of the 19th century. Crowninshield's paintings illustrate landscapes that reflect the lifestyle of the wealthy painter whose wife, Louise, was a member of the duPont family.
Jill MacKenzie, external affairs head at Hagley, said the exhibit provides a glimpse into the posh life of the couple, who only lived in Wilmington for two months out of the year, between the time they spent in Florida and Massachusetts. The rest of the museum focuses on the gunpowder industry and the life of a DuPont company worker.
"Hagley is a great way to see how the duPonts made their money," MacKenzie said. "At Winterthur and Longwood Gardens, you can see how they spent it."
She said approximately 25 percent of the visitors at the museum are school children and the other 75 percent are adult tours and casual visitors. The museum draws visitors from the region and museum employees work closely with elementary schools around the area to fulfill curriculum requirements.
Tour guide Anne Hummel informs guests about the family patriarch and founder of the DuPont gunpowder mill, Eleuthere Irenee DuPont. He was an agriculturalist and botanist who left France in the 18th century. The plot of one of his former gardens was rediscovered and restored near Elutherian Mills in 1958.
Louise was Eleuthere's great-granddaughter and came into possession of the first family home in the 1920s after the property housed non-family members, including World War I soldiers for several decades, Hummel said. Louise was raised at the neighboring DuPont farm estate, Winterthur, and made visits to her grandparents at Elutherian Mills during her youth.
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