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Bellevue Hall land records

Creation: 1782-1920
 Collection
Accession: 2406

Abstract

Bellevue estate, now the Bellevue State Park, is a historic estate that was once a series of farms owned by members of the Orr, Grubb, and Stevenson families and later purchased by William du Pont (1855-1928). The records are a series of deeds covering the conveyance of the Bellevue property from 1782 to 1920. There are also three maps of the estate, including one showing the location of the house and landscaping.

Dates

  • Creation: 1782-1920

Creator

Extent

38 item(s)

Historical Note

Bellevue estate, now the Bellevue State Park, is a historic estate that was once a series of farms owned by members of the Orr, Grubb, and Stevenson families and later purchased by William du Pont (1855-1928).

In the early nineteenth century, the land was a series of farms occupied by members of the Orr, Grubb, and Stevenson families. In 1850, Hanson Robinson (1815-1871), a Philadelphia wool merchant, purchased land from Joseph Orr and Joseph Grubb and created a country estate. In 1855, he completed a three-story Gothic Revival house called "Woolton Hall." After Robinson's death in 1871, the property passed to a shipping merchant, Clark R. Griggs (1824-1915). Griggs kept Woolton Hall intact but built a carriage house in the 1870s to house his collection of antique carriages.

William du Pont Sr. (1855-1928) purchased the property in 1893 and subsequently expanded it, renaming the house "Bellevue Hall." His son, William du Pont Jr. (1896-1965), inherited the estate in 1928 and remodeled the house in a Colonial Revival style in imitation of "Montpelier," the former home of President James Madison near Orange, Virginia, which had been owned by the William du Pont family since 1908. After the younger du Pont's death in 1965, the property was left to decay, but it was purchased by the state for use as a park in 1976. The house has been converted to a restaurant.

Scope and Contents

The records are a series of deeds covering the conveyance of the Bellevue estate property from 1782 to 1920. There are also three maps of the estate, including one showing the location of the house and landscaping.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.

Language of Materials

English

Related Names

Subject

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Bellevue Hall land records
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2021: Ashley Williams

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400