Finding Aids

Longwood Gardens is a series of formal display gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, that was developed by Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954) after he purchased the site from the Peirce family in 1906. The collection is comprised of two oral history interview projects. The first is with Eddie Dowling (1889-1976), an actor, screenwriter, playwright, director, producer, songwriter, and composer. The second project is commissioned oral histories with people with remembrances of du Pont and the development of Longwood Gardens.

Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont (1870-1954) was the great-grandson of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, and that company played a major role in P.S. du Pont's life. He is most well-known for developing the preeminent botanical gardens, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The P. S. du Pont estate papers document the distribution of physical items from his Longwood estate in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in the years following his death.

Longwood Gardens is a series of formal display gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, that was developed by Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954) after he purchased the site from the Peirce family in 1906. In 1921 he constructed an extensive network of conservatories which contained plantings from many locales, including species from Africa and South America. This collection consists of two homemade stereographs showing different interior views of the conservatory.

Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont (1870-1954) was an industrialist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He was president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. from 1915 to 1919 and chairman of the board from 1919 to 1940. P.S. du Pont was the great grandson of Eleuthere Irenee du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, and the great-great-grandson and namesake of the French economist, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817). du Pont's personal life is well documented by the photographic collection he left, and it followed certain themes. The greatest of these may be horticultural interests which developed during his creation of the celebrated Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, where he lived. du Pont made many foreign and domestic journeys and recorded his travels. His large extended family is included in this collection. This collection is organized into seven series: Longwood Gardens; Individuals and families; Groups and organizations; E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company; Trips and vacations; Places; and Culture, society, and service.