Finding Aids

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.

Windsor Farms is one of Richmond's first planned neighborhood, primarily of Colonial Revival design. Architects included Duncan Lee, William Lawrence Bottomley, and C.W. Huff Jr. This collection includes plans, elevations, details, and typed specifications for a house built for Eugene E. du Pont (1914-1995) by architect C.W. Huff Jr.

E. Paul du Pont (1887-1950), the son of Francis Gurney du Pont (1850-1905) and Elise Simons du Pont (1849-1919), is best known as the manufacturer of the Du Pont automobile. He owned the house Squirrel Run Hill, the former Second Office of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, and the surrounding grounds. This small collection includes papers relating to additions and alterations to Squirrel Run Hill and papers relating to the estates of his parents.

Eleutherian Mills is the house built by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), above his gunpowder mills, the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. It served as a home to the du Pont family for generations, the last being Louise du Pont Crowninshield (1877-1958). The collection contains material related to the restoration of the home prior to Crowninshield occupying it. Also included are materials related to a road to the Eleutherian Mills and Nemours residences, repairs to the iron bridge across the Brandywine, and description of E.I. du Pont's garden.

Upper Louviers was a residence located on the east bank of the Brandywine Creek in Brandywine Hundred, Delaware, opposite the powder mills of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Elise du Pont Elrick (1902-1984), who lived at Upper Louviers as a child, was an architect and translator. This collection consists of architectural drawings of the residence made by Elise du Pont Elrick in 1936.

Henry Algernon du Pont (1838-1926) was a military officer, a politician from Delaware, and vice president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. Two typed letters from du Pont to J. Simpson Dean (1898-1978) and Paulina du Pont Dean (1903-1964) concerning the new private road beginning at the intersection of the two private roads to Eleutherian Mills and Nemours residences.

Henry Algernon du Pont (1838-1926) was a military officer, a politician from Delaware, and vice president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. The collection consists of a survey and two letters related to du Pont's Deep Water Point Farm in Salem County, New Jersey.

James W. Flaherty Inc. was a general contractor company in Wilmington, Delaware that operated between 1949 and 1983. Consists of drawings and plans for various local properties, including du Pont family estates.

John A. Bader II (1895-1961) was a Wilmington, Delaware, building contractor active during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. The records are primarily Bader's business papers. The collection includes engineer's field books, diaries of trips, and job notes. Eight volumes contain profit and loss statements, cost accounting for jobs, records of checks paid, and files on individual construction jobs.

The Kennett Turnpike (Delaware Route 52) was built between 1811 and 1814 intended to provide a connection between Wilmington, Delaware and nearby areas in southeastern Pennsylvania, where it would connect to other turnpike leading to western Pennsylvania. The scale map shows the road and properties east of it including Mary Belin du Pont's (1839-1913) and Rising Sun Lane. The map was done by W.S. [William Smith] Morison (1866-1905).

Lavinia Dimmick Rée (1874-1946) was a descendant of the founders of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical research and manufacturing company. She was the daughter of Irene du Pont (1845-1877) and Edward Dimmick (1843-1895), and a great-niece of Sophie M. du Pont (1810-1888). The records consist of two copies of a typewritten transcription of "Memories of Aunt Sophie" written by Rée about du Pont's home, Lower Louviers, during the late 1870s and 1880s.

This collection consists of photographs and maps depicting the property of the Brandywine Works of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. The maps and blueprints show how the property of the Brandywine Works was divided among du Pont family members for estates after the works closed. A small series of large-format photographs depict various scenes and events from the Brandywine Works and the city of Wilmington in general.

"Rencourt" was the Wilmington, Delaware, home of Alexis Irénée du Pont (1843-1904) and his family. Pennsylvania architect Theophilus P. Chandler, Jr. (1845-1928) designed the house; it was built in 1890 and demolished in the 1950s. This collection includes plans of the main and second floors (ink on linen), plans and elevation of the stables (white-line blueprints), and plans of the gate (white-line blueprint).

Route 1 is a major north-south U.S. highway extending from Florida to Maine. The plat depicts a small portion of Route 1 between Hamorton and the Anvil Inn, including P.S. du Pont's (1870-1952) Longwood Gardens.

William du Pont, Sr. (1855-1928) was an industrialist and member of the prominent du Pont family of Delaware, whose family business was the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, also known as the DuPont Company which was a large manufacturer of gunpowder. He worked for the first DuPont dynamite manufacturer, Repauno Chemical Company, as secretary and treasurer (1880-1884) and after the tragic death of Lammot du Pont (1831-1884), as president (1884-1892). William du Pont, Jr. was the youngest child of du Pont, Sr. and Annie Rogers Zinn du Pont (1858-1827). Du Pont Jr. became the president of Delaware Trust Company in 1929, the youngest bank president in Wilmington at that time. In 1952, he became chairman of the board, retaining both positions until his death in 1965. The William du Pont family papers are organized into two record groups: William du Pont, Sr. papers and William du Pont, Jr. papers. The William du Pont, Sr. papers primarily encompass the years of his active business life from the early 1880s to his death in 1928. There are also some papers from his early life and after his death. The William du Pont, Jr. papers document areas of his activities predominantly concerned with land development in Wilmington, Delaware; farming, animal breeding and foxhunting in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia; and promotion of horse racing in the United States, especially in Delaware.

William du Pont (1855-1928) was an industrialist and member of the promienent du Pont family of Delaware, whose family business was the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, also known as the DuPont Company which was a large manufacturer of gunpowder. He worked for the first DuPont dynamite manufacturer, Repauno Chemical Company, as secretary and treasurer (1880-1884) and after the tragic death of Lammot du Pont (1831-1884), as president (1884-1892). This small group of papers encompass both correspondence and various financial and investment accounts, largely covering his ten years spent in England after leaving the United States in 1893.