Finding Aids

The E.I. du Pont de Nemours is a chemical company commonly known as the DuPont Company was established in 1802, and began by manufacturing gunpowder and later chemical compounds. The foundations for the Engineering Department were laid in 1902. The department’s purpose was to design and construct high explosives plants, design powder machinery and create extensions to existing plants. The DuPont Engineering Department collection consists of photographic material documenting Twentieth century construction projects throughout the many different E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company work sites, including some outside construction projects within the explosives and chemical industry. There are 209 work sites which are arranged in alphabetical order.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company was established as a black powder manufactory in 1802. The DuPont Company purchased a site near City Point, Virginia on the James River in 1912 in order to build a dynamite plant located closer to the southern market. The onset of World War I, however, created a great demand for guncotton, and the Hopewell Works was converted to that purpose, starting in 1915. This item is a 1916 panoramic photograph of the repair shop.