Hagley Museum and Library

Last updated

Hagley Museum and Library
Hagley museum.JPG
USA Delaware location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Nearest city Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Coordinates 39°46′50″N75°34′30″W / 39.78056°N 75.57500°W / 39.78056; -75.57500
Area235 acres (95 ha)
Builtbeginning 1802
NRHP reference No. 84000819 [1]
Significant dates
Opened1957
Added to NRHPNovember 13, 1966

The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. [2] Covering more than 235 acres (95 ha) along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Pont family home and garden in the United States, the powder yards, and a 19th-century machine shop. [3] On the hillside below the mansion lies a Renaissance Revival garden, with terraces and statuary, [4] created in the 1920s by Louise Evelina du Pont Crowninshield (1877–1958). [5]

Contents

History

In 1802, French immigrant Éleuthère Irénée du Pont founded black powder mills on the banks of Brandywine Creek [6] after purchasing the property in 1801 for $6,700. [7] He chose the location for the river's tumble over the Fall Line which provided power, timber and willow trees (used to produce quality charcoal required for superior black powder), the proximity to the Delaware River (on which other ingredients of the powder – sulfur and saltpeter – could be shipped); and the quarries of gneiss that would provide construction materials for the mills. [8] The E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company's black powder factory became the largest in the world.

In 1921, the mills along the Brandywine closed and parcels of the property were sold. Plans for a museum were established 31 years later, on the occasion of the DuPont Company's 150th anniversary in 1952. [9]

Origin of the name

Hagley historians only know that the name was already in use well before E.I. du Pont expanded downstream from Eleutherian Mills in 1813 by purchasing the land that became the Hagley Yards. An 1813 document refers to the land as Hagley and it had been called Hagley as early as 1797, when its owner, Philadelphia Quaker merchant Rumford Dawes, applied for insurance on buildings that were said to be located in a place called Hagley on the Brandywine. Dawes had acquired the property in 1783. Since the name Hagley did not appear on the documents transferring ownership at that time, it seems likely that Dawes gave this name to the Brandywine location. [5]

It seems likely that Delaware's Hagley was named for an English estate, Hagley Hall that was well known in the second half of the eighteenth century. It is likely that Dawes chose the name based on an English narrative poem entitled The Seasons by James Thomson. Hagley Hall was the seat of Thomson's patron the Baron Lyttelton, and the poem's description of a sylvan dale is strikingly reminiscent of the Brandywine Valley. The Seasons was popular in Philadelphia at the time that Rumford Dawes acquired and named Hagley. The English Hagley estate is located in the West Midlands countryside about ten miles southwest of Birmingham. [5] Perhaps coincidentally, Delaware's Hagley is about 8 miles south of Chadds Ford Township, officially known as Birmingham Township before 1996.

At about the same time, Hagley Plantation on the Waccamaw River in South Carolina got its name when the owners, who were admirers of English culture, chose the name Hagley to remind them of the well-known parkland of that name near London. [10]

Operations

Opened in 1957, the Hagley Museum features exhibits and demonstrations that show the connections between early industrial technology and early American history, focusing on the histories of the du Pont family, DuPont company, explosives and gunpowder, and innovation (through a large collection of American Patent models [11] ). [12] There are indoor and outdoor exhibitions, along with restored mills, a workers community, and the original home of the du Pont family with an attached garden. [13]

The Museum also explores personal stories of the 19th-century DuPont Company employees, how they lived, and how their lifestyles changed along with new machinery and new production methods. [14] Visitors can ride a narrated bus tour, through the Powder Yard Trail and is the only way to the home. [7]

Library

The Eleutherian Mills Historical Library was dedicated on October 7, 1961. [15] It was renamed as the Hagley Library in 1984. [15]

Hagley's library houses a major research collection of manuscripts, archives, photographs, pamphlets, and books documenting the history of American business and technology. [16] A member of the Independent Research Libraries Association, the library serves scholars from this country and abroad. Holdings include 37,000 linear feet in the Manuscripts and Archives Department, 290,000 printed volumes in the Imprints Department, 2 million visual items in the Pictorial Department, and more than 300,000 digital images and pages in the Digital Archives Department. The library and archival collections owned by Hagley are open to the public for research; a catalog and partial digital archive are available online. [14]

The library includes the Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society, which coordinates Hagley's interactions with the world of scholarship in the fields of American economic, business, and technological history. The center offers a scholar-in-residence program and competitive fellowships. It also hosts the Business History Conference, the largest US-based professional organization of business historians, and the editorial office of the peer-reviewed journal, Enterprise & Society. [17]

E. I. du Pont residence complex

On the property is the home of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, who built the Georgian-style home and surrounding buildings and gardens to serve as a center for familial and business life. The home was inhabited by five generations of the du Pont family, with many pieces of furniture, American folk art, and family pieces brought from France still on view. Other buildings that are a part of the complex are a barn, the "First Office" of the company, Lammot du Pont Workshop, and the garden. [13]

The estate home was the first residence of the du Pont family in the United States. [18]

Grounds and plants

Located on the property are multiple national and state ranked trees. One, an Osage orange tree, was named a Co-National Champion Tree in 2011 and featured in the Delaware Forestry Service's "Big Trees of Delaware" [19] but was partially felled by a storm in August 2020. [20] The tree was speculated to have been over 300 years old or planted via seeds brought back from the Lewis and Clark expedition. [20] Two other trees felled during the storm were state champions, including a 90-foot tall sugar maple and a 62-foot tall shingle oak. [21]

Depiction in media

The Museum was featured on Mysteries at the Museum television show. [22]

Timeline

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenville, Delaware</span> CDP in Delaware, United States

Greenville is a bedroom community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, and a suburb of Wilmington. The population was 2,326 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Greenville as a census-designated place (CDP). The community is also home to the private residence of Joe Biden, the 46th and current president of the United States, and many Du Pont family descendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Éleuthère Irénée du Pont</span> French-American chemist and industrialist (1771–1834)

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours was a French-American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. His descendants, the du Pont family, have been one of the richest and most prominent American families since the 19th century, with generations of influential businessmen, politicians and philanthropists. In 1807, du Pont was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandywine Creek (Christina River tributary)</span> Creek in Pennsylvania and Delaware, US

Brandywine Creek is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine is 20.4 miles (32.8 km) long and is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River with several tributary streams. The East Branch and West Branch of the creek originate within 2 miles (3 km) of each other on the slopes of Welsh Mountain in Honey Brook Township, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of their confluence.

du Pont family Wealthy American family

The du Pont family or Du Pont family is a prominent American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), a French minor aristocrat. It has been one of the richest families in the United States since the mid-19th century, when it founded its fortune in the gunpowder business. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it expanded its wealth through the chemical industry and the automotive industry, with substantial interests in the DuPont company, General Motors, and various other corporations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre S. du Pont</span> American businessman (1870–1954)

Pierre Samuel du Pont was an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Marie du Pont</span> American politician

Victor Marie du Pont de Nemours was a French American diplomat, politician, and businessman. He was also a member of the Delaware General Assembly, the founder of the Du Pont, Bauduy & Co., wool manufacturers, and brother of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bancroft Mills</span> United States historic place

Bancroft Mills is an abandoned mill complex along Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. It has been the site of some of the earliest and most famous mills near Wilmington and was the largest and longest running complex along the Brandywine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred V. du Pont</span> American chemist and industrialist

Alfred Victor Philadelphe du Pont de Nemours was a French American chemist and industrialist, who was the eldest son and successor of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. His son, Alfred Victor du Pont, was one of founding fathers of the alpha (first) chapter of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity on October 19, 1850, affiliated with University of Pennsylvania, which is a charter member of the North American Interfraternity Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise E. du Pont Crowninshield</span> American heiress and historic preservationist (1877–1958)

Louise Evelina du Pont Crowninshield was an American heiress, historic preservationist, and philanthropist. She was the great-granddaughter of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Her estate at Eleutherian Mills near Wilmington, Delaware, became the Hagley Museum and Library in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles I. du Pont</span> American politician

Charles Irénée du Pont was an American manufacturer and politician, and an early member of the prominent du Pont family business. He was a nephew of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and a member of the Delaware Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DuPont Experimental Station</span> Research and development facility of DuPont

The DuPont Experimental Station is the largest research and development facility of DuPont, located on the banks of the Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware Route 52</span> State highway in New Castle County, Delaware, United States

Delaware Route 52 (DE 52) is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from U.S. Route 13 Business in downtown Wilmington north to Pennsylvania Route 52 (PA 52) at the Pennsylvania border near Centerville. DE 52 runs through the city of Wilmington and passes through areas of the Brandywine Valley north of Wilmington. DE 52 intersects Interstate 95 (I-95)/US 202 and DE 2 in Wilmington and DE 100/DE 141 and DE 82 in Greenville. The entire route is designated as part of the Brandywine Valley National Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway and Delaware Byway, while most of the route is also designated as part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway of the Delaware Byways system. The road was built as the Kennett Pike, a turnpike, between 1811 and 1813. The Kennett Pike was bought by Pierre S. du Pont in 1919 and was widened and paved before being sold to the State of Delaware for $1. The road received the DE 52 designation by 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Broom House</span> Historic house in Delaware, United States

The Jacob Broom House, also known historically as Hagley, is a historic house on Christchurch Road near Montchanin, Delaware. It was built in 1795 by Founding Father Jacob Broom, one of the Delaware signers of the United States Constitution. The house was purchased in 1802 by Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, progenitor of the prominent Du Pont family and founder of the DuPont chemical concern, who established the Eleutherian Mills below the house on the banks of Brandywine Creek. The house, which remains in the hands of Du Pont descendants, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974 for its association with Broom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleutherian Mills</span> Former gunpowder mill in Delaware, USA

From 1802 to 1921, Eleutherian Mills was a gunpowder mill site used for the manufacture of explosives founded by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, which grew into the DuPont company. The name also refers to the house on the hill above the mills, which was the first du Pont family home in America. In 1957 the site became an outdoor museum when the Hagley Museum and Library was founded. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breck's Mill Area</span> United States historic place

Breck's Mill Area, also known as Breck's Mill Area-Henry Clay Village Historic District, is a national historic district located along Brandywine Creek in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. It encompasses 56 contributing buildings, five contributing sites, and three contributing structures. The district encompasses The Mill, The Workers' houses, and The Mill Owner's Home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandywine Village</span>

Brandywine Village was an early center of U.S. industrialization located on the Brandywine River in what is now Wilmington, Delaware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IMR Legendary Powders</span>

IMR Legendary Powders is a line of smokeless powders which are popularly used in sporting and military/police firearm cartridges. The initials 'IMR' stand for Improved Military Rifle powder. IMR powders makes a line of various types of smokeless powder suitable for loading many cartridges for rifles, handguns, and shotguns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Boardman Crowninshield</span> American yachtsman

Francis (Frank) Boardman Crowninshield was an international yachtsman and the husband of Louise Evelina du Pont. He was an amateur painter and writer and was also interested in architecture and design, and boat racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Antoine Bidermann</span> French-American businessman (1790–1865)

Jacques Antoine Bidermann, also known as James Antoine Bidermann, was an American businessman of French and Swiss origins who became the business partner and son-in-law of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont. He married into the Du Pont family and founded the estate that later became the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System – (#84000819)". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Home". Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved July 3, 2021. 200 Hagley Creek Road Wilmington, DE 19807 - It is outside of the Wilmington city limits
  3. ↑ "In Delaware and Pennsylvania, a peek at the homes that big money built". Los Angeles Times. June 25, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Crowninshield Garden". Hagley. April 23, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "What is Hagley". Hagley Museum. January 15, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  6. ↑ Bradner, Liesl (June 25, 2015). "In Delaware and Pennsylvania, a peek at the homes that big money built". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Gordon, Renée S. (October 4, 2019). "Smooth Traveler: Wilmington, Delaware's "Chateau Country"". The Philadelphia Sunday Sun. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Brandywine River Powder Mills". www.asme.org. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Hagley Museum, a DuPont History, Wilmington, Delaware - Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin". www.galenfrysinger.com. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  10. ↑ "History". www.hagleyestates.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  11. ↑ "American Patent Models". Hagley. Hagley Museun and Library. February 27, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  12. ↑ Mordock, Jeff; Fishman, Margie; Mordock, Jeff (March 23, 2017). "DuPont gives hotel art to 3 area museums, United Way". The News Journal. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Dyroff, Denny (July 31, 2020). "What To Do: Beat cabin fever, enjoy local outdoor attractions". The Times of Chester County. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  14. 1 2 Hagley Museum and Library: Collections Overview
  15. 1 2 "Eleutherian Mills Historical Library Dedication". Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Hagley Museum and Library | Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine". www.chstm.org. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  17. ↑ "About the Center". Hagley. January 15, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  18. ↑ Great American Homes. Reader's Digest Association. 1997. p. 29. ISBN   9780895779649.
  19. ↑ "New book offers guide to "Big Trees of Delaware"". State of Delaware News. May 21, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  20. 1 2 "Extreme weather topples champion trees at Hagley, spawns new life". The Community News. August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ Steele, Kelli (August 19, 2020). "Extreme weather topples champion trees at Hagley Museum and Library". Delaware Public Media . Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Mysteries at the Museum episode overview". Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.

Openstreetmap logo.svg Geographic data related to Hagley Museum and Library at OpenStreetMap

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.