Wilmington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by Proprietor Thomas Penn after his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister during the reign of George II of Great Britain.
The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. 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. On the hillside below the mansion lies a Renaissance Revival garden, with terraces and statuary, created in the 1920s by Louise Evelina du Pont Crowninshield (1877–1958).
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.
The du Pont family or Du Pont family is a prominent American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817). 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.
Pierre Samuel du Pont was an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family.
Alexis I. duPont High School (AI) is a public high school located in Greenville, Delaware with a Wilmington postal address. It is one of the three public high schools offering grades 9–12 in the Red Clay Consolidated School District. 807 students were enrolled during the 2019–2020 school year. Areas zoned to AI come from portions of Wilmington and several suburbs, including Greenville, most of Hockessin, a portion of North Star, and Centreville, as well as nearby Breck's Mill. In Wilmington, it serves the historic districts of Cool Spring Park, Delaware Avenue, and Wawaset Park.
Wilmington Trust is one of the top 10 largest American institutions by fiduciary assets. Wilmington Trust is currently a provider of international corporate and institutional services, investment management, and private banking. The firm was founded on July 8, 1903, as a banking, trust, and safe deposit company by DuPont president T. Coleman du Pont. In 2010, it became a subsidiary of M&T Bank.
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.
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.
Wawaset Park is a planned community national historic district located on the western edge of the City of Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. The area was formerly the grounds of Schuetzen Park, a horse racing and later auto racing track and fairgrounds. It was purchased in 1917 by the DuPont Company and developed into single-family houses, semi-detached and row houses to meet the housing need for the company's expanding corporate staff. The historic district encompasses 321 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure.
This is a list of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware:
Rodney Square is the public square and historic district in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, United States, named after American Revolutionary leader Caesar Rodney. A large equestrian statue of Rodney by James E. Kelly formerly stood in the front of the square until it was removed in 2020. The square was created in the early 20th century by John Jacob Raskob, who worked for Pierre S. du Pont. The City Beautiful movement served as the inspiration for the effort.
St. Joseph on the Brandywine, originally Saint Joseph's Church until St. Joseph's Church- Wilmington was built in 1947, is a parish of the Catholic Church in Greenville, Delaware, United States, in the Diocese of Wilmington. It is a historic parish church complex and national historic district located on Old Church Road. Since 2002 its old convent building has housed the diocesan archives, with records going back two centuries. It is also the home parish of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden.
Brandywine Manufacturers Sunday School, also known as Sunday School and Hagley Office, is a historic Sunday school building located near Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. It was built in 1817, and is a one-story, rectangular stone building. It measures 31 feet by 65 feet and features an Ionic order columned portico and school bell tower. Also on the property is a contributing spring house. It was built for workers, old and young, to learn the basics of reading, writing, and "ciphering," and remained in use as a school until 1851. From 1902 to 1921, it was the Hagley Yard office of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours Company. It was then converted to a private dwelling.
Augustine Paper Mill, also known as the Container Corporation of America, Paper Mill Division, was a historic paper mill complex located in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. The complex consisted of seven 19th century stone buildings including the original three-story mill building, also known as Building 7, and various later two-level mill structures and support buildings. As of 2022, Building 7 is the only surviving part of the complex. It is a three-story mill erected from randomly laid stone with walls three feet thick, a slate covered gable roof, and an arched brick opening for the mill race.
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.
Delaware Avenue Historic District is a national historic district located at Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. It encompasses 180 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure developed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The district is primarily residential and includes a variety of Victorian-era mansions and large dwellings in a variety of popular architectural styles including Italianate, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, and American Four Square The houses are detached or semi-detached and are primarily three stories in height with extensive wings to the rear. The district also includes 20th century apartment complexes. Also located in the district is the St. Stephen's Lutheran Church and the Sailors and Soldiers Monument. The separately listed Howard Pyle Studios are also located in the district.
Cool Spring Park Historic District is a national historic district located at Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. It encompasses 316 contributing buildings, 3 contributing structures, and 3 contributing objects in located in and around Cool Spring Park in Wilmington. It developed in the late-19th century as a middle class residential area. They are primarily semi-detached dwellings in a variety of popular styles including Gothic Revival and Queen Anne. Also located in the district is the Cool Spring Pumping Station associated with the Cool Spring Reservoir, Cool Spring Elementary School, and Knights of Pythias Hall.
Rockford Park is a historic public park located in a residential area of Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. It is characterized by a large, grassy meadow which slopes gently upward to a large knoll overlooking the Brandywine River.
