Winterthur and Hagley

Those of you on Dad's side of the family probably know who DuPont is. For those of you who don't know who the DuPont's are, I'll tell you.

The DuPont's were a family from France. In the late 1700's, the french revolutionists took hold of France. A man of the name of Pierre Samuel DuPont was loyal to the French Monarch ship, so he was put in prison by the french revolutionists.

Since he had good friends in high places, P.S. was allowed to get out. Pondering over the safety of being in a country where he was an outlaw, P.S. took the option of sailing to the U.S.

Gathering up his family, P.S. moved to America. Had he not done that, the DuPont's probably wouldn't have made the same difference they made in America's military history. I'll explain how they changed it later.

In America, the DuPont's tried 7 business ideas but all failed. Then, P.S.'s son, E. I., (I don't know what the initials stand for) suggested for the DuPont's to try manufacturing black powder (gunpowder). P.S. was a little uneasy about the business plan. Nevertheless, E. I. went back to France to get material and plans.

E.I. had known a little about gunpowder, being trained by a chemist in Europe. He made a gunpowder facility at a place on the Brandy wine River called Hagley (we went there later in the day). He had gunpowder mills right on the river with the wood side towards the river so if any accident occurred the burnt person and explosives would flop into the river.

After that, their business grew and grew, until up to today. Now they sell many materials, including agricultural products, Teflon, corian and auto paint. The Bourne side people know what I'm talking about. It all started with gunpowder.

We traveled yesterday to a DuPont residence known as Winterthur. I saw luxury at it's highest. Henry Francis made walls of china wallpaper, had about 3 dining rooms, a huge winding staircase, and more antiques of George Washington than Mount Vernon. Isn't that funny?

H.F. duPont was an antique master. He had everything from china to eagles. It was amazing how many rooms there were in that house. There were 100. After making a Think of that.

The furniture was imported from France, which was imported from Egypt. They were very interesting to look at. They didn't have armrests, and the feet were animal looking. Many other furniture was like this.

Hagley was a little different. Here were gunpowder mills, a river flowing down called the Brandywine River, and a fairly small house on the hill. We got to see a gunpowder experiment, DuPont cars, and the nice house of many DuPonts.

Hagley was the home to many duPont's, although the offices were owned by E.I. and H.F. duPont. They had a safe in the office that didn't contain money, but documents and ledgers. Keeping their records and ties with people was more important than wealth.

The Brandy Wine River glistened the rays of sunlight like a sparkly dance that echoed through all of nature. In other words, it was beautiful.

Both Winterthur and Hagley were beautiful. Winterthur was the luxury of the duPonts and Hagley was the work of them.

Today we are embarking to Lancaster, the land of the Amish. Should be colorful. (sarcastic)

In the Tri State Area,

Andrew.