Along the Brandywine River in northern Delaware sits an estate where visitors can learn about the duPont family’s legacy. The Hagley Museum and grounds are the location of the duPont gunpowder manufacturing company, established in 1802.

A tour of the area included a short bus ride to the original family house where the company started. It was hard to imagine the family lived in the house where the gunpowder was made! The house now serves as a museum and features amazing pieces from around the world. The garden and landscaping are also beautiful and gave us a preview of what the family would develop next.

A jaunt to the grounds includes visiting the structures along the canal. After a few accidents at the house, the manufacturing moved to the canal to keep the growing production safer and to utilize water power from the creek to run the machine shop nearby. Our guide gave us a gunpowder demonstration with the family recipe and explained how the structures were built as three-sided stone squares. The fourth wall was covered with wood and other thin materials facing the water. In this way, if an explosion happened, the blast would use the path of least resistance and blow towards the water, not explode projectiles in all directions.

Considering the nature of the family business, the duPont family developed a set of intense safety protocols for all their workers to follow. Even though accidents did happen occasionally, they were a relatively safe company for the time. Apparently, those who work in various duPont factories today also have intense safety protocols…a healthy holdover from the company roots.