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On the DuPont Trail
Visiting Delaware's Brandywine Valley
There's no way to tool around the Brandywine Valley without tripping over a du Pont. Not that there aren't other family names of importance here--Wyeth springs to mind, as in artists N.C., Andrew, and Jamie. And there's the Brandywine River itself. Reputedly named after settler Andrew Brandwine, its flow set the region's early inhabitants on their way to fame and fortune.
But it is the du Ponts that have left the greatest legacy along the valley that traverses southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware. Especially for modern day tourists. This family didn't arrive wealthy on the shores of a young America; it created a fortune through hard work, founding what would become one of nation's leading chemical concerns, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. Happily, the du Ponts were more than avid industrialists. And instead of frittering away their riches on purely personal pleasures, they shared their passions, turning their collections and enthusiasms into museums open to the public both during their lifetimes and for generations to come. When a pal and I arrive for a mid-week getaway, we're primed to follow this first family's trail.
The Brandywine Valley comprises a series of small towns--hamlets, really, with names like Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, and West Chester--in southeastern Pennsylvania, along with the arteries leading south (Routes 52 and 100) from Route 1 toward Wilmington, Delaware. It is lush countryside, graced by gently rolling hills, spectacular stands of Revolutionary-era trees, magnificent private estates, hand-set stone walls, and the meandering river for which it is named. This is picturesque turf.
And so it must have been when Eleuthère Irénée du Pont founded his black powder works along the Brandywine River in 1802. After emigrating from France, his family established what would become the nation's largest supplier of gunpowder throughout the 19th century. Today, the family's beginnings in America are commemorated at the Hagley Museum & Library (Rte. 141, Wilmington, 302-658-2400), site of the original mills and family estate.
And a spectacular museum it is. Exhibits trace the history of water power along the Brandywine through a series of models and dioramas, showing how this small river supported scores of mills that supplied a growing nation with cotton, grain, lumber and countless other products. The grounds of the Hagley Mill extend two miles along the river, a leafy walk or shuttle ride along millraces and sluiceways, through gardens and up a hill to the Gibbons house, restored and furnished to illustrate the lives of powder-yard foremen and their families. A cup of tea or a hearty sandwich awaits visitors at Belin House, once home to the company bookkeepers.
More than 60 structures original to the community have been restored, including a working machine shop complete with 19th century lathes, shapers, and drill presses. Here, a volunteer demonstrates each piece of equipment, showing us how they are making new gears to repair the original sluiceways. At the water-powered roller mill, the incessant rumbling of its eight-ton, seven-foot tall grinding wheels inspires a conversation about safety in a gunpowder factory where a single spark could wreak devastation. Explosions were, if not common, certainly a fact of life at Hagley Mills. "All the while, [E. I.] du Pont was cognizant of industrial safety," says our guide Jack Remsen. "No one's clothes had any metal buttons, their shoes had no nails, nothing that could spark an explosion."
At the farthest reach of the 235-acre property is Eleutherian Mills, the family estate, alsobuilt in 1802. The first floor of the home is much as its last du Pont owner, Louise Crowninshield,left it, with fabulous hand-blocked French wallpaper in the dining room depicting scenes of theAmerican landscape and a 1920's era "sanitary" kitchen with gasoline powered stove downstairs. In the barn out front is a near history of 19th century transport, from a restored Conestoga wagon to a du Pont gunpowder delivery wagon to some very elegant coaches. But I couldn't tear myself away from Eleuthère du Pont's gorgeous French Garden, with its precise rows of flowers interspersed with vegetables, all bordered by espaliered dwarf fruit trees. Ah, to have a cadre of gardeners such as his working in my own backyard.
The hour we planned to spend at The Hagley Museum slipped quietly into four. We were famished. Still, we couldn't resist a stop at the nearby Delaware Toy and Miniature Museum (Route 141, Wilmington, 302-427-8697) on our way to lunch. Set back off the road in an old DuPont records repository, it is a treasure trove of more than 100 doll houses and miniature rooms, both antique and newer, including an 1860 replica of Maryland's Readbourne House on the Chester River. Most amazing is a recent acquisition: the history of costume in nearly 100 enameled brass figures, just eight inches tall, crafted by New York fashion designer Lee Menichetti.
Lunch finds us at the very funky Chadds Ford Café (Rte. 1 & Heyburn Rd., Chadds Ford, PA, 610-558-3960). Decked out in hot tropical colors--magenta, plum, teal--it offers a peripatetic menu that roams from Santiago salmon with a sundried tomato pesto crust to Curacao chicken served with sweet potato gratinée. My pulled pork sandwich was deliciously tart and tender with its garnishes of pickled onion and black bean salsa. And a tangy tomato pesto gave a zippy edge to a grilled chicken and portobello sandwich. Thus fortified, we forged on to our next stop on the du Pont trail: Longwood Gardens (Rte. 1, Kennett Square, PA,215-388-6741)
In 1906, nearly 100 years after the founding of the du Pont fortune, a young descendent, Pierre Samuel du Pont, then 36 years old and treasurer of the du Pont company, heard that a small arboretum near Chadd's Ford was about to be felled for timber. An ardent nature lover, he immediately bought the property to develop as a second home. It is today, as it was during his lifetime, one fantastic place to be a tree--or a plant of any kind.
Encompassing 1,050 acres, including a 20-garden heated conservatory under four acres of glass, Longwood Gardens is a feast for the senses. Opulent wisteria cascades over a stone and post fence at the entrance. Miles of walkways lead you through rose, topiary, and conifer gardens. Inside the Conservatory, a wall of magenta bouganvillia sprawls across a classical facade. We're astonished by a bromeliad, its center forming a cup for water in which blooms, submerged, a delicate peony-like blossom. And the magnificent Palm Room reveals to us which palm parts can be made into wine and which are better woven into hats. Du Pont graciously shared this garden with the public during his lifetime, and endowed it upon his death so that it would continue to offer others the pleasure which he derived from it.
East of Longwood Gardens on Route 1 in Chadd's Ford is the 50-acre Brandywine Battlefield State Park (Rte. 1, Chadds Ford, PA, 610-459-3342) scene of a British victory during the Revolutionary War. General William Howe may have defeated General George Washington's troops on September 11, 1777, but he did not succeed in destroying Washington's army or in cutting them off from the nation's capital, then at Philadelphia. Longwood Gardens commemorates this encounter every year on September 11 with a not-to-be-missed fireworks and fountain display.
As day turns into evening, we repair to the rooftop café at the venerable Buckley's Tavern (Rte. 52, Centreville, PA, 302-656-9776) a local favorite since 1933, for an apératif. Then, a short drive takes us to the town of Montchanin for dinner at one of the area's hottest restaurants, Krazy Kat's (Rte. 100 and Kirk Rd., Montchanin, DE, 302-888-2133). Krazy Kat's sits at the heart of the luxe Inn at Montchanin Village, a hamlet turned bed-and-breakfast owned by du Pont descendent Missy Lickle and her husband, Dan. Built in 1859, this cluster of homes was originally housing for employees of the du Pont powder mills. The Lickles have turned it into an elegant enclave of richly-decorated, garden-side guest rooms.
A sense of humor sparks the interior of Krazy Kat's. Leopard print chair coverings and portraits of dogs and cats outfitted like the crowned princes of Europe make for light-hearted surroundings. But the cooking does more than amuse; chef Fred Kellermann has a talent for assembling unusual flavors. And to match his intriguing menu, there is a thoughtfully compiled wine list with an excellent selection by the glass.
br> We dive in. An appetizer of scallops grilled on sugarcane skewers sings a joyous round with accompaniments of pink grapefruit, fennel cracker, and a light vinaigrette. Delicately tempura'd artichoke hearts arrive in the company of a scintillating dollop of locally made chevre on top of crisp baby greens. The veal loin chop comes with an asparagus soufflé, along with garnishes of red pepper coulis and fried parsnips, while monkfish is redefined by a bed of tender adzuki beans and crisp tomatillo and red pepper salsa. For dessert, a pineapple cheesecake is pretty and delicious, but the superbly flavored mango panna cotta mousse with rich chocolate wafer steals our hearts.
Sated in body and spirit, we head to the Mendenhall Hotel and Conference Center (Rte. 52, Mendenhall, PA,610-388-2100), reflecting on how lucky we are to have a place to stay this evening. With the LPGA tour in town (northern Delaware has almost as many golf courses as du Ponts), accommodations were scarce. While not a romantic bed-and-breakfast like the Inn at Montchanin, the Mendenhall is pleasant and well-suited for those traveling with children. Another good choice would be the fresh, lovely Fairville Inn (Rte. 52, Mendenhall, PA, 610-388-5900) down the street, just ask for a room in back, away from street noise.
The next morning finds us back on the du Pont trail bright and early, headed toward the glorious Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library(Rte. 52, Wilmington, DE, 800-448-3883). The original house on the estate was built by the Bidermann branch of the family in 1839, but it took Henry Francis du Pont, a gentleman farmer who inherited the property in 1927, to create the museum as we know it today. H.F. du Pont's passion was for the sort of handcrafted household furnishings used by Americans from Colonial days until the start of the Industrial Revolution. His collection, initially some 75,000 objects housed in period settings in 175 rooms, formed the basis for what is now the world's foremost collection of American furnishings. The 45-minute highlights tour of the fifth floor--including dining room, living rooms, parlors, studies, reception areas--is the way to begin. But be forewarned: it will merely whet your appetite for a return visit and one of the longer, period-specific tours.
A new building on the estate, The Galleries, houses a series of self-guided exhibits, including a permanent exhibition of 800 household objects, from tea sets and toys to credenzas and armoires to long rifles and musical instruments. I especially loved a small mourning brooch with locks of George and Martha Washington's hair plaited together inside, and a series of chairs with as much individuality as the people who once sat in them. To see such a confluence of objects makes it clear: Man has an insatiable desire to surround himself with beauty as well as function, and to embellish even the most mundane aspects of his life.
We linger over a late lunch at the Chadd's Ford Inn (Rte. 1 & 100, Chadd's Ford, PA, 610-388-7361), extending our tasty oyster baguette and grilled chicken and wild mushroom pasta as long as possible. It's not difficult to do in the pleasant surroundings of this Colonial-era tavern--it dates back to 1736.
Soon, however, it is time to wend our way back home. We've focused on the du Pont legacy during this trip, but there's so much more to see. The Brandywine River Museum (Rtes. 1 & 100, Chadds Ford, Pa., 610-388-2700) right down the street boasts paintings by three generations of Wyeths. The tasting room of Chaddsford Winery (632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, Pa., 610-388-6221) beckons with eight wines being poured every day. The Delaware Museum of Natural History (4840 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, Del., 302-652-7600) houses nation's fourth-largest collection of seashells. And the Phillips Mushroom Museum (909 E. Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square, Pa, 610-388-6092) tells the tale of how this area became the first--and largest--mushroom producer in the nation. Next time, we sigh, turning south on Route 1 for a leisurely meander back to Baltimore.