the dupont family made their original fortune through gunpowder business.
the dupont family made their original fortune through gunpowder business.
how did the dupont family make their original fortune?
gunpowder business
du pont was born in the brandywine valley region of delaware to which his great-great-grandfather pierre samuel du pont de nemours had immigrated with his sons after the french revolution. the son of éleuthère irénée du pont ii, a partner in the dupont family gunpowder business, and charlotte shepard henderson, he had two older sisters and two younger brothers. when du pont was 13, his mother, who had a history of mental illness, was committed to an asylum following an episode of hysteria. within a week, she died. the du pont children were orphaned a month later when éleuthère followed, a victim of tuberculosis.
alfred i. du pont
after some renovations in the later 19th century (c. 1855 and c. 1880), the house was acquired in 1901 by william and annie rogers dupont, of the dupont family. a horse enthusiast, william dupont built barns, stables, and other buildings for equestrian use. the duponts were among several wealthy families in the upper south who were influential in the development of thoroughbred horse racing in the united states. the dupont family also added a hodgson house to the property. these were known as "america's first organized prefabricated house manufacturer before aladdin, sears, and montgomery ward," emphasizing that the homes could technically be built in a day. still located on montpelier's property, it is now known as the "bassett house."
montpelier (orange, virginia)