Wilmington, Delaware’s “Chateau Country”

“…my most sincere respects, and accept yourself assurances of my constant affection, and my prayers that a genial sky and propitious gales may place you after a pleasant voyage in the midst of your friends.”    Thomas Jefferson to Pierre du Pont 1802

In 1799 Pierre-Samuel du Pont de Nemours and two sons left France to settle in the United States. This voyage would alter the course of American history. Pierre had been elevated to nobility because of his position with Louis XVI as an economist, secretary to the Assembly of Notables and his assistance in crafting the 1783 Treaty of Versailles that ended the American Revolution. The journey was motivated by the fact that he had been imprisoned during the French Revolution in 1792 and only escaped the guillotine because of the death of Robespierre. After reimprisonment along with his son Eleuthere, in 1797 he made plans to leave the country.

Family legend has it that Eleuthere Irenée du Pont, while hunting in 1800, noted the poor quality of American gunpowder. In France he had trained under Antoine Lavoisier at the Royal Powder Works and he selected a location on the Brandywine River, accessible to transportation and sufficient water power, to establish a gunpowder operation. He purchased the land in 1801 for $6,700. The company prospered and in the 1860s supplied 50% of the gunpowder used in the Civil War.

The American ancestral home of the du Ponts has come to be known as Chateau Country because of its general landscape with rolling hills and streams and its elegant estate museums. Nestled in the Brandywine Valley of Northern Delaware, mere miles from Philadelphia, Pierre hoped to create a community for French exiles and Eleuthere hoped to found a viable company. Today visitors can trace the family trail and have a unique vacation filled with fine dining, magnificent views and historic house and garden tours all with an international flair.

Chronologically Hagley Museum and Library should be your starting point. Situated on the Brandywine’s shores, the restored gunpowder mill complex consists of the first du Pont family home, built on 65-acres in 1802. The museum interprets the history of du Pont’s Eleutherian Mills, the family and early industrial technology.  A narrated bus tour, a must, guides you along the Powder Yard Trail with stops at the worker’s quarters and several demonstration sites. Highlights of a visit to the current 235-acre site include the first office, the largest Osage Orange tree in America, an orientation video, “Industry on the Brandywine” and a number of interactive exhibits. hagley.org

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, the estate of Henry Francis du Pont, is situated amidst 60-acres of gardens and features a superior display of American decorative arts from 1640-1860 showcased within a 175 room mansion. Complete room settings from each of the 13 colonies make up the 150 colonial rooms he relocated to Winterthur and the more than 90,000 furnishings include Martha Washington’s mirror, 22 panels of 1700s Chinese wallpaper and a selection of the Washington’s porcelain china. The home had the first heated pool in the country. Grounds’ tours are via open trams and provide views of seasonal plantings, 8-acres of azaleas, the Enchanted Woods, a Forbidden Fairy Ring with misting mushrooms and a temporary exhibit of follies placed throughout the grounds. Take the Introductory Tour and be prepared to be awed.

Until January 5, 2020 “Costuming the Crown” will be on view. A series of galleries thematically display costumes from the Netflix series, “The Crown”, as well as extensive production information, videos and memorabilia. www.winterthur.org

Alfred du Pont built the Neoclassical, 102-room, Nemours for his wife in 1909-10. The 47,000-sq. ft. chateau is reminiscent of Versailles’ Petit Trianon complete with sunken gardens and magnificent views. The mansion is flanked by the Catherine Gates. The Russian Gates, were once owned by Catherine the Great and the English Gates are from a castle belonging to Henry VIII’s wife Catherine Parr. Highlights of the interior are the notable pieces, Lafayette’s chandelier and Marie Antoinette’s clock. Self-guided and tram tours of the grounds and gardens are offered. nemoursmansion.org

The 1,077-acre Longwood Gardens is one of the most renowned botanical gardens in the country. The complex features 11,000 plants and trees, a 4-acre conservatory with 20 interior gardens and a half-mile greenhouse. An exterior waterfall and fountains can be enjoyed from benches that line the paths. A schedule of events is available online. Note: Longwood is in Kennett Square, PA. www.longwoodgardens.org

There are no more perfect accommodations for visiting the area or a romantic getaway than The Inn at Montchanin Village. The inn, the entire village of Montchanin, is made up of eleven meticulously restored historic homes with 28 rooms and suites dating from 1799 to 1910. The village was once part of a du Pont estate situated on a former Indian trail at the juncture of three roads. Amenities include designer linens, canopy beds and upscale bath products. Defining architectural elements, interior stone walls, fireplaces, front porches and private gardens add to the luxury experience. The Inn is a designated Historic Hotel of America.

Krazy Kat’s, an on-site French restaurant, is located inside a former blacksmith shop and is open to guests and visitors alike. The menu is a creative seasonal blend of American, French and Asian cuisine served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The imaginative décor, the service and the meals are outstanding. www.montchanin.com

Wilmington is particularly ideal for a Philadelphia getaway. It is 30-minutes and a world and lifestyle away. www.visitwilmingtonde.com

Wilmington’s Harriett Tubman Underground Railroad Byw

On Monday, September 17, 1849 Araminta “Minty” Ross set out from Poplar Neck Plantation, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, to freedom in the North. Prior to her escape she changed her name to Harriet, after her mother, and took her husband’s last name. It is undocumented exactly how long, by which route or who assisted her on her 140-mile journey to Philadelphia but it is believed that she traveled by night, following the North Star, and was aided along the way by supporters of the Underground Railroad (UGRR). She probably followed the Choptank River in Maryland into Delaware and  on to Pennsylvania. nps.gov/history/ugrr.       

Slavery was legal in Wilmington and it became known as “the last stop to freedom” because of its proximity to Philadelphia. An active, multigenerational, interracial and religiously diverse network of abolitionists operated from there providing transport, funding, clothing, shelter and contacts. Wilmington was pivotal to freedom seekers and several of its sites are listed on both the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom and the overlapping Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway that begins at Maryland’s Dorchester County Visitor Center and ends at William Still’s Philadelphia residence. www.visitwilmingtonde.com

The Delaware Historical Society consists of three major units. The museum provides an excellent orientation to the history of the state, the city and the African American presence in the area through permanent and rotating exhibits. The museum is situated inside a former 1940 art-deco Woolworth’s Store in the Historic District. http://dehistory.org

Displays are chronological and begin with the presence of Native Americans 12,000 years ago. At the time of European contact the region was home to the Lenapé Indians, renamed the Delaware by the Europeans. Highlights of the exhibition include a model of the 1638 Kalmar Nyckel bearer of the first permanent European settlers to the Delaware Valley in 1638.  

The Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage is a series of exhibition spaces within the museum. A thematic gallery tour of “Journey to Freedom” begins with the story of Antoni Swart, Black Anthony, Delaware’s first recorded black inhabitant.He was captured in 1638, landed at Fort Christina in 1639 and was assistant to Governor Printz less than 10 years later. Additional focal points include a Civil War lottery wheel, an original Mason-Dixon boundary stone and a must-see display on the regional abolitionist movement. Reverend Peter Spencer’s contribution as the father of the Independent Black Church Movement and founder of the nation’s first independent Black Christian Church is also interpreted.

Wilmington’s Old Town Hall and Willingtown Square complete the complex. The Federal-style 1798 Old Town Hall has functioned as an important public space and jail. Abolitionists held meetings and hosted speakers in the hall and the basement cells were once used to hold captured fugitive slaves until they could be reclaimed. Frederick Douglass was denied permission to speak there.

Willington Square is located directly across the street and consists of four historic houses, the Cook-Simms House, the Jacobs House and the Jacob and Obidiah Dingee Houses, dating from 1748. The Square, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), was named after Thomas Willing who planned the city in 1731. Tours are not offered. 

Thomas Garrett, a Philadelphia born Quaker, is renowned as an ardent abolitionist, ally of Harriet Tubman and tireless UGRR stationmaster. Harriet first arrived at Garrett’s in October of 1849. In 1822 he relocated to Wilmington and began operating an UGRR network that would function for 38 years. His sentiments were molded by the kidnapping of a free black servant when he was a boy. His family rescued the woman and he and his brothers became abolitionists. In 1848 he was brought to trial for harboring and transporting slaves, found guilty and fined $5,400. Although financially ruined he continued and even magnified his activities. He is credited with aiding 2,700 freedom seekers and was Stowe’s inspiration for Simeon Halliday in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Garrett’s home was at 227 Shipley Street. He is buried on Quaker Hill in the Friends Meeting House burial ground. The existing meeting house is the third structure and was built in 1816.

 “The Rocks” of Brandywine Creek was a documented fugitive landing site because it offered more privacy than the port. Harry Craige, an African American brickmaker, was a documented operative who met and transported fugitives from the boat.

The 2.4-acre Tubman-Garret Riverfront Park became the home of a commemorative sculpture, “Unwavering Courage in the Pursuit of Freedom,” in 2013. The monument honors Garret and Tubman and is near the site of the Market Street Crossing,  the primary southern entry into the city and. one Tubman was known to use. Interpretive plaques located throughout the park line the walkways. www.visitwilmingtonde.com

Wilmington’s Riverwalk, along the Christiana River, is the ideal place to begin or end this tour. All of the listed sites are within walking distance and the Riverwalk itself is filled with attractions, dining and activity options. 

Bank’s Seafood Kitchen and Raw Bar is a “2018 Best of Delaware”winner. The service, views and cuisine are amazing. www.banksseafoodkitchen.com

Bardea, an innovative Italian and Mediterranean restaurant, is a 2019 semifinalist in the James Beard Foundation’s “Best New Restaurant” category. Meals are crafted from local ingredients and made in-house. bardeawilmington.com

Wilmington is a 30-minute drive from Philadelphia and a slightly longer Septa Regional Rail ride with a station adjacent to Tubman-Garrett Park. Think accessible, affordable and exciting Wilmington for your next adventure!

                  

TRAVEL TIP:

Focus Features movie, Harriet, will be released in November and in anticipation a new orientation film is set to debut in the Dorchester County Visitor Center on September 14^th. On September 17^ththe 170^thcommemoration of Tubman’s escape will take place in Dorchester County, MD. Check out the Focus Film trailer: http://www.focusfeatures.com/harriet