Three early 20th-century estates – Longwood Gardens, Nemours Estate, and Winterthur – are living legacies of the du Pont dynasty that are a delight to explore. The three estates include homes, furnishings, and richly landscaped gardens. All three estates are conveniently located within 10 miles of each other in northern Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania. These properties, each uniquely different, help tell the stories of uber-wealthy folks who acquired and managed large homes and vast acreage. My husband and I enjoyed our visits to these three amazing properties over two days.
Many in the prominent du Pont family were committed to historic preservation, had strong interests in horticulture and agriculture, and carried a penchant for philanthropy. This commitment to preservation and in shaping nature for pleasing aesthetic results is evident in these three properties that du Pont families enjoyed during their lifetimes and, later, opened to the public. Each property requires several hours to fully enjoy, so plan to spend at least two days if you plan to explore all three.
Two Day Itinerary Exploring du Pont Estates
My husband and I explored the three properties over two days. We visited Nemours Estate and Winterthur. located just outside Wilmington, Delaware on the first day. That evening, we spent the night at a hotel in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, and visited nearby Longwood Gardens the next day. Of course, you can visit them in any order you want to — or just pick which one most interests you!
Day 1
- Visit Nemours Estate, tour the mansion, and explore the gardens and grounds via tram or on foot. (Nemours is closed on Mondays.)
- Visit Winterthur in northern Delaware, a 15-minute drive from Nemours Estate. Eat lunch at Winterthur’s café in the visitor center or bring your own picnic. Tour the mansion and adjacent museum, and explore the grounds via tram or on foot. (Winterthur is closed on Mondays.)
- Enjoy dinner at Krazy Kat’s near Nemours Estate. Another option is Portabello’s in nearby Kennett Square (close to Longwood Gardens that is scheduled for Day 2).
- Check in at a hotel or inn in Kennett Square, PA (10 miles away).
Day 2
- Visit Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA. (Longwood Gardens is closed on Tuesdays.)
- Eat lunch at Longwood Gardens (three dining options).
- Conclude your visit with a stop at a nearby museum or winery.
Who Were the du Ponts?
Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (E.I. du Pont) emigrated from France in 1800 with his family. Once in the United States, he began to manufacture gunpowder along the Brandywine River in Delaware. In subsequent years, the du Pont family expanded into other areas including chemical manufacturing. Over time, successive generations entered politics (several served as U.S. senators, and one as governor of Delaware); continued in the family businesses; served in other companies; and/or pursued philanthropic endeavors.
The three du Pont estates profiled in this article were created and/or developed by three great-grandsons of E.I. du Pont and are listed (in this article) in the order mentioned in my suggested, two-day itinerary. Nemours Estate and Winterthur are located outside Wilmington, Delaware; Longwood Gardens is north of Winterthur in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
- Nemours Estate, created by Alfred Irénée du Pont;
- Winterthur, developed by Henry Francis du Pont; and
- Longwood Gardens, developed by Pierre Samuel du Pont.
1. Nemours Estate
1600 Rockland Avenue, Wilmington, DE | (302) 651-6912
Alfred du Pont (1864-1935) built this home in 1909 and named it Nemours after the family’s ancestral home in France. In fact, Alfred created this estate as a wedding gift for his second wife, Alicia Bradford, incorporating French architectural styles she so admired. As it turned out, Alicia died in 1920, and Alfred then married Jessie Bell, and they lived here until their deaths.
Alfred was a financier, industrialist, and philanthropist. He worked in the family’s gunpowder business until he was forced out of his role by a family relationship that soured. Following that, Alfred remade a fortune by investing and building in Florida, a new frontier (at the time) for investment to attract vacationers and other folks. According to Alfred’s will, the house and grounds were to be opened to the public following the deaths of him and his wife. (Alfred died in 1935, and Jessie died in 1970.) In addition, Alfred’s last wishes included the building of a children’s hospital, Nemours Children’s Hospital, that sits on land that made up the original estate.
What to See at Nemours Estate
Resembling a French chateau, the Nemours Estate includes a 47,000 square-foot home – with 77 rooms – and is quite grand, incorporating many European design elements as well as furnishings. Alfred’s design included some new features for the time period including indoor bathrooms. Also, this mansion had a home office, a water bottling room, an exercise room, an indoor bowling alley, and a billiards room downstairs. The chauffeur’s garage was the first garage built in the state. It houses five vehicles: a 1933 Buick Coupe, a 1921 Cadillac Renault, a 1924 Cadillac, and two Rolls-Royces (1951, 1960).
The home and the 200-acre grounds are gated. Alfred acquired one entry gate from Wimbledon, England, and the other from Catherine the Great’s estate. The Versailles-inspired gardens cover about 15 acres and there are a couple of hundred acres of woodland and meadows. Granite was quarried from a Blue Granite rock area on the grounds and used in the house’s construction. From the mansion, stroll along the Long Walk to the reflecting pool and fountains (with over 150 jets). Also here are sculptures of the four seasons, the Temple of Love, and the gold leaf statue entitled Achievement.
Visiting Nemours
- Nemours Estate is open Tuesday-Sunday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm; it’s closed on Monday.
- Tickets are $20 for adults (discounts for seniors and military); $10 for kids aged 6-16: and free for younger children.
- A shuttle (golf cart) can ferry you from the entrance to the mansion. You can also request a ride from the mansion to the chauffeur’s garage.
- Mansion tours are mostly self-guided with historical interpreters in the main rooms available to answer questions.
- Take the free, narrated tour of the property so you can see the scope of the land and manicured gardens.
- No food or drinks are available for purchase, so plan on bringing your own.
- If planning to picnic, bring a blanket; there are no picnic tables.
Tips for Your Visit
- When driving to the estate, you’ll be on the grounds of the Nemours Children’s Hospital.
- You can easily spend 2-4 hours in the mansion and the grounds which encompass elaborate gardens (inspired by Versailles), the chauffeur’s garage that houses five period vehicles, and a Sears Roebuck mail-order cottage that was built in 1915 as a playhouse for the children.
- The best view of the formal gardens from inside is actually from one of the guest bedrooms, the Gold Room.
2. Winterthur
5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, DE | 800-448-3883
Several generations of the DuPont family had a history on the estate. In the early 1800s, E.I. du Pont purchased the property for farming. His daughter later inherited it and built a house in 1839, naming it after her husband’s ancestral home in Switzerland. The estate changed hands several times within the family over the generations.
What visitors see today at Winterthur was mainly the result of Henry Francis (H.F.) du Pont’s (1880–1969) work on the property. Born at Winterthur, H.F. managed the family’s property for his father and inherited it upon his father’s death. His additions to the estate were the results of his studies of horticulture and agriculture at Harvard University as well as his European travels. His passions were gardening, collecting American furnishings and decorative arts, and breeding cattle on the property.
Jackie Kennedy’s Visit to Winterthur
With his vast collection of early American decorative arts and furniture, H.F. turned the family home into a museum in 1951; he and his wife then lived in a 50-room cottage he had built near the house. (The museum shop is located on the first floor of that cottage.) In the early 1960s, H.F. helped guide First Lady Jackie Kennedy in her extensive White House remodeling project. She visited Winterthur in 1961 to view the vast collection here and to discuss ideas that would work in the President’s house. H.F. made numerous visits to the White House during this time to confer with Mrs. Kennedy and her staff.
What to See at Winterthur
Today Winterthur is home to 90,000 decorative arts and furniture pieces in the home and galleries as well as 60 acres of gardens on the almost 1,000 acres of property. For the most part, the grounds are designed to look completely natural. There are no brightly colored annuals here. Instead, there are fields, water features, and carefully landscaped woodland. The prime time to see color on the grounds is from March through May when the azaleas, rhododendrons, dogwood, and wildflowers are in bloom. One space designed just for kids is Enchanted Woods with its Faerie Cottage, nooks to explore, and unique water features.
Visiting Winterthur
- Winterthur is open Tuesday-Sunday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm; it’s closed on Monday. There are special days and hours during their yuletide season that showcases special displays.
- Purchase mansion tour tickets online prior to your visit to ensure you have guaranteed admission upon arriving.
- Admission is $22 for adults; $20 for students (aged 12 and older) and seniors (aged 62 and older); $8 for kids aged 2-11; and kids under 2 years old are free.
- Plan to arrive about 30 minutes before your scheduled mansion tour to check in and get oriented to all there is to see.
- You’ll enter through the visitor center and take a shuttle (or walk) to the Conservatory where the mansion tour begins.
- Mansion tours are mostly self-guided with historical interpreters in the main rooms available to answer questions.
- Free, narrated tram tours of the grounds are available.
- Winterthur’s website has suggested itineraries for your visit, depending on how much time you have to spend.
Tips for Your Visit
- Expect to spend 3-4 hours touring the mansion, museum, and gardens.
- Take the narrated garden tour on an open-air tram to learn more about H.F.’s vision for the property, his commitment to agricultural pursuits, and simply enjoy the expansive grounds.
- Plan to walk the property a bit — maybe to the reflecting pool outside the museum and to the Enchanted Garden a little further down the paved path. Winterthur has several walking trails ranging from about 0.5 to 2.0 miles each.
- The Visitor Center Café has a selection of grab-and-go fare (sandwiches, paninis, salads, and baked treats) and beverages (bottled water, soda, beer, and wine).
- If you prefer to bring your own food, there are several places to enjoy a picnic including the Enchanted Garden, Icewell Terrace, or outside the museum.
- The museum store is located near the mansion and museum (not in the visitor center), so stop in there after visiting the mansion and/or museum and before returning to the visitor center.
- Check online for a list of special events and tours.
- The extensive garden landscapes beckon visitors before or after visiting the mansion.
3. Longwood Gardens
1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, PA | 610-388-1000
Pierre S. du Pont purchased the property in 1906 that he would eventually name Longwood. Previously, the Peirce family owned the land and had constructed a house in 1730. That house still stands today, and visitors are welcome to tour it. Over the years, the Peirce family planted a large number of trees. By the turn of the twentieth century, however, the land had changed ownership several times, and the property had not been well maintained.
After learning that the trees would be cut down on the property, Pierre S. du Pont purchased the farm. In addition to serving as the president of E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. and General Motors, Pierre was a director and advisor to several other organizations. Pierre was so enamored with gardening and fountains that he incorporated many of his ideas, with inspiration from his European travels, in the displays that visitors see today. He set about improving the property, adding several features including the Conservatory, the Italian Water Garden, and the topiary garden. In addition, he expanded the house that he used as a weekend residence and a place to entertain friends. Longwood Gardens opened to the public in the 1940s. After Pierre’s death in 1954, the trustees of his foundation followed up on his wishes to lead Longwood Gardens into the future.
What to See at Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens offers over 1,000 acres that encompass six districts:
- Chimes Tower District (includes a bell tower and waterfall),
- Conservatory District (includes acres of gardens protected from the elements)),
- House and Theater District (includes the Peirce home and park),
- Lakes District (has open space with paths),
- Main Fountain Garden District (classic formal gardens with fountains), and
- Meadow and Forest District (meadows and woodlands that are habitats for plants and wildlife).
Visiting Longwood Gardens
- Longwood Gardens is open Wednesday-Monday beginning at 10:00 am; closing hours vary by day. It’s closed on Tuesday.
- Purchase tickets online prior to your visit to ensure you have guaranteed admission upon arrival.
- Admission is $25 for adults; $22 for seniors (aged 62 and older) and college students; $13 for kids aged 5-18; and kids 4 and younger are free.
- Longwood Gardens has special events such as Carillon concerts, fountain shows, and behind-the-scenes tours. Check their website for details and to purchase tickets.
- Longwood Gardens comes alive at Christmas with special displays and events beginning in mid-November through early January. Book your reservations online well ahead of time, if interested in visiting during this time.
- There’s an extensive gift shop in the visitor center.
Tips for Your Visit
- Longwood Gardens has several dining options. Choose 1906 (reservations suggested) for fine dining, The Café for casual fare, or the Beer Garden.
- If you’re wondering what plants are in bloom when you visit, check the Longwood Gardens website.
- Check the daily schedule upon arrival to learn the times of the various fountain shows. They may be a highlight of your visit.
Where to Stay and Eat
There are some lovely properties near Winterthur and Nemours Estate, but my husband and I chose to settle for the night at a property in Kennett Square since that would be our destination the next day. Do an online search (like TripAdvisor) to find the location and property that fits your interests.
Dining Choices
For lunch, both Longwood Gardens and Winterthur have good options. At Longwood Gardens, head to The Terrace. Here you’ll find three dining options: 1906, a fine dining restaurant; grab-and-go options in The Café with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating; and a beer garden – sometimes featuring live music. Winterthur has a nice café with a wide variety of sandwiches, salads, soups, and beverages.
For dinner, Krazy Kat’s is a good choice and is located near Nemours and Winterthur. Longwood Gardens’ three restaurants are open late on the evenings with later closing times (usually Thursday-Sunday). If overnighting near Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Portabello’s is another great dinner option.
By the way, the Kennett Square region is considered the mushroom capital of the country, accounting for around two-thirds of the mushroom production. Therefore, if you’re a mushroom lover, you’re bound to find a lot of dishes prepared with mushrooms while in the area’s restaurants.
Map
Nearby Attractions
If extending your visit to the area, consider these articles about nearby places:
- Air Mobility Command Museum, Dover
- Best Things To Do in Philadelphia
- Covered Bridges of Bucks County
- Delaware Beach Guide
- Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia
- Philadelphia: A Self-Guided Walking Tour
- Tyler State Park, Bucks County
- Valley Forge National Historical Park
- Washington Crossing State Park, Bucks County
Final Thoughts
The two days that my husband and I spent exploring Longwood Gardens, Nemours Estate, and Winterthur were so relaxing and enjoyable. It was fun to walk through the creations of the three du Pont visionaries who had the forethought and ambition to create such superlative lasting legacies that subsequent generations of the public have enjoyed.
Although all three properties are special in their history and design, the Nemours Estate was like a hidden gem because it’s probably the least well-known of the three. What made that visit especially enjoyable for me was that visitors are able to tour the public rooms used for entertaining and family life on the first floor, the bedrooms upstairs, and the basement where they entertained in the bowling alley and billiards room. Beyond that, today’s visitors can walk into Alfred’s office, his exercise area and showers, and the mechanical room. You can really see all the spaces and get a good picture of everyday life for the du Pont family and their staff. Outside, of course, are the grand gardens and the chauffeur’s garage.
Incidentally, other du Pont family members have played key roles in restoring other historical properties. Montpelier, the home of James Madison (fourth American president) and his wife, Dolley outside Charlottesville, Virginia is one such place. If heading to that central Virginia area, read my detailed visitor guide of Charlottesville to help you plan your trip.
Comments?
Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences from a visit to the Delaware Valley region. Your comments could help other travelers. 🙂
