Henry Francis Du Pont Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware. Main dining room. The Winterthur Museum was established by Henry Francis duPont (1880-1969). (Image courtesy Library of Congress)
On New Year’s Day 1800, America was mourning the recent death of George Washington. Issues of the Newport Mercury were printed with black borders, featuring stories of loss and tribute. Newport was preparing for Washington’s mock funeral, with ceremonies, speeches, cannon salutes and the procession of the empty casket from the Colony House to Trinity Church. On that cold winter day, during the solemn observance, a small ship quietly slipped into Newport harbor and unloaded its cargo and tired French passengers. Brothers Victor Marie and Eleuthere Irenee DuPont, with wives and servants, stepped off the American Eagle and began a new life from the crowded docks of Newport. With a short stay in New Jersey, they removed to Delaware and established one of the largest manufacturing industries and fortunes known to man.