Our first stop on Friday morning was to Hagley Museum (http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/index.html). We got on the first bus to the DuPont house. When you get off of the bus you are greeted by your tour guide for a walk through the house and around the grounds. You first walk past the garden which is laid out just as it was when E. I. DuPont lived and worked there. Once in the house your guide will tell you how they lived and how the house was expanded over the years. Off of the back porch you can see some of the caldrons they used to refine the sulfur and salt peter (the smell must have been wonderful). Mr. DuPont built the house so close to the early mills to show his workers that he was facing the same environment and dangers they were, smells and explosions. After leaving the house you go into the bottom of the barn were there are a few cars on display one of which was built by the DuPont Motor Company and used by Mr. DuPont (I do not remember which one). We then got on the bus and went to the Workers Hill were the workers lived with their families. There we had lunch in the small café. After lunch we went to the school house were Barbara and I learned what it might be like to be a student and teacher during that time. We then went to the foreman’s house and there Barbara tried her hand at laundry. I went upstairs (look at the pictures and see why Barbara did not come up with me) and saw the parlor and bedroom. Seeing as the house is built into the side of the hill there is a second entrance that comes directly into the parlor. When we left the house we walked down the hill to the machine shop and I joined a group about to go to the river and see one of the powder mills in action. After the guide opened the sloth gate you could hear the water turbine turning the pair of 8 ton steel wheels in the mill that were used to grind and mix the black powder. At the end of that we got a bus back to the visitor center and back to the hotel for a short rest before going to Longwood Gardens. Here are some pictures of Hagley for you to enjoy.
