Hagley Museum and Library Information

Hagley Museum is the former industrial site of the original black powder works of the DuPont Company, founded in Delaware in 1802 and powered by the natural resources that surrounded it. Today it is 235 acres of wooded rolling hills along the rushing Brandywine River dotted with hundreds of stone ruins of the black powder industry, dozens of restored buildings associated with the business, and the original ancestral home and gardens of the du Pont family in America. Here, for more than two hundred years, the DuPont Company and family experimented, innovated, and pursued the American dream. Visitors to Hagley can see exhibitions on the du Pont story, the Industrial Revolution, water power, and simple machines. A stroll through the powder yards will reveal historic mill buildings, operating machinery, black powder demonstrations, water power in action, and the most beautiful mile of the Brandywine. Climbing Workers’ Hill will bring to light the life of DuPont workers though their homes, school, and gardens. And a ride through the ruins of the original black powder mills will lead to a guided tour of the original du Pont family home. We are the only Smithsonian Affiliate museum in Delaware and have been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1972. The site is a National Historic Landmark, a National Recreation Trail, and a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. Hagley is also a Let’s Move! museum. The Hagley Library is the world’s premier research library for the history of American enterprise and is a member of the Independent Research Libraries Association. In addition to holding the du Pont family and DuPont Company papers, it also holds the archives of more than 1,000 businesses. At Hagley, we invite people of all ages to investigate and experience the unfolding history of American business, technology, and innovation, and their impact on the world, from our home at the historic DuPont powder yards on the banks of the Brandywine.