It’s easy to forget that long before Winterthur had a parking lot, visitor’s center or gift shops, the museum was somebody’s house – four generations of du Ponts hung their hats there.
Winterthur Historian Maggie Lidz explores the domestic history of the du Pont family in her book, “The Du Ponts: Houses and Gardens in the Brandywine.”
“I’m interested in the way architecture really reflects history,” she said.
At its height, the Winterthur estate covered more than 2,500 acres, the house had more than 100 rooms and it required a staff of 34, she said. Her book asks the question: how do you live in a house like that?
“I think the easiest way to imagine it is to think of living in a hotel,” said Lidz, of Landenberg, Pa.
| Buy “The Du Ponts: Houses and Gardens in the Brandywine” by Maggie Lidz for $46.80 on Amazon.com. |
The large staff would have made privacy tricky, she said, and the estate would have attracted a lot of attention, especially since its herd of dairy cows was one of the best in the nation.
Her book chronicles 24 du Pont family homes and most are far more modest than Winterthur, she said, but one common thread that runs through all the homes is horticulture – each house had world-class gardens, she said.
The du Pont’s love of gardens has helped turn the Brandywine Valley into the tourist magnet it is today, she said, but the preservation of their homesteads has had an even bigger impact on locals.
Dog-walkers at Carousel Park are treading on du Pont family soil and visitors to the Pelleporte Health Center are having their check-ups at the site of a du Pont estate, she said.
In a way, the family who put the chateau in chateau country has shaped the way the Brandywine Valley has developed, she said.
