Pierre A. Gentieu Brandywine River Valley photographs

About this collection

    Pierre A. Gentieu (1842-1930) was a long-time employee of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. He began working for DuPont in 1877 and remained a loyal employee until his retirement in 1911. Drawing and photography were among Gentieu’s favorite pastimes. The du Pont’s allowed Gentieu to photograph the DuPont Co. plant, property, family members, and their homes, creating an invaluable photographic record of the company's Brandywine Mills at the turn of the century.
    The images in the Pierre A. Gentieu Brandywine River Valley photographs (Accession 1970.001) collection include the DuPont Powder Yards on Brandywine Creek and other company buildings on that site, du Pont Family homes (including Windmar, Rokeby, Pelleport, Swamp Hall, and Eleutherian Mills, which was converted to a workers' club during Gentieu's years of employment), DuPont Company workers and their homes and families, Delaware School Districts twenty-three and seventy-five, Wilmington-area churches (including Mt. Salem and St. Joseph's), and probably the only extant images of the aftermath of late nineteenth century black powder explosions on the Brandywine.
    Image: Employees at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company powder yards. Click here to view in the collection.

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