When Éleuthère Irénée du Pont fled France in 1800 to escape the French Revolution and religious persecution against Huguenots, he probably didn't imagine his family name would become synonymous with American innovation. Yet just two years later, he founded what would become one of the world's most influential chemical companies - and it all started with gunpowder.

In 1802, du Pont purchased property along the Brandywine Creek near Wilmington, Delaware, and built Eleutherian Mills, a modest gunpowder manufactory. He'd noticed that American gunpowder quality lagged far behind Europe's, and saw an opportunity. Using charcoal from local willow trees, sulfur, saltpeter shipped via the Delaware River, and French water wheels for power, his operation was relatively small-scale but sophisticated.

From 39,000 Pounds to Industrial Titan

The numbers tell the growth story. In 1804, du Pont's mill produced and sold 39,000 pounds of gunpowder. The next year? Triple that amount. The company's reputation for quality spread quickly, and by the War of 1812, DuPont was a major supplier to the U.S. military.

But here's what makes this story particularly interesting: the company stayed focused on explosives for nearly a century. It wasn't until the early 1900s that DuPont began diversifying into chemicals, eventually creating products that would change everyday life.

The Chemical Revolution

The transformation was dramatic. The company that made its fortune on gunpowder went on to develop:

Nylon - revolutionizing textiles and materials
Teflon - making cooking (and industry) permanently non-stick
Kevlar - creating bulletproof vests and protective equipment
Tyvek - the indestructible house wrap and envelopes

Each of these innovations came from the same company that once measured success in pounds of black powder.

Delaware's Lasting Mark

That original Brandywine location wasn't just the company's birthplace - it shaped its identity. The Hagley Museum now occupies the site of those first mills, preserving the powder yards where workers once carefully mixed volatile materials by the creek. The water power that drove du Pont's French turbines still flows past the stone buildings where America's explosives industry began.

Today, DuPont has operations worldwide and has split into multiple companies, but its origins remain remarkably humble: a French immigrant, some imported machinery, local willow trees, and a creek in Delaware. From that tiny mill came a corporate dynasty that would touch everything from World War II parachutes to your kitchen cookware.

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