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A prized Louis XVI musical clock that plays four tunes. Chairs from the coronation of King George V. The largest jardin à la française (French for “my garden’s fancier than yours”) in North America. The Nemours Estate is full of treasures—but perhaps the greatest one lies just beyond the garden gates.
Alfred I. du Pont, of the famed industrialist family, had fallen in love with Mary Heyward Bradford. Both divorced, the pair controversially wed to the chagrin of their famiiies (quite the scandal for an upper crust American family), but reportedly were quite happy. Alfred was jovial enough to build his bride a magnificent estate, so called “Nemours” in honor of his family’s ancestral home in France. Inspired by the Trianon of Marie Antoinette, the 77-room mansion and its surrounding gardens make for an awe-inspiring American palace.
A full-on Francophile, Mary made sure it was furnished in the style of 18th Century France, without any hint of that period’s associated revolution of course. To contribute to the royal atmosphere, an exterior gate was even brought in from France, reportedly once guarding an estate of Catherine the Great.
Not taking a page out of Marie Antoinette’s book, upon his death, Alfred I. du Pont left a $40 million estate and a vision: a foundation to care for children’s health and preserve this magnificent home for the public to enjoy. Today, Nemours Children’s Health sits beside the gardens, a living testament to a legacy that continues to bloom.
