Limestone -- The du Pont Carousel Estate

A. Felix and Marka du Pont in Virginia, 1949

Most of the stories we see here take place primarily in the 18th and 19th Centuries. However, there are some more recent interesting tales, some recent enough that I know there are those who remember them and their aftermath firsthand. One of those is the story of Limestone, the estate of Mr. and Mrs. A Felix du Pont, Jr., which stood in the middle of what's now Carousel Park. I had heard stories from people in the past (and very recently) about the old stone house that stood there, which by the 1970's was a burned-out wreck. I never knew the story of the house before, but I do now, and it's ready to be told.

The story begins in 1939, when du Pont made two purchases from the Klair family -- a bit over 16 acres from Irvin and almost 53 from Willard (another 40 acres in 1964 from a different source would round out his his local holdings). Felix planned on building a home that, unlike some of the other MCH du Pont country estates, would actually be his primary residence. But who was this member of Delaware's First Family who wished to move his family to the rolling hills above Milltown?

Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr. was born in Wilmington in 1905, the son of A. Felix, Sr. and Mary Chichester du Pont. The elder Felix was a vice president and director of the Dupont Company. In 1929, he founded the St. Andrews School in Middletown (on the board of which his children and grandchildren would later serve). Senior's father, Francis Gurney du Pont, is credited as being the creator of smokeless gunpowder, and was the one who wished to sell the company out of the family in 1902, when cousins Alfred I., Pierre S. and T. Coleman gained control.

Although Felix, Jr. and his wife loved horses, his real passion was aviation. He became interested in airplanes as a boy, and would still be flying in his eighties. Among other things, along with his brother Richard he founded All American Aviation, which eventually became US Airways. During WWII, he served with the Air Transport Command at the Pentagon and in the Pacific, and was head of the American Glider Program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. But bear in mind that he was a du Pont, and in 1994 was listed as the 257th richest American.

Mr. du Pont builds his dream home

Back to our story, the du Ponts built their new home about a thousand feet back from the road, amid a wooded area. As the article above stated, it started as a 24 room, fieldstone house. It was enlarged in 1948. Their stables stood another few hundred yards to the south, and still stand there today. They've been enlarged since, but the core of the Carousel stables were the du Pont's. The diagram below shows where the house, stables, and barn were located. The large barn was the only one that pre-dated the du Ponts, having been built by the Klairs.

Locations of the du Ponts' Limestone estate, stables, and the Klair Barn

Felix and family enjoyed their home, and did all of the entertaining you would expect of them. With his first wife Eleanor Hoyt, he had Katherine, Elaine, Alexis Felix III (who died at age 7), and Michael. With his second wife, Marka Truesdale, he had a son named Christopher. As another interesting aviation connection, Marka's first husband was Grover Cleveland Loening, a German-born engineer 22 years her senior. In 1910, Loening received the first Masters degree in aviation and aerodynamics given in the US, and in 1913 became the chief engineer and general manager of the Wright Company, working directly with Orville Wright. He soon went on to form his own aviation companies.

The du Ponts had parties, weddings, and all manner of social events at the home they called Limestone. While Felix kept busy with his businesses, Marka du Pont had her own interests and causes. Among other things, she served as chairwoman of the Flower Market, as president of the Mental Health Association of Delaware, and as president of the National Association for Mental Health. Mental health causes seemed to be of special interest to her, as she even worked as a volunteer at the state hospital at Farnhurst.

Being a farm, Carousel of course had animals. There were horses and purebred Aberdeen-Angus cattle. Among the more unusual, the du Ponts had a male pet kinkajou named Kinkie. In 1949 they obtained a female named Felice, but the two did not not get along, so Felice was donated to the Brandywine Zoo. In 1958 Felix and Marka created the Delaware Pony Club, which allowed New Castle County children to attend riding camps at Carousel. The public has been riding there ever since.

The origins of the name "Carousel Farm", despite much poking around, still eludes me. The first newspaper reference I can find to it was in 1959, when the farm received certification for its purebred cattle. I know the barn by Limestone Road had a giant carousel horse on it, but I don't know when it (the decoration) was placed there. My hunch is that it was a du Pont creation from the 1950's, perhaps named for the Rodgers and Hammerstein play by Mrs. du Pont, a theater fan.

But now, finally, we get to the meat of our story. I became aware of this tale from people who had known of the house in the 1970's. All they knew was that it was an old du Pont house, and one night while the parents were away, their son had a party and burned down the house. I've now found that this story is essentially true, although that wording is a bit misleading.

On the night of August 24, 1967, 18 year old Christopher du Pont was at his Limestone home with his 22 year old cousin and another friend of the same age. His parents were away, at their summer home on Cape Cod. Chris stayed at home, as he was attending summer session classes at the University of Delaware. He had some friends over that night, but stated that all but the three of them left by about midnight. He checked the house, then went to bed at around 1:30 AM. At about 4 AM, du Pont was awakened by the smell of smoke. He climbed out onto the roof of the west wing of the house were his bedroom was. He crossed the roof and knocked on the bedroom window to wake the other two young men. The three of them then jumped to the ground to safety.

Next, Chris du Pont broke a window in another wing to access a phone to call the fire department. Firefighters from eight different companies ultimately responded, finally getting the blaze under control by 7 AM. Two firefighters, Mill Creek assistant chief John Fox and Hockessin firefighter Robert McVaugh, were hospitalized with minor injuries. The east wing of the house was described at the scene as a total loss, and the west wing sustained heat and water damage. Felix du Pont, when contacted in Cape Cod, sounded understandably upset at hearing the news. Deputy State Fire Marshall Raymond M. Harrington determined that a cigarette, smoldering in a downstairs couch, was responsible for sparking the blaze.

So as you can see, the story as was passed along to me is essentially correct. The du Ponts were away, their son was home, and there was some sort of party or gathering. Afterwards a fire did break out and destroy much of the house. However, there was certainly no sign of any malicious intent to "burn the house down". It was simply an unfortunate accident, likely the result of the carelessness of young men. Having been a young man once myself, I can say with authority that, frankly, it's a wonder we don't destroy a lot more stuff. I can only imagine how traumatizing this event was for young Christopher du Pont. As he said to a newspaper reporter, this was where he was raised, the only home he knew.

A flag flies in front of Limestone,
the morning after the blaze

The du Ponts weighed rebuilding their MCH home, but ultimately decided that it was not worth the effort. I also have to imagine that their thinking in 1967 was much different than it was in 1939. In '39 he had a young family that he was moving "out into the country." In '67 there was only Chris at home, and at 18 would not be there much longer. Also, this part of Mill Creek Hundred was very different than it was three decades before. The suburbs had thoroughly crept up to his doorstep by then, and were about to engulf the estate. So if you're a du Pont and you have an estate you no longer want, what do you do with it? Why, donate it, of course. And that's what Felix and Marka did in 1969 -- they donated their Carousel Farm to New Castle County, with the expressed sentiment that it be used for recreational purposes. The du Ponts, incidentally, moved to a new home on Pennsylvania Avenue between the Tower Hill and A.I. duPont Middle Schools.

When NCC took over their new Carousel Park, they continued the tradition of equestrian pursuits at the site. Many other events have been held at the park over the years, including concerts, camping, a farmers market, and the inclusion of a dog park. In the early 1970's, the county toyed with the idea of restoring the du Ponts' Limestone mansion and using it as an arts center. Money was even budgeted as late as 1975, but in the end the house was torn down in the late 70's. On December 22, 1979, fire also took the old Klair barn along Limestone Road. Its footprint is now in the backyards of several houses in the development of Carousel Knoll.

All that remains today of the once-beautiful "Limestone" are a few foundations and low walls, if you know where to look. When coming into Carousel Park from Limestone Road, heading back toward the stables, take the gravel road straight ahead instead of bearing to the left. You'll find yourself in a small parking lot that I believe was once the parking area in front of the house. Behind it, some visible and some buried in the brush, are the remains of Limestone. Below are a few pictures I took of what's present.