Near Wilmington in New Castle County, Delaware — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Western Lodge
Built 1914-1915
To visit Nemours Mansion while the duPonts lived there, you entered the estate through these gates on its west side. The gatekeeper and his family lived in this house, the "Western Lodge." It's living room held a large hand-wheel connected to a drive-shaft below the ground. This "gate-keeping apparatus"for which Mr. duPont received U.S. Patent 1,246,567 on November 13, 1917enabled the gatekeeper to open and close the gates from inside the building.
The gates had to be attended around the clock, seven days a week. "Someone would blow the horn, and the person in the house would open the gates," recalled former Estate employee Heisler Eastburn. Yet because it came with housing, the job was seen as very desirable. "I wouldn't mind taking the gate for a while myself," Jessie duPont is reported to have said.
Regarding the gate opening device at Nemours, as there was nothing on the market suitable, which I could find, I had to resort to my own ingenuity, if you might so call it. The device is a very simple one, as all successful devices of this kind would have to be, in order to make it permanent and fool-proof.
Alfred I. du Pont to Thomas Hastings, July 9, 1915
[Captions:]
View looking through the gates outside the Western Lodge, circa 1920.
This is one of several pen-and-ink drawings done in 1917 to accompany Mr. duPont's patent application for his gate-opening mechanism. The wheelwhich still sticks up through the floor of the buildingand the gearing helped open the heavy iron gates originally used here.
Erected by Nemours
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Buildings • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical date for this entry is July 9, 1915.
Location. 39° 46.811′ N, 75° 33.756′ W. Marker is near Wilmington, Delaware, in New Castle County. It can be reached from the intersection of Rockland Road and Childrens Drive, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 477 Powder Mill Road, Wilmington DE 19803, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Philadelphia. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic and on the Delmarva Peninsula. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Wren's Nest (approx. 0.2 miles away); Old Pump House (approx. 0.3 miles away); Nemours Estate (approx. 0.3 miles away); duPont Carillon Tower (approx. 0.3 miles
Credits. This page was last revised on May 1, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 1, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 98 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 1, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
