Delaware’s 175-room mansion has chicken-shaped soup bowls and a garden that steals the show

It’s pronounced “winter-tour”

Winterthur sits in northern Delaware’s rolling Brandywine Valley, not far from Wilmington, and it covers 1,000 acres of meadows, woodlands, ponds and streams. The name throws people off.

Say “winter-tour.” What you get is the country’s premier museum of American decorative arts inside a 175-room mansion, plus a 60-acre garden that ranks among the finest in the nation. People come for the house.

They stay for what’s growing outside it. Both will keep you longer than you planned.

Henry Francis du Pont grew up here

Henry Francis du Pont was born at Winterthur in 1880 and spent his childhood roaming these grounds. He collected American antiques the way some people collect stamps, except his collection eventually filled 175 rooms.

He was also a serious horticulturist who could talk soil and bloom cycles with anyone. Over decades, he turned his family home into a showplace, then opened it to the public as a museum in 1951.

He moved to a smaller house on the property and lived there until his death in 1969.

Nearly 90,000 objects fill the mansion

The house holds close to 90,000 objects made or used in America between about 1640 and 1860. Two centuries of craftsmanship line the rooms: furniture, glassware, ceramics, silver, textiles and paintings.

Nothing sits behind glass ropes. Du Pont arranged every piece as if his family still lived there, so you walk through rooms that feel occupied, not preserved.

It ranks as one of the most significant collections of American decorative arts anywhere in the world.

Climb the Montmorenci Staircase from North Carolina

One of the first things you notice is the curved staircase spiraling up through the center of the house. Du Pont had it salvaged from an old mansion in North Carolina called Montmorenci.

It replaced a heavier staircase his father had installed, and the difference is obvious. The Montmorenci staircase sweeps upward with a lightness that sets the tone for everything that follows.

You haven’t even started the tour yet and the house is already showing off.

Each room captures a different era

The Chinese Parlor stops you with hand-painted wallpaper and furniture built in the Chinese style.

The Port Royal rooms show how du Pont staged objects in lifelike scenes so you feel like you’ve walked into someone’s actual home.

Many of these period rooms were constructed using woodwork and architectural details rescued from historic houses across the country. One courtyard displays real exterior facades pulled from old American buildings.

Every room drops you into a different time and place.

Soup tureens featuring odd shapes and designs

A separate gallery holds the Campbell Collection of Soup Tureens, and it is exactly as fun as it sounds.

You’ll find tureens shaped like chickens, ships, cabbages and other forms that have no business being soup containers.

They’re crafted from sculpted metal, fine porcelain and earthenware, and they come from Europe, Asia and America, some dating to the 1700s.

The gallery opened at Winterthur in 1997 and remains one of the spots where people linger longest.

Sixty acres of garden that look wild on purpose

Du Pont designed his 60-acre garden to look natural, not formal. No rigid rows, no geometric hedges.

Blooms roll through in waves from late winter all the way into fall, and du Pont obsessed over color pairings, especially yellows set against blues.

Winding paths and shaded lanes let you explore at whatever pace feels right.

The whole thing is considered one of the finest naturalistic gardens in America, and once you’re inside it, you understand why that reputation holds.

Azalea Woods explodes with color every May

Azalea Woods covers eight acres and erupts each May with azaleas and towering rhododendrons beneath a canopy of tall trees. Nearby, the March Bank is one of the oldest sections of the garden.

In early spring, it turns into a carpet of blue from squill and glory-of-the-snow pushing through the ground. These two woodland areas draw some of the biggest crowds on the estate, and the timing matters.

Hit them in the right week and you’ll walk through solid walls of color.

Lilacs, quarries and a reflecting pool

The Sundial Garden fills with lilacs, quince and fragrant viburnum.

Below the house, the Reflecting Pool sits flanked by terraces and a grand staircase leading down to the water. The Quarry Garden was carved from an old stone quarry and turned into something worth finding on its own.

The Peony Garden and Winterhazel Walk add more seasonal color as you move through the property. Miles of marked trails wind through meadows and shady woods beyond the formal garden areas.

Kids get their own three-acre garden

Enchanted Woods opened in 2001 as a three-acre garden designed just for children, and it’s a real garden, not a playground with mulch.

Kids can duck inside a Faerie Cottage, climb into a giant bird’s nest and sit down in an acorn tearoom. A misty spring and hidden nooks spread through the space.

The designers built it around what children love most: high views, hiding spots and water. You’ll lose track of your kids for a while in here, and that’s the point.

A tram ride covers what your legs can’t

A narrated tram carries you across the estate grounds while guides share the history of Winterthur and point out what’s blooming.

The ride starts at the Visitor Center, stops at Enchanted Woods and ends at the museum entrance. For a property this size, the tram gives you a solid overview before you start exploring on foot.

If you’d rather walk the whole thing, well-marked paths cross the estate and connect every major section. Either way, give yourself the full day.

Yuletide turns the mansion into a storybook

Each winter, the mansion transforms for Yuletide at Winterthur.

Rooms fill with themed Christmas trees and festive displays, and recent years have drawn on classic tales and beloved children’s books for inspiration.

A signature dried-flower tree has been part of the tradition for years.

On select evenings, you can take candlelit tours through the decorated rooms, listen to live music and warm up by cozy firepits outside. The holiday season gives you a completely different version of this place.

Explore Winterthur Museum in Delaware

You can spend a full day at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, located at 5105 Kennett Pike in Winterthur, Delaware, about six miles northwest of Wilmington.

General admission runs $22 for adults and includes a self-guided house tour, gallery access and a narrated garden tram ride when weather and availability allow.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A casual on-site cafe keeps you fueled so you don’t have to leave early.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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