HAGLEY MUSEUM AND LIBRARY 2010 ANNUAL REPORT ELEUTHERIAN MILLS — HAGLEY FOUNDATION P.O. BOX 3630 • WILMINGTON, DELAWARE 19807-0630 WWW.HAGLEY.ORG • (302) 658-2400 PRESIDENT’S REPORT When I am introduced to someone new, often they mention that they visited Hagley when they were in grade school and remember the fun of making biscuits and walking with the powderman on his rounds. Hagley memories can last a lifetime. I am pleased that our outreach efforts in 2010 provided scholarships and transportation for deserving students so that they, too, could experience the Hagley school program. I enjoyed reading thank you letters from some of the students we serve. One young student wrote, “I had an amazing time on the field trip. I loved seeing and learning about the different ways to do things. I hope you keep inviting fifth grades to the museum because it was truly an amazing experience.” Yes, she really wrote that! We are fortunate to have support for our scholarships and other public programs and events from our corporate community. Listed in this report are the businesses that support us through corporate membership, sponsorships, and donations to our various raffles and silent auctions. This support enlivens Hagley. If you’ve ever won a raffle prize at our fireworks Henry B. duPont IV event, you know the thrill of hearing your name called to receive your winnings. Our business President partners make this possible, and I am personally thankful for their support. Hagley is a strong institution, as you will see from the financial information included in this report. Our strength comes from the fact that we have loyal members and donors In 2010, Hagley received a grant who make Hagley a part of their lives, through donations, repeat visits to the museum and from the Institute of Museum library, and by including Hagley in estate plans. When you give a gift to Hagley in memory of and Library Services (IMLS) to a loved one, you are honoring them in a special way. Please note the thoughtful gifts given in conduct a detailed conservation remembrance that are listed in the donor section of this report. survey of its historically Each year at Hagley brings change, some years more than others. In the beginning of important and unique artifact 2011, we said farewell to longtime Research Archivist Marge McNinch who retired after forty collection of approximately 600 years, and to Terry Snyder, our deputy director for library administration, who leaves Hagley pioneering synthetic textile fiber for a tremendous opportunity at Haverford College. Both Marge and Terry were dedicated “firsts.” These include research, employees who contributed in countless ways to the institution. On behalf of the Board of wear-tested, promotional, and Trustees, I wish them all the best. commercially manufactured Looking to the future, we see bright days ahead for the museum. In 2010, we brought articles of clothing made of nylon, on board Joan Hoge-North as the deputy director for museum administration. She brings Orlon®, Dacron®, and other fibers a wealth of museum knowledge from her tenure as executive director of the Delaware created by DuPont. On the cover is Historical Society, and we look forward to her ideas and enthusiasm for Hagley. an Admiration Hosiery Stocking, I personally want to thank everyone who has contributed to Hagley to help us have made of DuPont Nylon, 1939-1940, another successful year in 2010. I hope you’ll continue to support us in 2011 and urge you to which was manufactured by the visit to see firsthand how your donations help us to grow. Cooper Wells Company. This year’s annual report focuses on conservation efforts made to Sincerely, museum and library collections and throughout the property. Henry B. duPont IV President EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT In 2010 we tackled several projects related to the preservation aspects of our mission, “To collect, preserve, and interpret the unfolding history of American enterprise.” But before I highlight those projects, it gives me great pleasure to report that our 2009 renovation of the Eleutherian Mills dam received two awards in 2010. New Castle County Historic Review Board awarded Hagley its “2010 Historic Preservation Award for Adaptive Use” in July, and in October, Merit Construction Engineers were recognized by the Delaware Contractors Association as a 2010 Construction Excellence Award Winner in the “Historic Preservation Under $1 Million” category. We are now the best museum by a twice award-winning dam site! All of the achievements noted throughout this report result from the efforts and commitment of a very talented staff, board, and volunteer corps. This report is a testament to them and their hard work. Major Achievements Geoff Halfpenny Our Winter 2010, Volume 39 Number 4 Hagley Magazine highlighted the outstanding Executive Director skills of several colleagues as they worked to ensure that some of our prominent features look their best. Museum Objects Conservator Ebenezer Kotei did a remarkable job in restoring a side-curtain Rockaway carriage, an example of the kind of transportation that would have been used by the DuPont Company’s nineteenth-century accountant, Henry Belin, for whom the Belin House Organic Café is named. The carriage has been fully restored and is once again displayed on Workers’ Hill as part of Hagley’s worker’s community. While the carriage was being worked on in the conservation workshop, our Stone Mason Jeff Fisher set to work refinishing the floor Objects Conservator Ebenezer Kotei in the carriage house for the return of the beautifully restored carriage. Also, Ebenezer did a works on the Rockaway carriage. wonderful job of restoring our early twentieth-century boxcar. The boxcar is one of our most significant vehicles on the property. It came from the Carney’s Point DuPont facility and is the The side-curtain carriage, on only surviving narrow-gauge boxcar in the country that was used for transporting black powder. exhibit on Workers’ Hill, was built With many years of being exposed to the harsh elements of Delaware’s seasonal changes, its by George J. Moses of West Chester, wooden structure had become weak and unsightly. Now fully restored, it is once again an iconic Pennsylvania. image of Hagley’s industrial past along the scenic Brandywine. Ebenezer and volunteers put in Also impacted by Mother Nature was our Birkenhead Mills’ waterwheel, which, though a combined 550 hours of work to not historic in nature, is arguably one of the most picturesque and iconic images of Hagley. restore this classic carriage to its This wheel is a critical part of our story that helps visitors to understand the reason behind original glory. the founding of the DuPont Company along the powerful Brandywine and the evolution of water power as the driving force behind the success of the company for more than 100 years. It had been more than ten years since the Birkenhead had received major attention, and it was badly in need of repair. Mechanical Exhibits Specialist John McCoy, Exhibits Technician Chris Corbin, Mechanical Technician Randy Windle, ably assisted by volunteer Irv Levine, set about reinforcing the sixteen-foot diameter rims that form the circumference of the wheel and replaced all of the ninety-six buckets, which receive the water to propel the wheel. In the powder yard, across from the Millwright Shop, is a mock-up display of a typical stone quarry from the property. For very practical reasons (resistance to explosions and ample supply of materials), most of Hagley’s buildings have been constructed from the “Delaware Blue Rock” (gneiss) that proliferates on our site. Over the years, there were numerous quarries on the property where rock was mined to build the mill structures. This outdoor exhibit describing the process of mining the rock received a major overhaul, including the replacement of major support timbers, the rehabilitation of the 500-pound winch, returning it to operating condition, and the treatment and repair of all cables, hardware, and pulleys, enabling the entire system to function safely. Each year, we recognize certain milestones in colleagues’ careers at Hagley. In 2010, we acknowledged ten full-time colleagues for service ranging from five to twenty years, with 3 special recognition for forty years of service by Jon Williams, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Prints and Photographs! Hagley guides Nancy Emerson and Renee Sears celebrated thirty years, and Anne Dunworth, Mary Hirt and Janet McClelland celebrated thirty-five years of service! Congratulations to one and all, and thank you for serving Hagley so well. Hagley’s 754 dedicated volunteers represent one of the most important and powerful resources of our organization and are absolutely essential to our operations and outstanding record of visitor satisfaction. Hagley volunteers participate in every aspect of our operations from collections, to exhibitions, to site interpretation, to research and office support, to special events. Together, our volunteers donated 19,411 hours in 2010. Irv Levine and Carole Wardeh deserve special recognition for each contributing more than 400 hours! We welcomed 140 new adult volunteers and 42 new youth volunteers. As the face of volunteerism changes, Hagley is expanding our approach and welcoming partnerships, including corporate programs, social groups, and the State Office of Volunteerism. The New Machine Shop, built in the Museum Division early 1900s, was originally used to The Museum Division should be dubbed “The Little Engine that Could.” It has been build and repair machinery. an extraordinary year of transition, change, and surprise. Many exceptional projects were The shop, near Hagley’s main conducted, visitor satisfaction remained high, visitation stayed stable, the collection grew in a entrance gate, underwent major meaningful way, intellectual control expanded markedly, care of our historic resources improved, roof work and repair in 2010.