Enchanted Woods (Classic)

Dylan Thuras· Host0:01

[pensive music] Once upon a time, there were two little sisters, Pauline and Ruth du Pont, and they lived in a massive, luxurious mansion in Wilmington, Delaware. They were the daughters of Henry Francis du Pont, one of the heirs of the very powerful du Pont business dynasty. Pauline and Ruth just wanted to play, but the du Pont mansion was full of all of this expensive art and furniture. They pretty much lived in a museum, but in the bad way where everything had to be just so and you couldn't touch anything.

Chris Strand· Guest0:36

And as one of the daughters wrote to her father in one of her Christmas cards, she made a, a poem in the Christmas card that talked about living in a house where you're not allowed to sit on the furniture.

Dylan Thuras· Host0:46

One place the kids were allowed to play was in the extensive 60-acre garden. Sometimes the girls would take their books out there to read, and even at some point they were able to convince Daddy du Pont to add in a swing set.

Chris Strand· Guest0:59

That was a little home away from home.

Dylan Thuras· Host1:01

In the early 1950s, the entire estate was turned into the Winterthur Museum Garden and Library. But it wouldn't be until the year 2000 when the museum staff, inspired by the story of Ruth and Pauline's respites into the garden, used that story as a launching pad to create what is now the Enchanted Woods.

Chris Strand· Guest1:23

There's so many artistic moments in the garden, moments that lead children to take a flight,