The powder works depended mainly on waterpower during 120 years of operation. Until the coming of steam power, industrial operations were largely confined to the banks of the Brandywine. With the installation of steam engines in the 1850s other areas of the property were opened to mill construction. The roller mills were actually small one room buildings with three substantially reinforced outer walls and a forth wall facing the river with was quite flimsy in construction. In addition, a light sheet metal roof was designed to blow out over the creek in case of explosion, thereby venting the blast and reducing the damage. Although the danger was greatly reduced, explosion was a constant possibility and infrequently did occur. The process was simple. There was a wooden railed trestle running to each of the mills. The ingredients were brought to the roller mills on the tracks by way of a hand cart. The ingredients, in proper proportions were spread out evenly on the floor. As we worked our way down the boardwalk of the old trestle of the Old Eagle Roll Mill, we could see the pair of roll mills, which were built in 1839 to produce Eagle brand sporting powder. In 1886, an iron water turbine replaced the original wooden water wheel that powered the mills. Rolling was the first step in the powder making process. In this step the ingredients were mixed together, or  "incorporated" with water under two revolving eight-ton cast-iron wheels. After rolling, the damp powder, called "wheelcake" was shoveled into tubes and transported to the press house. Workers left the building before the rollers were put in motion. They kept track of the progress through peep holes. It was unsafe to be within the blast area should an accident occur. In most cases mills were built in pairs. When one went up in smoke, the other was available to continue producing the particular powder assigned to that mill. In the mid 1800s, there were no places to buy the machines which du Pont needed to perfect his new process so he constructed a machine shop. By those standards, it was one of the best in the area. Here craftsmen would build the ironworks needed in the mills. The old machine shop has been recreated with many of the original time period machines. The power was again a water wheel from a race box alongside the building. This wheel turned a continuous wide leather belt which traveled around the building near the ceiling. Additional wheels would be pressed against the belt where needed in order to drive the various laths, grinders and drills. Although they moved slower then one would probably see in a modern day machine shop, they did a nice job of cutting and grinding. One of the many problems that de Pont had to overcome was the one speed belt, which was driving many different machines at the same time. These machines needed to run at different speeds to be most efficient. An ingenious device was added to the linkage between the machine drive belt and the overhead belt. It was two steel cones one inverted beside the other. A belt was placed between the two cones. The speed of the machine could be altered by sliding the belt up and down, effectively changing the diameter of the gear. It was quite something to see the thing in action. So simple yet so effective. In the new world of electronics and computer design, I don't get to see the neat devices that make all of the work come together as it was in the olden days. Du Pont's mansion is located on the property but I had dawdled along, fascinated with the mechanics of gunpowder and had let the day slip away. By the time we had finished watching the demonstrations at the machine shop it was closing time and we had to leave. Still the day had been beautiful and the fall colors brilliant. All in all a day I thoroughly enjoyed.

For more information about this exciting adventure log on to www.hagley.org

***THE END***