Streambank Stabilization at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

Nestled in the heart of Delaware’s beautiful Brandywine Valley, Winterthur is the former estate and farm of Henry Francis du Pont. Today, Winterthur exists as a world-class center for the display and restoration of American decorative arts. What many don’t know is that it also includes 1,000 acres of woodlands, meadows and waterways, in addition to an extensive set of gardens both formal and naturalistic around the house. 

One of these gardens, set around a woodland stream, is called the March Bank and was the focus of our scheduled site visit in June 2024. This area was designed by Henry du Pont himself, in a naturalistic style of the day that he championed. The centerpiece, a small winding stream, is now being affected by the increasing severity of rainstorms in the form of bank-side erosion. The picture above is a historical image of March Bank, positioned in front of the present day stream bed. 

As Landscape Architects with stream bank stabilization experience, our Design branch was hired by Winterthur to come up with a design to stabilize the banks from further erosion while preserving the historic viewshed further upstream.

Immediately past the entry gate we were welcomed with views up and down rolling hills of pasture and meadow, the drive winding picturesquely deeper into the former estate. Winterthur in its heyday was large enough to merit its own post office, which is still there today and was where we parked.

We were met by garden curator Carol Long, who graciously took us for a quick tour of the grounds before meeting with her and other staff at the stream to discuss the project challenges.

Back at the office we got right to work, poring over the field data we collected, plus fascinating historic records forwarded to us. We got to see diary entries written by Henry duPont himself, directing the planting design and layout of the stream area, along with historic pictures. 

A month later we returned with our concept plan, which aimed to stabilize with minimal disruption of the site character, but also discussed that the stormwater work could be highlighted instead of hidden, to demonstrate how gardens today must adapt to the stresses of severe rainfall events brought on by climate change. An exciting part of the plan is that all materials, stone and wood, will come from Winterthur itself, minimizing acquisition and transport costs. It will also ensure the work knits into the site character seamlessly, while enforcing the sense of place that is this former duPont garden.

The next step is the exciting one - we will come out to do the actual stream stabilization work this winter. Stay tuned for an update as our Ourdoor Build branch heads down to Winterthur later this year.

Carl Molter is the Design Director at Indigenous Ingenuities who believes that “Design can no longer be for design’s sake; it must be held accountable. Accountable for its impact upon the community and environment.”