The Burning Rag: Delaware's Deadly Powder Mills

In 19th century Delaware, workers at the DuPont Black Powder Mills had a phrase for their dead colleagues: "He went across the creek." It was a gentle way to describe something horrific—being literally blown to atoms in an explosion. Sometimes all that remained was a burning rag, a piece of clothing still on fire from the chemical dust that killed them.

Between 1802 and 1921, there were 290 explosions at the DuPont mills just outside Wilmington, Delaware. The buildings were deliberately designed with only three walls and weak roofs to channel blast forces across the Brandywine Creek. Despite the constant danger, there was always a line of men ready to work. The pay was good, the housing was free, and the DuPont family took care of widows. But the risk was real—235 people died making black powder on those grounds.

Author and Hagley Museum tour guide Dick Templeton joins us to discuss his book "Across the Creek" and reveal the forgotten culture of Delaware's powdermen: their gallows humor, their three-sided factories, and the tavern called the Blazing Rag where they drank after work.

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In This Episode:

• Why the DuPont Black Powder Mills were designed with only three walls and weak roofs
• The euphemism "went across the creek" and what it really meant for powdermen
• How workers' remains were sometimes buried together when bodies couldn't be identified
• The tavern called the Blazing Rag where powder workers gathered after shifts
• Why 235 deaths over 119 years was actually safer than most 19th century industrial work
• How DuPont family members worked alongside employees and died in explosions too
• The cultural practices of Delaware's powdermen community
• When and why DuPont stopped making black powder in Delaware

Key Figures:

• E.I. DuPont (Eleuthère Irénée du Pont) - French immigrant who founded the mills in 1802
• Antoine Lavoisier - Father of modern chemistry who trained E.I. DuPont in France
• Alexis DuPont - E.I.'s son, killed in 1857 explosion while fighting factory fire
• Dick Templeton - Author of "Across the Creek" and Hagley Museum tour guide

Timeline:

• 1802: E.I. DuPont establishes black powder mills outside Wilmington, Delaware
• 1857: Alexis DuPont killed in explosion while on roof of burning building
• 1802-1921: 290 explosions occur at the mills over 119-year operation
• 1921: DuPont ships final batch of gunpowder from the Wilmington mills
• Present: Site preserved as Hagley Museum showcasing industrial history

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