<P> Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours was the son of a Parisian watchmaker and a member of a Burgundian Huguenot family, and descendant of a minor noble family on his mother's side . He and his sons, Victor Marie du Pont and Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, emigrated from France in 1800 to the United States and used the resources of their Huguenot heritage to found one of the most prominent of American families, and one of its most successful corporations, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, initially established by Éleuthère Irénée as a gunpowder manufacturer . </P> <P> In 1802, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont established a gunpowder mill on the banks of the Brandywine River near Wilmington, Delaware . The location provided all the necessities to operate the mill: a water flow sufficient to power it, available timber (mainly willow trees) that could be turned into charcoal fine enough to use for gunpowder, close proximity to the Delaware River to allow for shipments of sulfur and saltpeter, the other ingredients used in the manufacture of gunpowder . There were also nearby stone quarries to provide needed building materials . </P> <P> Over time the Du Pont company grew into the largest black powder manufacturing firm in the world . The family remained in control of the company up through the 1960s and family trusts still own a substantial amount of the company's stock . This and other companies run by the Du Pont family employed up to 10 percent of Delaware's population at its peak . During the 19th century, the Du Pont family maintained their family wealth by carefully arranged marriages between cousins which, at the time, was the norm for many families . </P> <P> The family played a large part in politics during the 18th and 19th centuries and assisted in negotiations for the Treaty of Paris and the Louisiana purchase . Both T. Coleman and Henry A. du Pont served as U.S. senators, and Pierre S. du Pont, IV served as Governor of Delaware . </P>

How did the dupont family make their fortune