| 1800 |
Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, sons Victor Marie and Eleuthère Irénée, and their families arrive in America. |
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| 1802 |
The du Pont family settles in the Brandywine Valley. E. I. du Pont establishes gunpowder manufactory, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. |
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| 1810 |
E. I. du Pont purchases four tracts of land forming the nucleus of what later becomes Winterthur. |
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| 1834 |
E. I. du Pont dies and leaves the property to his children. |
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| 1837 |
Jacques Antoine Bidermann, and his wife, Evelina, a daughter of E. I. du Pont, purchase the property from the other siblings and begin construction on a 12-room house. They name it Winterthur after Bidermann's ancestral home in Switzerland. |
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| 1839 |
Jacques Antoine and Evelina du Pont Bidermann move into the house at Winterthur. |
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| 1863 |
Evelina du Pont Bidermann dies. |
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| 1865 |
Jacques Antoine Bidermann dies. |
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| 1867 |
Gen. Henry du Pont (brother of Evelina) purchases Winterthur from his nephew James Irénée Bidermann (son of Jacques and Evelina) for his own son Col. Henry Algernon du Pont. |
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| 1876 |
Col. Henry Algernon and Pauline Foster du Pont, who married in 1874, settle at Winterthur. |
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| 1877 |
Louise Evelina du Pont is born to Col. Henry Algernon and Pauline Foster du Pont. |
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| 1880 |
Henry Francis du Pont is born to Col. Henry Algernon and Pauline Foster du Pont. |
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| 1889 |
Gen. Henry du Pont dies; Col. Henry Algernon inherits Winterthur. |
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| 1899 |
H. F. du Pont enters Harvard. |
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| 1902 |
Col. Henry Algernon du Pont adds a new façade and library wing to the existing building at Winterthur. Pauline Foster du Pont dies. |
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| 1903 |
H. F. du Pont graduates from Harvard and begins to manage the Winterthur household for his father. |
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| 1909 |
H. F. du Pont takes over supervision of the garden and grounds. |
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| 1914 |
H. F. du Pont becomes manager of Winterthur Farms. |
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| 1916 |
H. F. du Pont marries Ruth Wales. |
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| 1927 |
H. F. du Pont inherits Winterthur after the death of his father, Henry Algernon, in late 1926. |
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| 1928–32 |
A new wing is constructed, dramatically expanding the size of the existing building. |
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| 1930 |
H. F. du Pont establishes the Winterthur Corporation as a nonprofit, educational organization, with the intent of opening his home as a museum. |
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| 1941 |
The house and collections opens on a limited basis to visitors who apply in writing for tickets. |
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| 1951 |
Winterthur opens permanently to the public on October 30. |
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| 1952 |
Winterthur Program in American Material Culture is established. First garden tour is given. |
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| 1961 |
The Visitor Center opens as a restaurant and reception area for garden tours. |
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| 1966 |
Copeland Lecture Hall opens in the Visitor Center. |
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| 1967 |
Ruth Wales du Pont dies. |
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| 1969 |
H. F. du Pont dies. The Louise du Pont Crowninshield Research Building, which houses the Winterthur Library and Archives as well as the conservation labs, opens. |
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| 1974 |
Winterthur/University of Delaware Art Conservation program is established. |
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| 1978 |
The first Point-to-Point Race and first Christmas tour (officially dubbed “Yuletide at Winterthur” in 1979) are held. |
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| 1992 |
The new Galleries building opens, showcasing highlights of the Winterthur collection and temporary exhibitions. |
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| 1997 |
The Campbell Collection of Soup Tureens at Winterthur opens in the new Dorrance Gallery. (The collection was donated to Winterthur in 1996.) |
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| 2001 |
Winterthur celebrates the museum’s 50th anniversary; the Enchanted Woods children’s garden opens. |
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| 2002 |
Winterthur’s land is placed in a conservation easement with the Brandywine Conservancy. |
