40 US Historical Homes That Are Worth the Visit

32.Nemours Estate

The Nemours Mansion and Garden were built between 1909 and 1910 by Alfred I DuPont, of the industrial DuPont family, as a gift for his second wife, Alicia. They constructed the home and garden to resemble a classic French chateau and formal French garden or Jardin à la française. Even its name comes from the north-central French town of Nemours, which connects to DuPont’s great-great-grandfather. The mansion is full of historic French art and decor, and the grounds are the largest example of a French classical garden in the United States.

The estate has the most developed French formal garden-style landscape and collection of individual gardens in North America. Their features include the Boxwood Garden, the Colonnade, the Maze Garden, the Reflecting Pool, the Sunken Gardens, and the Temple of Love. The mansion grounds reopened in 2008 after a three-year, $39 million renovation, which involved refurbishing furniture, fabrics, and tapestries, replacing the electrical system, draining and repairing the 800,000-gallon reflecting pool, and restoring the landscaping of the extensive formal gardens. Some of the notable art pieces include several paintings by European masters, a Louis XVI cuckoo clock designed by David Roentgen, and a chair from King George VI’s coronation. Let’s read on for another French-inspired mansion, the Pittock.