It’s official: DuPont is no longer synonymous with Delaware

Today is the first day of the rest of DowDuPont’s life. The merger was finalized yesterday, Aug. 31, without much fanfare. Fanfare wasn’t necessary. Delaware has already felt the effects of the state’s most quintessential company changing things up. Jobs have moved around, and sometimes disappeared. Buildings emptied. The DuPont Theatre rebranded, returning to its old name, The Playhouse, and merged with The Grand. The Hotel DuPont, sold. The DuPont Country Club, on the market.
Sure, DowDupont will still have a presence in Wilmington. But let’s face it, DuPont as we knew it is gone.
For anyone who grew up in Delaware or has lived here for a long time, all of this has been surreal. Delaware without DuPont? It’s like New York City without the Statue of Liberty.
And yet, here we are, and it feels less complacent than before. It’s time to make our own identity, independent of DuPont. We’ll still have the schools and the absurd number of streets named DuPont (I live on one myself). We still have Nemours A.I. duPont Hospital for Children. We still have the Hagley Museum, still have the history, for what it’s worth.
Now let’s move forward and figure out who we really are.