Crooked Billet: Private du Pont home goes on market for first time since 1864

GREENVILLE - The first of the native Delaware stone used to build Crooked Billet, a tavern that became a longtime du Pont mansion, was laid nearly a century before the Revolutionary War on land deeded by William Penn.

Operated as a tavern from 1702 to 1811, it is said to have hosted Gen. George Washington and his men on their way to fight in the ill-fated Sept. 11, 1777, Battle of Brandywine.

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Now, this registered National Historic Place is for sale for the first time since 1864, when it was bought by Henry, Lammot and Éleuthère du Pont, partners in the nearby gunpowder mills.

The 2017 price tag: $2.85 million.

That includes the nine-bedroom, 8,875-square-foot home; a spacious guest house featuring a stone fireplace, tavern-style bar and screened porch overlooking the pool; a detached four-car, carriage-style garage topped with a two-bedroom apartment; and 4.2 acres of mature, three-season gardens.

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The original tavern section remains, and, while wings have been added and the estate renovated, the building retains much of its earlier appearance, according to its National Register certification.

“It’s about as classic as classic gets,” said Laird Bunch, managing partner of Brandywine Fine Homes, Sotheby’s International Realty, who is marketing the property. “It’s a really special part of the area’s history.”

Centuries-old 12-inch heart pine flooring spans most of the main level, which also features intricate built-in cabinets and bookshelves.

In the oldest room of the home, doors with big brass knobs and locks swing open on hand-forged iron strap hinges, sweeping over a herring-bone patterned brick floor. The original exposed wood beam ceiling overlooks an oversized fireplace.

Previous owner Marion du Pont McConnell grew up at Crooked Billet. Her mother, Jean Ellen du Pont McConnell Shehan, who died in 2011, was an accomplished equestrian known for the prize horses she kept on the estate.

The land, at Kennett Pike and Del. 141, was added in 1976 to the National Register of Historic Places, part of its significance being that it was the “last surviving farm property in a sprawling suburban district” and “a rare surviving example of early rock construction.”

In October, McConnell and husband John Kai Lassen sold the estate — including the house and the 28.34-acre property on which it sits — for about $6.5 million, according to public records, to Crooked Billet LLC, whose managing partner is Dewson Construction. The developer is preserving the main house and about 15 acres of surrounding open space.

The remaining land will be developed in conjunction with Bernardon Architecture into a 55-plus community of 19 homes, with construction expected to begin in coming weeks. An additional seven houses will be built as a subdivision of the existing Westover Hills development.

“This property is such an historic part of the area, just dead-center in the heart of Greenville and the last remaining land,” Bunch said. “We are going to preserve that history."

The family has been involved since day one in the planning, he said.

In 2012, when Kai Lassen was president of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Delaware, he shared some of the history of his home in the group’s fall newsletter.

The property was deeded by Penn to Adam Stedham, who in 1684 built a two-room, stone home there, Lassen wrote.

Stedham’s son, William, expanded the structure in 1702 into the “Crooked Billet,” following the tradition of  English taverns to hang a bent stick, or billet, over the door to signal travelers. The word “billet” also can refer to lodging, particularly of soldiers in a private home.

“Crooked Billet continued to operate as an inn until 1811, when the Kennett Road was moved to the northeast to become a toll road known as the Kennett Pike, leaving Crooked Billet about 2,000 feet back from the new road,” Lassen wrote. “No longer fronting on the road, Crooked Billet became a farm and passed to the du Pont family in 1864, where it has remained since then.”

Suzanne Herel is a Wilmington freelance writer.

At a Glance: Crooked Billet

Asking price: $2.85 million

Address: 3510 Kennett Pike, Greenville 

Size: 8,875 square feet

Lot: 4.2 acres

Rooms: Nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms, three half-baths.

Built: 1684, initial two-room stone home.

Noteworthy: Owned by the du Pont family since 1864. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Land originally deeded by William Penn. Rendezvous spot for General George Washington and men headed to the Battle of Brandywine.

Listing agency: Brandywine Fine Properties, Sotheby’s International Realty. (302) 654-4500 or email managing partner Laird Bunch at lbunch@bfpsir.com.