Editing DuPont, Washington (section)

==History==
There was a Native American presence in the area for the last 10,000 years. At the time of contact the [[Nisqually people|Nisqually Tribe]] lived in relative peace and prosperity in their aboriginal homeland of about two million acres (810,000 ha) near the present-day towns of [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], [[Tenino, Washington|Tenino]], and DuPont, and extending to Mount Rainier. Tribal life changed radically with the advent of Euro-American settlement about 150 years ago. Forced to compromise its interests and rights over the years, the Tribe always sought to maintain its integrity and dignity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nisqually-nsn.gov/index.php/heritage/ |title=Nisqually Indian Tribe :: Heritage}}</ref> Subsisting on shellfish from the beaches and salmon from [[Sequalitchew Creek]]. Captain [[George Vancouver]] mapped the area in 1792, and in 1833, the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] established a fur trading post at [[Fort Nisqually]] as a halfway point between [[Ft. Vancouver]] and Ft. Langley. The fort was relocated upstream in 1843.<ref name="HBC">[http://homeworkhelper.dupontmuseum.com/HudsonBayEra.aspx Hudson's Bay Company Era, DuPont Museum] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710160344/http://homeworkhelper.dupontmuseum.com/HudsonBayEra.aspx |date=July 10, 2011 }}</ref> It was relocated to expand on the fort to house more workers and to have better access to fresh water.<ref>{{cite book |last=Carpenter |first=Cecelia |date=1986 |title=Fort Nisqually: A Documented History of Indian and British Interaction |location=Tacoma, WA |publisher=Tahoma Research Publication |pages=120–121 |isbn=978-0-9616969-0-0}}</ref> Charles Wilkes of the United States Exploring Expedition held the first American Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi River in the present-day DuPont area on July 5, 1841.

The first school in the area was the Nisqually Methodist Mission school, which operated from 1840 through 1842. [[Chloe Aurelia Clark|Chloe A. Clark]] was appointed teacher at the school.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homeworkhelper.dupontmuseum.com/TheNisquallyMissionHistoricSite.aspx |title=Official DuPont Washington Museum Website |access-date=January 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818004307/http://homeworkhelper.dupontmuseum.com/TheNisquallyMissionHistoricSite.aspx |archive-date=August 18, 2011}}</ref> The first public school was established in 1852. By 1869, the Hudson Bay Company had to sell the land to the U.S. government for $650,000.<ref name="Crooks 2001 46–54">{{cite book |last=Crooks |first=Drew |date=2001 |title=In Past Reflections: Essays on the Hudson's Bay Company in the Southern Puget Sound Region |location=Tacoma, WA |publisher=Ft. Nisqually Foundation |pages=46–54}}</ref>
The Oregon Treaty of 1846 gave the land of the Oregon Territory to the U.S. but still allowed the HBC to continue operating in the area. American farmers in the area resented this decision and pushed out the company by establishing their own market place and squatting on company land. By 1865, there were about 150 illegal squatters on company property who would harass the livestock of the Hudson's Bay Company. A few of the farmers urged Congress to remove the fort as well as the Puget Sound Agricultural Company from the [[Pacific Northwest]].<ref name="Crooks 2001 46–54"/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Galbraith |first=John |date=1950 |title=The British and Americans at Fort Nisqually, 1846-1859 |journal=The Pacific Northwest Quarterly |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=109–120 |jstor=40487610}}</ref> These conditions made it hard to continue operations in the region so the fort was closed.

The land was up for grabs once Hudson's Bay Company left and many farmers bought the land. In 1906, the [[DuPont (1802–2017)|DuPont]] chemical company purchased a {{convert|5|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} area from the farmers for construction of an explosives plant, as the company was in the midst of expanding into the west. The plant was built on the initial 1833 Ft. Nisqually site and was completed in 1909.<ref name="DuPont" /> During its nearly 70-year history, the plant produced dynamite for the U.S. military as well as for the construction of various civilian projects including the [[Grand Coulee Dam]], the [[Alcan Highway]], and the [[Panama Canal]].<ref name="Creighton 2004">{{cite book |last=Creighton |first=Janet |date=2004 |title=Cultural Resources in Conflict: Historic Preservation and Private Property at Northwest Landing, DuPont, WA |location=Ann Arbor, MI}}</ref>

[[File:Dupont, WA city hall.jpg|thumb|Dupont City Hall]]
A [[company town]] was set up about a mile east of the explosives manufacturing facility. By 1909, the village had two houses for the plant managers and 58 houses for the workers, which increased to over 100 houses by the end of 1917.<ref name="DuPont">[http://homeworkhelper.dupontmuseum.com/TheDuPontEra.aspx The DuPont Era, DuPont Museum] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818004231/http://homeworkhelper.dupontmuseum.com/TheDuPontEra.aspx |date=August 18, 2011 }}</ref> The village was re-designated as the town of DuPont on March 26, 1912, but it was not officially [[Incorporation (municipal government)|incorporated]] as a town until 1951, when the company started selling the houses to the employees.<ref name="DuPont" /> The original company town, roughly bounded by Santa Cruz St, Penniman St, Brandywine Ave, and DuPont Ave, was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as the [[DuPont Village Historic District]] in 1987.<ref name="DuPont 2">{{cite web |title=Historic Village |url=https://www.dupontmuseum.com/historic-village |website=DuPont Historical Museum |access-date=September 4, 2019}}</ref>

The dynamite plant was shut down in 1975 and the land was subsequently purchased by the [[Weyerhaeuser]] company for $12&nbsp;million. The initial plan was to use the {{convert|3000|acre}} of land to construct a lumber export plant, but the company eventually decided to further develop the town under a [[New Urbanism]] model.<ref>{{citation |last=Veninga |first=Catherine |date=2004 |title=Spatial Prescriptions and Social Realities: New Urbanism and the Production of Northwest Landing |journal=Urban Geography |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=458–482 |doi=10.2747/0272-3638.25.5.458 |s2cid=145225052}}</ref> DuPont, Weyerhaeuser, and the state [[Washington State Department of Ecology|Department of Ecology]] began decontamination of the original explosives plant site in 1991, with [[The Home Course|a golf course]] being built on the former location of the plant.<ref>{{cite web |title=About The Home Course |url=https://thehomecourse.com/about/about-the-home-course/ |website=The Home Course |access-date=September 4, 2019}}</ref> In recent years, DuPont has undergone a transformation with the realization of the modern planned community of "Northwest Landing". The city is expected to have a built-out population of more than 12,000.

In 1975, the [[midden]] for the Sequalitchew Archeological site was added to the National Register of Historic Places, it being the oldest known midden in Washington.<ref name="Creighton 2004"/>

===Present day===
<!-- Yes, it's Saltar's - Named for Captain John Saltar -->
DuPont remains a growing community. The [[elementary school]] in DuPont, Chloe Clark Elementary (which hosted [[kindergarten]] through [[fifth grade]]), reached capacity in the 2007–2008 school year. As a result, starting from the following school year, [[Steilacoom Historical School District]] realigned all three elementary schools. Chloe Clark Elementary and Cherrydale Primary in Steilacoom now only have students from grades K-3. Saltar's Point Elementary in Steilacoom now serves 4th and 5th grades. Pioneer Middle School relocated from Steilacoom to DuPont in August 2008. The new school received the LEED award for its "Green" Design elements.<ref>[http://www.steilacoom.k12.wa.us/do/asp/timeline.asp Steilacoom School District Timeline, 2008 Entry] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409062614/http://www.steilacoom.k12.wa.us/do/asp/timeline.asp |date=April 9, 2010 }}</ref>

DuPont is divided into several subdivisions, each with its own design style and/or building contractors. Northwest Landing is the most visible due to a sign along the freeway drawing attention to it. Several businesses have opened in the downtown area, but development has slowed in recent years. Hoffman Hill is the largest in area, and houses about 60% of the total population. The Historic Village, a residential area which is on the registry of historic places, is the only part of DuPont that is not a modern planned community. Bell Hill is considered the most expensive area of the city. DuPont features trails and green belts throughout, and is about 95% built-out according to the master plan.<ref>[http://www.ci.dupont.wa.us/files/library/e469fa3d2433d558_o.pdf City of DuPont Master Building Plan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005203851/http://www.ci.dupont.wa.us/files/library/e469fa3d2433d558_o.pdf |date=October 5, 2011 }}</ref>

On December 18, 2017, an [[Amtrak]] train [[2017 Washington train derailment|derailed]] near DuPont, killing three people and injuring more than 100 others.