Marion duPont Scott

Marion duPont Scott (May 3, 1894 – September 4, 1983) was a thoroughbred horsebreeder who operated a racing stable for both flat and steeplechase racing. She was the last private owner of Montpelier, the mansion and land estate of former United States President James Madison. At the time of her death, she bequeathed Montpelier to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and established an endowment for its maintenance; it had been designated a National Historic Landmark. During the National Trust's major restoration of the mansion in 2003–2008 to its design during the time of Madison's residency, it reduced the house from the 55-room structure developed by the du Pont family back to its original 22 rooms. Biography Marion was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of William du Pont and his second wife, Annie Rogers, the former wife of George Zinn, Sr. She had one sibling, William duPont, Jr., and a half-brother, George Zinn, Jr. She spent her childhood at Binfield, Berkshire, England. She was a great-granddaughter of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. Of French Huguenot descent, the Du Pont family usually spell the family name as "du Pont" in the French style. Both Marion and her brother William, Jr. chose to spell their surname conjoined. Marion grew up riding in the hunt country of Virginia and became an accomplished horsewoman. She became interested in racing as well and developed what became known as the Montpelier Stable. She owned and bred Thoroughbreds for both flat and steeplechase racing.