Dupont Circle was originally called Pacific Circle in Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s 1791 plans for Washington. In fact, many aspects of L’Enfant’s original plan for the city never came to fruition due to budget and planning hurdles. In 1882, Congress changed the name of the circle and ordered that a statue be constructed on the site in honor of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Dupont (1803-1865) and his service during the Civil War. 

Samuel Dupont grew up in New Jersey, where his uncle founded the multinational chemical corporation, originally a gunpowder manufacturer. According to a National Park Service description, the wealthy family secured a position for Samuel as a midshipmen at age 12, the beginning of a long career in the Navy. He had a number of successes in the Mexican-American War and later the Civil War. 

Dupont Circle was largely undeveloped until after the Civil War. In the 1870s, a number of large homes were built and the neighborhood became a very fashionable one. While L’Enfant’s original plans were never finalized, and Dupont’s statue no longer graces Dupont Circle, their legacies continued with the McMillan Commission spearheaded by Senator James McMillan in 1901 and 1902. The sweeping changes he made to L’Enfant’s original plan helped mold and form the Washington, DC so many of us know and love. A view of his plans for the National Mall is below.

In 1917, the DuPont family requested to move the statue honoring their ancestor. Once the request was granted, a new fountain was commissioned. It was designed by Henry Bacon and Daniel Chester French, who co-designed the Lincoln Memorial, and features three classical figures representing the stars, the sea, and the wind. It is this fountain that remains in the circle today.

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