Almost all American gunpowder manufacture was patterned [poached] 
directly from the British designs-and-practices, so you are likely to 
find the publications of the Faversham Organization, who manage the 
historic gunpowder factory sites of Britain, of value. Unfortunately 
none is available online, but all must be ordered via post on their 
webpage (which related webpages offer some little additional historical 
images and information of interest, but mainly only enough intended as 
sufficient bait to provoke a visit by a tourist), here:

http://www.faversham.org/history/explosives/publications.aspx

The key thing about these folks at Faversham to note is that not only 
were they an outgrowth and continuation of the 400-year-old British 
gunpowder industry [as was yours], but the period of production there 
overlaps yours quite nicely: "During a key period in the United 
Kingdom’s history - from 1874 till 1919 - Faversham was the main centre 
of its explosives industry." There were six factories in all." ... AND 
... I think you may likely find in the Hagley archives evidence that the 
DuPont engineers had gathered research on the design of the Faversham 
mills which they incorporated in building their own.



On 10/23/2015 9:55 AM, Ashley S McCuistion wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> My name is Ashley McCuistion and I am currently conducting research 
> for my Master's Thesis on a black powder mill site in western 
> Pennsylvania. The site was built sometime in the late 19th or early 
> 20th century, and was owned by the DuPont Company from 1904 to the 
> 1940s. I have been struggling to find information about archaeological 
> projects conducted on similar sites in the United States, and I was 
> hoping that someone on the listserv may be able to help. Has anyone 
> done any research on black powder mills, particularly on the east coast?
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Thank you,
> Ashley McCuistion
>
> Graduate Assistant
> Department of Anthropology
> G12 McElhaney Hall
> Indiana University of Pennsylvania
> Indiana, PA 15705
> (804)725-8088
> [log in to unmask] (mailto:[log in to unmask])
>