DuPont is a city in Pierce County, Washington, on the shores of Puget Sound south of Tacoma, adjacent to Joint Base Lewis-McChord along the Interstate 5 corridor. With about 10,000 residents, it occupies land with a history far older than the city itself. The site was home to Fort Nisqually, the Hudson's Bay Company trading post established in 1843, and later passed into the hands of farmers. In 1906, the DuPont chemical company purchased roughly five square miles to build an explosives plant and a company town, which produced civilian and military explosives for decades. The plant's village, with its streets, homes, and civic buildings, remained largely intact as the community grew. When the DuPont Company ended local operations in 1976, Weyerhaeuser acquired the 3,200-acre plant site, and the property was eventually redeveloped into Northwest Landing, a nationally recognized example of walkable, mixed-housing planning. Today DuPont is a primarily residential city whose neighborhoods range from the preserved Historic Village to newer areas such as Palisade Village, Hoffman Hill, Bell Hill, and Bay Colony. Its schools are part of the Steilacoom Historical School District No. 1, the oldest organized district in Pierce County, with Pioneer Middle School located in the city. Residents enjoy a trail system anchored by the Sequalitchew Creek Trail, which descends through a forested canyon to the city's shoreline on Puget Sound, and the city's layout keeps most homes within walking distance of parks and schools. Its streetscape is notable for neighborhood parks and the absence of strip-commercial sprawl, giving it a cohesive, small-town feel within the South Sound region. For homebuyers, DuPont offers a well-planned community with direct freeway access and strong ties to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, and Olympia.