The means by which he made his gift to purchase land for Delaware College demonstrated P.S. du Pont's practical style of philanthropy. He temporarily turned over shares of DuPont Co. stock to the college, and when the dividends earned equalled the cost of the land, the stock was returned to him.

His various pledges, by 1916 totalling over $1 million, would finance construction of Wolf and Harter Halls, the first two buldings on the newly purchased Mall tract, and generously increase the College's endowment, thus providing the necessary funds for maintenance.