Mount
Vernon, located just south of Alexandria, Virginia,
at the southern terminus of the famed George
Washington Memorial Parkway, was the plantation
home of George Washington. My wife and I recently
visited the complex and were amazed at the beauty
of the estate and the quality of the museum and
educational opportunities.
The
estate on which Mt. Vernon would be built was
part of the Washington family estate as early
as 1674. When George's father, Augustine Washington,
lived on the estate, it was known as Little Hunting
Creek. Augustine died in 1743, at which point,
George's oldest half-brother, Lawrence moved
his family to the plantation, which became known
as Mount Vernon, after Edward Vernon, a British
military office whom Lawrence admired. Lawrence,
however, died suddenly in 1752 and left the plantation
to his wife and George, who had previously taken
up residence at the plantation and was likely
serving as its manager. When Lawrence's widow
re-married, she sold her interest in the plantation
to George in 1757, who became its official sole
owner in 1761 after her death.
George
led a massive expansion of Mount Vernon (mostly
executed by his slaves and employees) and bought
up surrounding land. He enlarged the house from
one and a halff stories to two and a half stories
and built additional wings on to either end of
the house. He upgraded the mansion's plain wooden
siding with
bevel-edged pine blocks in a process called rustification.
He added a breathtaking two-storied piazza (porch)
which provided stunning views of the wide Potomac
River. He added a cupola atop the mansion, which
helped cool the house on humid summer days. The
entire landscape was meticulously planned to maximize
the practicality of the estate and to enhance its
natural beauty.
View of the Potomac from the rear
of Mount Vernon)
Gardens,
walkways, lanes, and outbuildings were carefully
situated to create a peaceful setting that blended
ingeniously with the natural beauty of the land.
Up until the Revolutionary War, George worked
the land of the estate and divided it into five
working farms over 8,000 acres. Each farm had
its own management team of overseers and slaves,
livestock, equipment, and buildings. After the
war, George continued his work on the estate
and grew hemp, cotton, silk, flax, and numerous
fruits and vegetables. George considered himself
an agriculturalist and liked to experiment with
grasses, wheat, grains, and vegetables to produce
seeds for his farming operation. In 1786, George
planted a huge orchard which provded the estate
with fresh peaches, cherries, pears, plums, and
apples.
In
1797, he built a whiskey distillery nearby (next
to his gristmill), which, for a short time, would
become one of the nation's top whiskey producers. In
1799, the distillery produced over 11,000 gallons
of rye whiskey.
Both
George and Martha Washington died at the estate
and are buried on the grounds. Today, Mount Vernon
has been carefully restored as is a major tourist
destination. The current estate features the
mansions, its many outbuildings, gardens, livestock
areas, and associated buildings. It features
an incredible museum that details the life of
George Washington and history of the American
Revolution. There are numerous interactive exhibits,
artifacts (such as George's dentures),
works of art, and exciting films. You can learn
all about the various buildings, china, and furniture
of Mount Vernon, or, about George's unfortunate
dental problems, the details of the last hours
of his life, his religious beliefs, or, the loving
relationship between he and Martha. Mount Vernon
also features several gift shops (where you can
buy $5,000 china settings, rare coins and currency,
as well as more modestly priced souvenirs) and
a full-service restaurant. If you visit Mount
Vernon in the summer, make sure you get there
early. We had to wait over an hour to enter to
the mansion. But even if you don't tour the mansion,
there is plenty to do and see.
George
Washington hologram at the front of the museum.
