Mt. Vernon Estate - The Home of Our First President

The tobacco market had declined and many planters in northern Virginia converted to mixed crops. Like them, by Washington had ceased growing tobacco at Mount Vernon and replaced the crop with wheat, corn, and other grains. Besides hemp and flax, he experimented with 60 other crops including cotton and silk. He also derived income from a new gristmill which produced cornmeal and flour for export and also ground neighbors' grain for fees. Washington similarly sold the services of the estate's looms and blacksmith. He built and operated a small fishing fleet, permitting Mount Vernon to export fish.

Washington also practiced the selective breeding of sheep in an effort to produce better quality wool. The new crops were less labor-intensive than tobacco; hence, the estate had a surplus of slaves. But Washington refused to break up families for sale. Washington began to hire skilled indentured servants from Europe to train the redundant slaves for service on and off the estate. It is estimated that during his two terms as President of the United States — , Washington spent a total of days in residence at Mount Vernon.

After his presidency, Washington tended to repairs to the buildings, socializing, and further gardening. In his will, written several months before his death in December , Washington left directions for the emancipation after Martha Washington's death, of all the slaves who belonged to him.

Of the slaves at Mount Vernon in , a little less than half, individuals, belonged to George Washington and were set free under the terms of his will. When Martha Washington's first husband, Daniel Parke Custis , died without a will, she received a life interest in one-third of his estate, including the slaves. Neither George nor Martha Washington could free these slaves by law. Upon her death, they reverted to the Custis estate and were divided among her grandchildren.

By , slaves at Mount Vernon were part of this dower property. In accordance with state law, George Washington stipulated in his will that elderly slaves or those who were too sick to work were to be supported throughout their lives by his estate.

Children without parents, or those whose families were too poor or indifferent to see to their education, were to be bound out or apprenticed to masters and mistresses who would teach them reading, writing, and a useful trade, until they were ultimately freed at the age of twenty-five. In December , Martha Washington signed a deed of manumission for her deceased husband's slaves, a transaction which is recorded in the abstracts of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Court Records.

The slaves finally received their freedom on 1 January On 12 December , Washington spent several hours riding over the plantation, in snow, hail and freezing rain. He ate his supper later that evening without changing from his wet clothes. The following day, he awoke with a severe sore throat either quinsy or acute epiglottitis and became increasingly hoarse as the day progressed.

All the available medical treatments failed to improve his condition, and he died at Mount Vernon at around 10pm on Saturday, 14 December , aged On 18 December , a funeral was held at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred. Southerners who wanted his body to remain at Mount Vernon defeated the measure.

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In accordance with his will, Washington was entombed in a family crypt he had built upon first inheriting the estate. It was in disrepair by , so Washington's will also requested that a new, larger tomb be built. This was not executed until , the centennial of his birth. The need for a new tomb was confirmed when an unsuccessful attempt was made to steal his skull See: Attempted theft of George Washington's head.

Southern opposition was intense, exacerbated by an ever-growing rift between North and South. Congressman Wiley Thompson of Georgia expressed the Southerners' fears when he said:. Remove the remains of our venerated Washington from their association with the remains of his consort and his ancestors from Mount Vernon and from his native State, deposit them in this capitol, and then let a severance of the Union occur and behold the remains of Washington on a shore foreign to his native soil.

Washington's remains were finally moved on 7 October , along with those of his wife, Martha, to the new tomb presented by John Struthers of Philadelphia. Following Martha Washington's death in , George Washington's will was carried out in accordance with the terms of his bequests. The largest part of his estate, which included both his papers and Mount Vernon, passed to his nephew, Bushrod Washington an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Bushrod Washington did not inherit much cash and was unable to support the upkeep of the estate's mansion on the proceeds from the property and his Supreme Court salary.

He sold some of his own slaves to gain working capital. After he died in , his wife, Jane Charlotte inherited the estate, but her son began managing it. As his funds dwindled and the wear and tear of hundreds of visitors began to take its toll, Washington could do little to maintain the mansion and its surroundings. In , Washington sold the mansion and a portion of the estate's land to the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, which was under the leadership of Ann Pamela Cunningham.

Mount Vernon and other 5 historic presidential homes

Troops from both the Union and the Confederacy toured the building. The two women caretakers asked that the soldiers leave their arms behind and either change to civilian clothes or at least cover their uniforms. They usually did as asked. The mansion has been fully restored by the Association, independent of the US government, with no tax dollars expended to support the acre 2. Harrison Howell Dodge became the third resident superintendent in During his 52 years' overseeing the estate, he doubled the facility's acreage, improved the grounds, and added many historic artifacts to the collections.

Dodge reviewed George Washington's writings about the estate, visited other Colonial-era gardens, and traveled to England to see gardens dating from the Georgian period.

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Using that knowledge, Dodge oversaw the restoration of the site and put in place a number of improvements Washington had planned but never implemented. Charles Wall was assistant superintendent from to , then resident superintendent for 39 years. He oversaw restoration of the house and planted greenery consistent with what was used in the 18th century.

In , a campaign he organized was successful in preserving as parkland areas in Maryland across the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, as part of an effort to retain the bucolic vista from the house. On 7 November , President George W. Bush hosted French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a general press conference on the front lawn of Mount Vernon following Sarkozy's address to a joint session of Congress earlier that day. On 30 March , the estate officially opened a reconstruction of George Washington's distillery.

Frank Coleman, spokesman for the Distilled Spirits Council that funded the reconstruction, said the distillery "will become the equivalent of a national distillery museum" and serve as a gateway to the American Whiskey Trail.

Where Is Mount Vernon?

As of , since first opening to the paying public in , the estate had received more than 80 million visitors. In addition to the mansion, visitors can see original and reconstructed outbuildings and barns including slaves' quarters , an operational blacksmith shop, and the Pioneer Farm. Each year on Christmas Day , Aladdin the Christmas Camel recreates Washington's hiring of a camel for 18 shillings to entertain his guests with an example of the animal that brought the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem to visit the newborn Jesus.

Mount Vernon remains a privately owned property. Its income is derived from charitable donations and the sales of tickets, produce and goods to visitors. Its non-profit owners, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, continue their mission "to preserve, restore, and manage the estate of George Washington to the highest standards and to educate visitors and people throughout the world about the life and legacies of George Washington, so that his example of character and leadership will continue to inform and inspire future generations.

Mount Vernon was featured on U. The Liberty Issue was originally planned to honor six presidents, six famous Americans, and six historic national shrines. The first of the shrines is the Mount Vernon issue, a view of Washington's home facing the Potomac River. Development and improvement of the estate is an ongoing concern. Vernon was put on the tentative list for World Heritage Site status in the early s. It was submitted but failed to get approved. The airspace surrounding Mount Vernon is restricted to prevent damage from aircraft vibrations.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This is the latest accepted revision , reviewed on 16 December For other uses, see Mount Vernon disambiguation. National Register of Historic Places. Mount Vernon issue.

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Culpepper", the original proprietor of the Northern Neck, from whom the proprietorship devolved to his eventual heir Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original PDF on 4 March Retrieved 15 May George Washington's Mount Vernon. The Papers of George Washington. Archived from the original on 30 May Retrieved 25 May Archived from the original on 18 August Retrieved 8 August Archived from the original on 11 August Archived 6 May at the Wayback Machine.

Retrieved 15 March Archived from the original on 29 July Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Retrieved 15 February Archived from the original on 28 August Ward 1 April George Washington's Legacy of Leadership. Archived from the original on 15 December Retrieved 6 March George Washington's Mount Vernon: Archived from the original on 5 September Retrieved 30 November Archived from the original on 17 July Retrieved 3 July The house, with its long, two-story piazza overlooking the Potomac River, is one of the most instantly recognizable, and most copied, buildings in America.

Under the leadership of Ann Pamela Cunningham, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association purchased Mount Vernon from the Washington family in , restored the house in the country's first successful nationwide preservation effort, and opened the estate to the public in Today meticulously restored to its appearance in , the mansion preserves the legacy of this great American. Three rooms are on either side of the wide central hall on the first floor. The front parlor, music room, and the grand two-story large dining room are located north of the center hall. Pleasure grounds, gardens, and broad vistas extend from the Potomac River west to the original entrance road.

The smokehouse, workshops, stables, and other restored outbuildings, where slaves did much of the work of the estate, sit on a line north and south of the house, close enough for convenience but nearly invisible. Other portions of the estate present the plantation as a living-history pioneer farm.

The tomb of George and Martha Washington lies to the south of the mansion. Two modern facilities help tell the story of the real George Washington to visitors. Reynolds Museum and Education Center include galleries and theaters, interactive displays, and over artifacts. In , John Washington, the great-grandfather of George, obtained the land along the Potomac where Mount Vernon lies. From about until , Augustine and his family, including young George, resided there on what was then known as Hunting Creek Plantation.

In , Augustine deeded the estate to his eldest son, Lawrence, George's half-brother, who renamed the plantation Mount Vernon after Admiral Vernon, under whom he had served in the Caribbean. George spent part of his youth at the estate with Lawrence, who had married into the powerful Fairfax family and became a mentor to his young half-brother. It was here that George absorbed the planter ideals of honor and ambition. Honor demanded demonstrations of merit before the whole community, speaking in public, training militias, giving generously to those below him, and showing his good taste through his personal appearance, his polite manners, and the design of his plantation.

Ambition was a virtue.

Fame and glory showed character and benefited both the man and the greater society. It was these values that Washington first pursued and then came to embody. Its refusal precipitated the French and Indian War. His subsequent years of military service earned George Washington high rank and respect as a military leader. In , George leased the property, then over 2, acres, from Lawrence's widow and upon her death in , George inherited it. From to , Washington rebuilt the modest one and one half-story house at Mount Vernon into an impressive two and one half-story mansion and extensively redecorated the interior.

In , Washington retired from the army and married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy widow and mother of two children. Their combined property placed the couple high in the Tidewater planter aristocracy. Between and , he occupied most of his time becoming one of the largest landowners and richest and most innovative planters in Virginia. He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses for part of that time, becoming increasingly dissatisfied with British colonial policies.