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More information
about Mount
Vernon
The Home of George and Martha Washington
The Mount Vernon
land was owned by the Washington family for seven generations -
from 1674 when King Charles II granted the land to John Washington,
George Washington's great-grandfather, until 1858 when it was in
the possession of John A. Washington, III, George's great-grandnephew.
The Washington family had hopes of selling the estate to the state
or federal government but amidst the turbulence leading up to the
Civil War, a government purchase proved to be impossible. In order
to save the home of our nation's first president, the Mount Vernon
Ladies' Association was formed under a charter of the Commonwealth
from Virginia and purchased the Mansion and 200 acres.
Mount Vernon
was the place George Washington called home. As a child, he spent
five years living at Mount Vernon, from age three through eight,
spending most of his childhood in Westmoreland County, Virginia,
where he was born. As a teenager, anxious to enhance his social
and professional opportunities, young George moved to Mount Vernon
to live with Lawrence Washington, his older half brother. During
this period, Washington endeared himself to the neighboring Fairfax
family and learned the professional trade of surveying. He also
capitalized on his brother's well-connected network of friends and
socialized with the military, political and social elite of the
Virginia. Through these connections and his own incredible perseverance,
Washington was appointed commander of the Virginia militia, the
highest-ranking military leader in the colonies, at the young age
of twenty-two. After his military service, he returned to Mount
Vernon, the home he eventually inherited, after the early death
of Lawrence. In 1759, at the age of 27, George married widow Martha
Dandridge Custis, and settled at Mount Vernon with his new bride
and her two young children, John Parke and Martha Parke Custis.
With an unmatched
architectural eye, George Washington expanded Mount Vernon and accumulated
more land, while building a prosperous plantation operation. In
1775, duty called with Washington's appointment as General in command
of all Continental forces. This took him away from Mount Vernon
for eight years. After the victory of the Revolutionary War, Washington
resigned his commission and returned to Mount Vernon to focus on
his farming operation, nearing 8,000 acres in total. Public duty,
however, called him away again with his unanimous election as first
president of the United States in 1789. Despite a grueling public
schedule, Washington was able to return to Mount Vernon on 15 separate
occasions during his two-term, eight-year presidency.
After his two
terms, Washington returned to Mount Vernon for his final days. Washington
embarked on many new projects, including a successful distillery.
On December 14, 1799, the young nation was cast into mourning at
the dawn of a new century with the death of the illustrious George
Washington. Two hundred mourners came to Mount Vernon to bid farewell
to their leader.
George Washington's
Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, open to the public since 1858,
is America's oldest national preservation organization. Through
a variety of interpretive programs on the Estate and in classrooms
across the nation, Mount Vernon communicates the character and leadership
of Washington to millions of Americans each year. On the 500-acre
estate, visitors can experience a Mansion tour, four-acre colonial
farm site, two museums, over a dozen outbuildings, four gardens,
the Shops at Mount Vernon (two gift shops and a Christmas Shop),
the Mount Vernon Snack Bar and the Mount Vernon Inn restaurant.
Mount Vernon is located at the southern end of the George Washington
Memorial Parkway; just 16 miles from Washington, D.C. Admission
fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, together with private donations,
support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon. For more
information, please call 703-780-2000 or visit online at www.mountvernon.org.
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