Do you remember when you were in school studying George Washington and his mansion in Virginia? Well George Washington’s Mount Vernon was a place that both Steve and I have always wanted to visit. And it was only about 40 minutes from our Cherry Hill Park campground in College Park MD.
An American flag completely made of roses at the Welcome Center of George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
These gorgeous stained glass window depict George Washington’s life
Some background on the Father of our country
The weather wasn’t totally cooperative the day we went to Mount Vernon. But after our experience at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, we were used to walking in the rain. We are not made of sugar so we knew we wouldn’t melt. And there is so much to see here that we couldn’t let intermittent cooling rain and steamy sunshine interfere. From the mansion to the exquisite gardens and grounds, the slave quarters, salt house, blacksmith shop and spinning house, to museum galleries, a distillery and gristmill, it’s a full day of exploration.
The original home
Mount Vernon as seen from the great lawn as you approach the mansion
George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Though it truly looks like it is build of stone, it’s really wood that it painted with sand to give the appearance of stone!
We started with a tour of the mansion itself. Sadly, we were limited to the first floor only due to Covid-19. But we still got a good feel for life there back in the 1700s.
Mount Vernon began as a one and one-half story house built in 1734 by George Washington’s father, Augustine Washington, and received its well-known name from his half-brother Lawrence Washington.
Wood looks like stone
Although the mansion appears to be built out of stone, it is actually constructed of wood using an effect called rustication. To do this pine siding boards were cut and beveled to resemble stone blocks. Then paint was applied to the boards and sand was thrown onto their wet surfaces which created a stone-like texture. This not only make the mansion appear more substantial and expensive, it also wore well and protected the wood siding boards.
Enlarging the house
This is known as the New Room and was reminiscent of the salons of Europe
Another view of the New Room at George Washington’s Mount Vernon
This key was to the Bastille and given to George Washington by the King of France
A beautiful feather bed in one of the first floor bedrooms
A writing desk in the library
Another beautiful desk at Mount Vernon
The dining room set for guests. We have that same black and white floor in our RV!
The Butler’s Pantry
The view of the Potomac River from the rear of the mansion
That’s what the home looked like when George Washington began running Mount Vernon in 1754. Over the next 45 years he slowly enlarged the dwelling to create the 21-room residence that we visited. Washington oversaw each renovation, advising on design, construction, and decoration, even though he was away so much of the time. Being aware that the world was watching, Washington chose architectural features that expressed his growing status as a Virginia gentleman and ultimately as the leader of a new nation.
Landscape design
The lush natural gardens
Formal garden creating a maze
More of the natural landscape
Loved the intense color of these Coxcombs
Not sure, but this looks like a pomegranate to me.
When George Washington began residing at Mount Vernon in 1754, the property was a 3,000 acre estate with a house that was approximately 3,500 square feet. By the time of his death, Washington’s Mount Vernon consisted of about 7,600 acres and an almost 11,000 square foot mansion.
Mount Vernon’s gardens and grounds were an ingenious mix of the formal and naturalistic design styles that originated in England. In this transitional form, Washington borrowed the strict symmetry of and simple geometric lines from the earlier school while taking advantage of the natural beauty of the American landscape. These is an overall order to the wilderness areas, vistas, groves and curving walkways that reflects Washington’s sense of balance and design.
Even though George Washington never left America his landscape design seemed to have copied the best examples of the grand old homesteads of England.
A self contained village
The cook’s kitchen
Shops and slave housing at Mount Vernon
Inside the Spinning Shoppe
George Washington’s Mount Vernon was a self contained village. Everything was grown and processed on the property. Grain was turned into flour at the grist mill and spirits created at the distillery. Fabric for clothing was woven at the spinning house and made into clothing for the slaves. There was a blacksmith on the premises, as well as a shoemaker. Slaves cooked and tended crops.
A 300+ year old Tulip Poplar on our path to the George and Martha Washington tombs
Memorial and burial tombs of the Washington family
A wax figure of George Washington at age 19
Martha Washington’s wedding attire
A life sized depiction of George Washington taking the oath of office as our first president
It was an amazing place back then. And a step back in time for us today. We left Mount Vernon with so much more knowledge about the father of our nation and his wonderful home.
