George Washington Fisheries (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this trailside historical marker:

George Washington's Fisheries
"This River..is well supplied with various kinds of fish at all Seasons of the year…the whole shore in short is one entire fishery."
George Washington to Arthur Young, December 12, 1793

The three fisheries along the Potomac River reflect Washington's entrepreneurial spirit. For almost 40 years, these fishing operations brought in food for his enslaved and paid workers, and by selling the surplus, provided additional profits for his estate.

Each spring, when fish began running past Mount Vernon's ten-mile shoreline, enslaved workers, overseers, and indentured servants dropped everything and headed to the river to haul in and process more than a million fish, in a matter of weeks.