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Mount Vernon Estate (Historical Marker)

GPS Coordinates: 38.7116422, -77.0882068
Closest Address: 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Alexandria, VA 22121

Mount Vernon Estate (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Mount Vernon Estate
George Washington acquired Mount Vernon in 1754. Over a period of 30 years, he transformed the simple farmhouse into a mansion embellished with rusticated wood siding, a cupola, and a portico overlooking the Potomac River. Every aspect of the estate—its architecture and decoration, the landscape and the farms—received Washington’s careful attention, despite long absences during the Revolution and his presidency. Washington kept Mount Vernon as his home until his death on 14 December 1799. Since 1858, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association has maintained and meticulously restored the estate as a true reflection of Washington’s character and personality.

Erected 1999 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number E-68.)


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More about this marker:
A marker with this title and number was originally erected in the late 1920s on Richmond Highway, now U.S. Route 1, 5 miles south of the Alexandria city line. The original marker read, “ Two miles to the east, the original house was built in 1743 by Lawrence Washington. George Washington came into possession in 1752. From here he set out, in April 1775, to take his seat in the Continental Congress. On December 24, 1783, he returned from the army and here died on December 14, 1799.”


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Here follows a description of the estate as excerpted from the UNESCO World Heritage Site website:

Mount Vernon
Description
The property consists of a core of 16 surviving 18th-century structures situated within a cultural landscape of associated gardens, fences, lanes, walkways, and other features, situated along the Potomac River. The historic core of the property is contained within an area that is roughly 20 hectares in size. The surviving 18th-century structures consist of the Mansion, kitchen, servants' hall, gardener's house, a salt house, spinning house, store house, smoke house, wash house, stable, ice house, the original tomb, and four garden buildings (two necessaries and two seed houses).

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value
George Washington's home and the associated gardens and grounds together form a remarkably well-preserved example of an evolved cultural landscape of the 18th-century American south, based on English models, that is unique in the extent of its documentation. The estate formed the core of an extensive plantation operation that included hundreds of enslaved workers. The combination of surviving structures and landscape features, archaeological data, and archival evidence make Mount Vernon arguably the best documented and most completely preserved example of this important period in landscape design.

Statements of authenticity and/or integrity
As a result of its association with George Washington, the leading General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and first President of the United States of America, which led to early efforts to protect it, the property is remarkably well preserved. As it has been restored over a long period of time, however, some aspects of the landscape reflect Colonial Revival style as well as the authentic original features.

Comparison with other similar properties
Brimstone Hill Fortress in St. Kitts, Lunenburg Old Town and the Historic Area of Quebec in Canada, and Monticello and the University of Virginia in the United States have been inscribed as World Heritage sites reflecting the nature and the impact of British colonization. Of these, only Monticello relates to the plantation form, but is focused on Jefferson's unique architectural vision. Before preparing a nomination for this property, it will be necessary to examine in more depth and detail the comparable documentation and features of other 18th-century American plantations - such as Hampton and Sotterly in Maryland, and Stratford Hall, Carter's Grove, and Sully in Virginia.


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Original Entrance to Mount Vernon:
The original entrance to the mansion is on Old Mount Vernon Highway. The other once often-used method of access was by boat. The Potomac River is directly behind the mansion.


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Here follows an excerpt from the 1970 Fairfax County Master Inventory of Historic Sites which contained entries from the Historic American Buildings Survey Inventory:

Mount Vernon:
Under the direction of George Washington, Mount Vernon was transformed from the cottage it had been in 1742 to the mansion it became in 1787. This was not done in a single operation, but rather in a series of alterations and additions.

In 1742, Lawrence Washington, half-brother to George Washington, built a small house on property which had been purchased by his father. George Washington later rented this house from Lawrence's widow, Anne Fairfax Washington, and on her death in 1761 acquired title to the estate. The original house was one and one-half stories high and extended only the length of the five central openings on the first floor. In the 1757-58 alterations, the house was raised another story, and in 1776-79 was lengthened from five to nine bays. The pediment was added in 1778 and the cupola finial in 1787. The interior is distinguished by excellent Adamesque carving on many of the ceilings.

During Washington's many lengthy absences from Mount Vernon, his cousin, Lund Washington, managed the estate, and their voluminous correspondence has been a major source of information. Many changes were made in the structure by the Washington heirs; but, since 1858, under the ownership of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, the house has been restored and, wherever possible, furnished to conform to its appearance as Washington knew it.

There are some sixteen outbuildings in the exhibition area of the estate, including the greenhouse, stable, wash house, kitchen, and a museum. These have either been restored or reconstructed according to Washington's plans for Mount Vernon. Both George and Martha Washington are buried in the family tomb which overlooks the Potomac River.

Mount Vernon is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.


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Here follows an excerpt from local author and historian Mary B. Lipsey's "This Old House: Annandale, Springfield, Burke & Beyond" presentation:

I'm basically going to give you a little bio about the house, et cetera. It was Washington family property in 1674. George Washington inherited Mount Vernon, as it was called by his brother Lawrence Washington, and he had it from 1761 to 1799, and built it to what we know today. In 1851, John Augustine Washington managed the property for his mother. When she died, he became the manager and owner of the property. He was a great nephew of George Washington. He considered it a white elephant who wants this thing, and so he decided that he would offer it up for sale.

He made some requirement that it had to be kept as a historic site, so no condominiums, no high rises, et cetera. It would be a historic site. He offered it first to the federal government, who were not interested. He offered it to the state of Virginia, who were also not interested. News articles are going out there saying Washington's bones are for sale because he and Martha are buried on the property. It was in 1853 that Louise Cunningham was aboard a boat on the Potomac River late at night under a full moon, knowing that she's going to be passing Mount Vernon and she looks over in the direction after she hears a bell ring. I'll talk about that bell in a minute, but that's what she saw. She saw the columns were about to fall over, that there was no paint, et cetera. She wrote a letter to her daughter in South Carolina Ann Pamela Cunningham talking to her about the terrible conditions at Mount Vernon.

Her daughter decided that if the men aren't going to take care of it, let the women do it. Here is your quote, "If the men of America had seen now the home of its most respected hero to go to ruin, why can't the women of America band together to save it?" That began the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, and people were asked, women were asked all over the United States from the north to the south. Remember, this is not that far from the Civil War to set up the Mount Vernon Ladies Association organization. They went to John Augustine Washington, Ann Pamela Cunningham did, and told them their plan to buy it. He says, "no women can't do it." He went to his wife who said, "You're going to let them do it."

So with lawyers and everything, the cost was set at $200,000. This is in 1855, $200,000 to be paid with an $18,000 deposit and four installments annually due on George Washington's birthday. So that was for the mansion and for 200 acres. These women worked all over the United States. They got favorite popular speakers to come. Ann spoke before Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg. They did little flyers and little brochures to give money. John Augustine Washington was appalled and really astounded that on that first installment, $18,000 was there and every installment later they made it. So they took over on George Washington's birthday. In February 1860, Ann Pamela Cunningham moved in. She hired a young woman through an ad in the newspaper, and her name was Sarah Tracy, who was going to be her secretary.

There were a few things left inside the house. There was camping equipment, there were some tools. There was a clay bust of George Washington. There was the key to the Bastille. That's kind of important. Lafayette left it behind. But as the war approached, it got more difficult, especially for Ann Pamela Cunningham. Ann is from South Carolina and she finds out her father is ill. She wants to go back to South Carolina. So, she tells Sarah Tracy that it's in your hands now. Sarah Tracy's not even 20 years old, okay? She does have a manager there whose last name is Herbert, Upton Herbert. He was a friend and also a relative of the Washingtons. There are still some slaves there as well. Sarah begins managing the produce and taking it to Washington City to be sold. Now we all envision the bridge that you take today. However, there was no bridge there at that time, so they had to go around and try to sell the produce. Eventually, the sound of cannons was heard at Mount Vernon.

The soldiers said that Sarah was not allowed to go across and try and sell her produce. She said, "Who do I talk to?" Sarah talked to the big guy, President Lincoln, and she got permission to get a pass and Lincoln said, "God bless the women." She left regularly during the war. He'd send a barge for things that they might need, butter and stuff like that, that he would send out to the ladies. She was also an enterprising person. There are lots of soldiers around, Union soldiers, camping around the area. Men who may never ever see Mount Vernon. Now they came from Massachusetts or West Virginia, whatever, and they said, well, let's invite them in. You pay me 25 cents and leave your gun out the door, okay? So many Union soldiers who wouldn't otherwise have ever seen Mount Vernon got in.

As long as mail got through, they talked about what they would do after the war. Sarah Tracy stayed for about two years, and later married Upton Herbert. Now you've heard of the Burke and Herbert Bank. That Herbert is his brother who ran the bank in Washington, DC. So there's a lot of history here.

ABOUT ME

Award-winning local historian and tour guide in Franconia and the greater Alexandria area of Virginia.

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ADDRESS

Nathaniel Lee

c/o Franconia Museum

6121 Franconia Road

Alexandria, VA 22310

franconiahistory@gmail.com

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