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Sunrise to Sunset (Historical Marker)

GPS Coordinates: 38.7070466, -77.0912474
Closest Address: 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Alexandria, VA 22121

Sunrise to Sunset (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this trailside historical marker:

Sunrise to Sunset
"The sun never caught [Washington] in bed, and he was unwilling it should find any of his people sleeping."
Former Washington slave, quoted in Parley's Magazine, 1838

In 1799, most of Mount Vernon's 318 enslaved people were field workers, more than half of whom were women. Overseers supervised the work on each farm and reported to a farm manager, who oversaw the overall farm production. According to a 1799 census, the population of the four outlying farms was as follows:

Dogue Run Farm — 45 slaves: 17 adult women, 7 adult men, 21 children
River Farm — 57 slaves: 23 adult women, 15 adult men, 19 children
Muddy Hole Farm — 42 slaves: 17 adult women, 7 adult men, 18 children
Union Farm — 74 slaves: 24 adult women, 16 adult men, 34 children

Carried out in "gangs" of eight to ten people, jobs varied with the seasons. In the spring, they planted and cared for the crops. During the harvesting season in late summer and fall, farm workers were joined by other enslaved laborers from the gristmill and Mansion House Farm, where the Washingtons lived. Although winter was a quieter season, work continued: enslaved people preserved crops, saved seeds, dug ditches, cut firewood, husked corn, repaired fences, and slaughtered and preserved hogs for food.

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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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