Welcome to George Washington's Distillery and Gristmill at Mount Vernon (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this trailside historical marker:

Welcome to George Washington's Distillery & Gristmill at Mount Vernon:
"I hope someday or another, we shall become a store house and granary for the world."
— George Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette, June 19, 1788

While known best as the successful commander of the American Revolution and as the first President of the United States, George Washington also proved to be a skilled entrepreneur and a man of innovation. This achievement, crucial to the success of his Mount Vernon plantation, is embodied today by working reconstructions of the structures essential to his Dogue Run Farm industrial complex.

Gristmill:
"At present my Mill has the reputation of turning out superfine flour of the first quality: it commands a higher price in this country and the West Indies, than any other . . ."
— George Washington to Robert Lewis and Sons, April 12, 1785

For many years, tobacco was the cash crop of Washington's five farms at Mount Vernon. Tobacco cultivation was profitable, but also depleted nutrients from the soil. By the mid-1760s, the soil on Washington's farms was exhausted and the quality of tobacco he produced declined, as did his profits. In 1766, Washington made a key economic decision, and switched from tobacco to wheat.

In 1770-1771, Washington constructed a new merchant gristmill on Dogue Run Farm, which included a mill dam and pond, and a mill race to bring water to the gristmill, as well as a cooperage to produce the barrels needed for shopping. Washington knew he could sell his superfine and fine flour in markets in the West Indies and Europe. In addition to the milling of wheat flour, cornmeal was also ground as a diet stable for all who lived and labored at Mount Vernon—the enslaved workers, indentured servants, paid staff, and the Washington family.

In 1791, Washington upgraded his gristmill by installing the patented Oliver Evans automated flour milling system. This unique and efficient system used grain elevators and chutes to move grain and flour through all milling processes without manual labor. A believer in innovations and improvements, Washington was one of the first men in the country to install this system.

In 1793-1794, Washington designed and constructed a 16-sided treading barn on Dogue Run Farm. The original barn was located about 1.5 miles north of the gristmill. Today, a reconstruction of the treading barn is located at the Pioneer Farm on the main estate.

Distiller:
"I have been induced, by the experience and advice of my Manager, Mr. Anderson, to erect a large Distillery at my Mill; and have supplied it with five Stills, Boilers &ca. which, with the (Stone) House. . ."
— George Washington to Robert Lewis, January 26, 1798

At the suggestion of James Anderson, his new farm manager, George Washington began distilling whiskey at Dogue Run Farm in 1797. The success in the first year's efforts, using two stills set up in the cooperage, led to the construction of a large dedicated whiskey distillery. Constructed over the winter of 1797-1798, the distillery employed five copper pot stills and produced large amounts of rye whiskey in 1798 and 1799, making it Washington's most profitable enterprise.