7-21-19 Washington, DC II

George Washington's dad's house

Mt. Vernon, stage 2

Later, George added two wings and
this is the Mt. Vernon home that
we see today ( minus the scaffolding)

George Washington’s dad built the Mt. Vernon house.  Originally, it consisted of four rooms.  The house and property remained in the family, then George inherited them and he began expansion.  He raised the roof and added a second floor.  Later, he added a wing on either side and that is the Mt. Vernon we see today.  The Washingtons’ estate was huge and their wealth was accumulated in the wheat industry.  Being situated on the Potomac River with its connection to Chesapeake Bay and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean was key to transportation, trade and their success.  George himself got into the whiskey business later and for a while, owned one of the biggest distilleries in the country (Not a very big country, in those days, granted.), producing 11,000 gallons a year.  By any standard, that’s a lot of booze!

Martha had been widowed and was left with a pantload of money and about 150 slaves.  George wasn’t exactly poor and he owned a bunch of slaves, too, the total coming to about 320.  George and Martha married well, combining all that wealth, but by other standards, for example the White House, Mt. Vernon seems a bit less vainglorious and opulent.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside, unfortunately.  One item that George Washington treasured is mounted in a glass case on the wall near the front door, the key to the Bastille prison.  It was given to him by Marquis de Lafayette as a symbol that our revolution against British oppression would be successful.  Lafayette came to the colonies and was a central figure in our Revolutionary War victory.  He and George were pretty tight.

The paint cellar

Smoker house

Rider chair buggie

Mt. Vernon has a lot of outbuildings like stables, a meat locker where meat was salted and smoked, a cellar for storing paint and chemicals, laundry, kitchen, a barn where buggies were parked and, of course, the slave quarters.   Ironically, George was opposed to slavery and wished for it to be abolished in our country and yet he owned or rented a bunch of them as did a few of our other founders.  Slavery, which had been an institution since the 1500s, was essential to production on the southern plantations.  Several of the founders were anti-slavery but were afraid to make it a clause in the Constitution.  This document had to be unanimously ratified and they knew that the southern states would never sign up.  So they left it out, “for now,” figuring that eventually it would fix itself.  Which it did, as you know, but that took a couple 100 years and a devastating, bloody war.  At the time, though, George wrote his own Will and in it, emancipated his slaves.

Men's slave quarters at Mt. Vernon.  Yes, the men
and women were separated, even husband
and wife.  They were permitted to
see each other on Sunday.

Rob sits where George and Martha may
have sat on their porch looking out at
the Potomac River.

One day, George was out riding around on the farm in the snow supervising stuff. When he came in, he didn’t change out of his wet duds and by the next day, Dec. 12, he had a sore throat.  It escalated into “quinsy,” which is an abscess of the tonsils that eventually closes up the throat and air passage. The Father of our Democratic Republic died two days later, Dec. 14^th, 1799, at the age of 67.  (This should teach you:  stay warm and dry or you could end up dead like George Washington!)  Martha was lobbied to have George’s tomb moved to DC but Martha was adamant in fulfilling George’s wish to be buried at Mt. Vernon.  She grieved deeply when he died and lived only 2 more years.  Martha and George Washington lie forever side-by-side.  Theirs was a tender love story.

Rest in peace,
George and Martha Washington

Lindy and Rob sit where George
and Martha sat.