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\ , : THE-HOME OF GEORGE , ,

1, MOUNT VERNON: THE HOME OF

MOST OF YOU HAVE PROBABLY. VISITED MOUNT VERNON SEVERAL TIMES, BUT I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT ENJOY ANOTHER VISIT THIS AFTERNOON IN THE CONTEXT OF SOME REMARKS ABOUT ITS OWNER, GEORGE WASHINGTON, To APPRECIATE FULLY WASHINGTON'S GREAT LOVE FOR THE PLACE AND THE VISION WITH WHICH HE DEVELOPED IT AS HIS HOME, IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR US TO VISUALIZE AND UNDERSTAND HIM AS A HUMAN BEING. THAT IS NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS, MANY OF US IN MY GENERATION GREW UP REGARDING GEORGE WASHINGTON AS LARGER THAN LIFE -- AS A REMOTE AND LEGENDARY DEHUMANIZED DEMI-GOD, ONLY IN THE PAST THREE DECADES AND LARGELY THANKS TO THE MONUMENTAL BIOGRAPHY WRITTEN BY DOUGLAS FREEMAN -- HAVE WE REALLY BEEN ABLE TO DISCOVER FOR OURSELVES HOW DIFFERENT WASHINGTON 2,

ACTUALLY WAS FROM THE TRADITIONAL IMAGE, SLIDE (HOUDON STATUE IN RICHMOND STATE CAPITOL) HERE WE SEE WASHINGTON IN THE MARBLE STATUE BY HOUDON COMMISSIONED BY THE STATE OF , DR, FREEMAN COMMENTED IN THE SIXTH VOLUME OF HIS BIOGRAPHY THAT "HOUDON LET THE MARBLE SPEAK FOR ITSELF," THAT COMMENT WAS BASED ON HIS MANY YEARS OF EXHAUSTIVE RESEARCH ABOUT EVERY FACET OF WASHINGTON'S LIFE. I THINK YOU WILL BE INTERESTED IN SOME OF HIS OTHER OBSERVATIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST VOLUME, FREEMAN WROTE: "MORE AMERICANS WILL BE RELIEVED THAN WILL BE SHOCKED TO KNOW THAT WASHINGTON SOMETIMES WAS VIOLENT, EMOTIONAL, RESENTFUL A HUMAN BEING AND NOT A MONUMENT IN FROZEN

FLESH," LATER, IN THE SAME INTRODUCTION, FREEMAN WROTE: /lIT HAS

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BEEN A SUFFICIENT REWARD OF THE YEARS, IN FACT, TO DISCOVER HOW DIFFERENT YOUNG GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS FROM THE TRADITIONAL PICTURE," SINCE THeSE COMMENTS ARE TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT, I WANT TO STRESS THAT DR. FREEMAN DID NOT INTEND THEM TO BE IN ANY WAY DOWNGRADING OR ICONOCLASTICj IN FACT, AS A RESULT OF FREEMAN'S RESEARCH THE WASHINGTON GREATNESS PERSISTS, BUT THE LEGENDS HAVE BECOME HUMANIZED, As DUMAS MALONE SAID IN HIS FOREWORD TO THE SIXTH VOLUME, JUST AFTER FREEMAN'S DEATH: HE (FREEMAN) ". , , PLACED ON A NEW PEDESTAL OF TRUTH THE LEGENDARY FIGURE OF A NATIONAL HERO WHOSE GREATNESS LAY CHIEFLY IN HIS UNSELFISH PATRIOTISM AND UNASSAILABLE CHARACTER, THE PORTRAIT IS CONVINCING BECAUSE IT IS UTTERLY CANDID, AND THE CHARACTER ASSUMES REALITY IN THE MIND OF THE OBSERVER BECAUSE IT IS SHOWN NOT 4,

AS SOMETHING STATIC BUT AS SOMETHING THAT DEVELOPS," SLlUE (CLAY BUST BY ~OUDON) HERE WE SEE WASHINGTON IN THE ORIGINAL CLAY BUST BY HOUDON, MADE AT MOUNT VERNON IN 1785 AND NOW IN THE f10UNT VERNON , IN IT ONE CAN SEE THE ROMAN REPUBLICAN VIRTUES, THE STRONG WILL AND CHARACTER AND THE DEVOTION TO HIS CODE OF PRINCIPLES THAT CHARACTER- IZE WASHINGTON, WE SEE A MAN OF DUTY READY TO QUIT HIS HEARTH AND TO SERVE THE BODY POLITIC WHEN OCCASION REQUIRED; A MAN WHO LOVED HIS SOIL, WORKING IN THE FIELDS AND FORESTS WITH HIS PEOPLE, AND ALWAYS INTERESTED IN THE LAND AND WATER AROUND HIM; A MAN LARGELY SELF- EDUCATED -- NOT BY ANY MEANS AN INTELLECTUAL AND ESTHETE LIKE JEFFERSON -- BUT RATHER OF FINE PRACTICAL INTELLIGENCE AND A SENSITIVE

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APPRECIATION OF BEAUTIFUL THINGS; A MAN WHO MIGHT LOSE HIS TEMPER WHEN INORDINATELY PROVOKED BUT OF SUPERB SELF-CONTROL; A MAN WHO DISLIKED BACKSLAPPING AND FAMILIARITY BUT YET POSSESSED OF A SERENITY OF SPIRIT AND A HUMANE SYMPATHY THAT ENABLED HIM TO FORGIVE, TOLERATE, AND EVEN ENJOY THE FRIENDSHIP OF LESS NOBLE CONTEMPORARIES, THE PLACE MOUNT VERNON IS A SPLENDID NATURAL SITE WITH A NOBLE PROSPECT, SllllE (VIEW FROM RIVER) WE CAN BEST DESCRIBE THE SITE BY USING WASHINGTON'S OWN WORDS WRITTEN TO AN ENGLISH CORRESPONDENT IN 1783: "No ESTATE IN UNITED AMERICA IS MORE PLEASANTLY SITUATED THAN THIS, IT LIES IN A HIGH, DRY, AND HEALTHY COUNTRY 300 MILES BY WATER = 6.

FROM THE SEA . . . ON ONE OF THE FINEST RIVERS IN THE WORLD . . " I "ITlf C{:IVTU"-'1 PflNoRI/fI1tt- IT WAS THE GENIUS AND VISION OF GEORGE WASHINGTON THAT ACTUALLY BROUGHT THE POTENTIAL OF THE MOUNT VERNON SITE TO FULFILLMENT -- AS PERHAPS NO OTHER PERSON MIGHT HAVE DONE. SLIDE (SHOWING MAP OF ) LET US CONSIDER BRIEFLY THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA LYING BETWEEN THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC RIVERS. THE UPPER WAS NAVIGABLE TO A POINT JUST ABOVE THE PRESENT SITE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. THUS, MOUNT VERNON WAS WELL SITUATED FROM THE STANDPOINT OF POTOMAC RIVER TRAFFIC. IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, OF COURSE, COMMERCE MOVED MUCH MORE EXPEDITIOUSLY BY RIVER THAN BY LAND, AND GEORGE WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON WAS THEREFORE IN A

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FAVORABLE LOCATION TO SELL THE PRODUCTS OF THE PLANTATION UP AND DOWN THE POTOMAC AND ITS TRIBUTARIES, AS WELL AS TO TRADE WITH THE OVERSEAS WORLD FOR THE LUXURY ITEMS AND THE FEW NECESSITIES NOT PRODUCED AT MOUNT VERNON. LET US REMEMBER ALSO THAT WELL INTO THE MID PORTION OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY THE POTOMAC RIVER AT MOUNT VERNON WAS FULL OF FISH AND WATERFOWL. WASHINGTON SMOKED, SALTED, AND DRIED FISH BOTH FOR HOME CONSUMPTION AND FOR SALE TO OTHERS. ALAS, THE POLLUTED POTOMAC IN 1978 IS IN LAMENTABLE CONTRAST TO WASHINGTON'S DESCRIPTION OF IT AS "ONE OF THE FINEST RIVERS IN THE WORLD." SLIDE (OF POTOMAC RIVER FROM MOUNT VERNON) THE LAND AROUND MOUNT VERNON HAD BEEN IN THE SINCE 1674 WHEN GEORGE'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, WHOM WE CALL JOHN THE ------8,

EMIGRANT, PATENTED LAND BETWEEN AND AFTER SETTLING IN WESTMORELAND COUNTY SOMETIME BEFORE 1660. HAVING BEEN LANDED GENTRY IN ENGLAND, THE WASHINGTONS VIEWED THE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT OF LAND IN AMERICA AS A MEANS OF PRESERVING AND ENHANCING THEIR GENTRY STATUS, LIKE MANY OF THE OTHER FAMOUS VIRGINIA FAMILIES, THEY ENDEAVORED OVER SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS TO BUILD UP THEIR LANDHOLDINGS, l SLIDE (OF JOHN'S PATENT SHOWING LOCATION OF MOUNT VERNON) HERE WE HAVE A VIEW OF THE SHORE ACROSS THE POTOMAC FROM THE BLUFF OF MOUNT VERNON. SLIDE (OF MARYLAND SHORELINE FROM MOUNT VERNON) HAPPILY THIS OVERVIEW HAS BEEN PRESERVED -- WE HOPE IN

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PERPETUITY - BY THE EFFORTS OF THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER LIKEMINDED PEOPLE OF VISION. You HAVE ALREADY SEEN A VIEW OF MOUNT VERNON FROM THE RIVER SHOWING THE COMMANDING LOCATION OF THE SITE ABOVE THE WATER, MOUNT VERNON IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY WAS FAR FROM BEING IN A HOWLING WILDERNESS ON THE FRONTIER OF COLONIZATION, BECAUSE OF THE POLICIES OF THE VIRGINIA COMPANY AND SUBSEQUENTLY THE ROYAL COLONY, THE ORIGINAL INDIAN INHABITANTS OF THE AREA HAD LONG SINCE BEEN PERSUADED TO MOVE ON, OR HAD BEEN FORCIBLY PUSHED BEYOND THE BLUE RIDGE AREA OF VIRGINIA, By THE MID EIGHTEENTH CENTURY THE AREA AROUND MOUNT VERNON WAS SOMEWHAT SPARSELY SETTLED, BUT THERE WERE SEVERAL LARGE ESTATES IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY, THE PREEMINENT 10,

FAIRFAX FAMILY OWNED THE ADJACENT ESTATE OF BELVOIR (NOW THE SITE OF , THE UNITED STATES ARMY ENGINEER CENTER), AND AND OTHER PROMINENT AND WEALTHY PLANTERS OCCUPIED OTHER ESTATES CLOSE BY, THE TOWNS OF GEORGETOWN AND ALEXANDRIA HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO DEVELOP AS IMPORTANT TRADE CENTERS, FOR A LONG TIME IT WAS THOUGHT THAT GEORGE HAD NOT LIVED AT MOUNT VERNON AS A BOY, BUT WE NOW KNOW THAT GEORGE'S FATHER, AUGUSTINE, HAD MOVED HIS FAMILY UP FROM WESTMORELAND COUNTY TO WHAT WAS CALLED THE LITTLE HUNTING CREEK PLANTATION IN 1735, WHEN GEORGE WAS THREE YEARS OLD, BUT FOUR YEARS LATER AUGUSTINE TOOK THE FAMILY BACK DOWN TO IN THE FREDERICKSBURG AREA, WHEN AUGUSTINE DIED, THE LITTLE HUNTING CREEK PLANTATION WAS INHERITED BY GEORGE'S HALF

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BROTHER, LAWRENCE, SLIDE (OF LAWRENCE WASHINGTON) WHO IN 1743 NAMED THE PLACE MOUNT VERNON IN HONOR OF ADMIRAL VERNON UNDER WHOM HE HAD SERVED AS A MILITIA OFFICER IN THE CARIBBEAN. LAWRENCE WASHINGTON HAD MARRIED ANN FAIRFAX OF BELVOIR, DAUGHTER OF , COUSIN AND AGENT OF LORD FAIRFAX, PROPRIETOR OF THE NORTHERN NECK, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF HIS ILL HEALTH, LAWRENCE DID LITTLE TO DEVELOP THE ESTATE INHERITED FROM HIS FATHER, BUT LAWRENcE DID MUCH TO HELP DEVELOP GEORGE, AFTER LAWRENCE'S MARRIAGE TO ANN FAIRFAX IN 1743, GEORGE SPENT MOST OF HIS TIME WITH LAWRENCE AT HUNTING CREEK, HE WAS FREQUENTLY AT BELVOIR AND CAME UNDER THE FINE INFLUENCE OF COLONEL FAIRFAX, By THE EARLY 1750's ------_._--- .._------12,

HE HAD ALSO COME TO KNOW GEORGE MASON WHO HAD BEGUN TO CONSTRUCT AND IN 1755 BROUGHT WILLIAM BUCKLAND FROM ENGLAND AS HIS MASTER CARPENTER AND JOINER. SLlDE (OF GUNSTON HALL) THUS AT THIS FORMATIVE STAGE OF HIS LIFE GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS THROWN WITH THE FAIRFAXES AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED FAMILIES IN THE REGION, HE HAD LEARNED HOW TO CONDUCT HIMSELF IN THE POLITE CIRCLES OF THE PERIOD AND HOW TO APPRECIATE BEAUTIFUL DOMESTIC FURNISHINGS AND LOVELY LANDSCAPES, ONE CAN ONLY CONJECTURE THAT THIS SURELY MUST HAVE BEEN THE PERIOD IN WHICH GEORGE WASHINGTON'S GREAT LOVE FOR MOUNT VERNON BEGAN TO DEVELOP, WHEN LAWRENCE DIED IN 1752, GEORGE PURCHASED HIS SISTER-IN-LAW'S LIFE INTEREST IN MOUNT VERNON

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AND WHEN SHE DIED IN 1761 HE BECAME THE FULL OWNER, SllDE (OF VIRGINIA COLONEL) ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH ESTABLISHING HIMSELF AT THE AGE OF TWENTY AT MOUNT VERNON, WASHINGTON ALSO RECEIVED A VIRGINIA MILITIA COMMISSION, AND THIS LED TO HIS CELEBRATED INVOLVEMENT IN THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, By 1755 THE YOUNG PROPRIETOR OF MOUNT VERNON HAD ALSO BECOME THE SENIOR VIRGINIA MILITIA OFFICER, As A YOUNG AND QUITE AMBITIOUS MILITIA OFFICER, WASHINGTON HAD BECOME INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED BECAUSE HE WAS NOT GRANTED A REGULAR ROYAL COMMISSION, By 1758 WHEN AS A MILITIA COLONEL HE HAD BECOME COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE VIRGINIA COLONIAL FORCES HE DECIDED HE HAD HAD ENOUGH OF THAT KIND OF MILITARY DISCRIMINATION, HE LEFT THE MILITARY SERVICE TO 14,

DEVOTE FULL TIME TO MOUNT VERNON. IT IS FASCINATING TO SPECULATE WHAT WASHINGTON WOULD HAVE DONE AT THE TIME OF THE REVOLUTION IF HE HAD EARLIER BEEN GRANTED A ROYAL MILITARY COMMISSION, WOULD HIS SENSE OF LOYALTY AND DEVOTION TO DUTY HAVE KEPT HIM OUT OF THE REVOLUTION? CHARLES WILLSON PEALE'S FAMOUS PAINTING OF WASHINGTON IN HIS "VIRGINIA COLONEL" UNIFORM, PAINTED THIRTEEN YEARS AFTER HE HAD LEFT THE MILITIA AND SETTLED AT MOUNT VERNON LEAVES US WONDERING, LOOKING AT IT WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT BY THE AGE OF 27 WASHINGTON WAS A SUCCESSFUL SURVEYOR AND LANDHOLDER, FAMILIAR WITH LARGE TRACTS OF THE VIRGINIA FRONTIER AND WILDERNESS, HE HAD FOUGHT THE INDIANS AND THE FRENCH IN SIGNIFICANT MILITARY CAMPAIGNS, FEW MEN KNEW THE

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TERRAIN AND THE STRATEGIC FACTORS INVOLVED AS WELL AS HE, HIS NAME WAS WELL KNOWN IN THE OTHER NEIGHBORING COLONIES AS WELL AS IN GOVERNMENT COUNCILS IN ENGLAND AND IN FRANCE, HE HAD BEEN ELECTED A BURGESS TO REPRESENT WINCHESTER IN THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY. WHEN HE "RETIRED" TO MOUNT VERNON AT THE AGE OF 27, HE THOUGHT HE HAD ENDED HIS MILITARY CAREER FOREVER, IT WAS AT THIS POINT THAT WASHINGTON BEGAN IN EARNEST THE ALTERATION AND EXPANSION OF MOUNT VERNON, HIS MILITARY SERVICE IN THE PERIOD 1752-1758 HAD PERMITTED ONLY SHORT AND INFREQUENT VISITS TO MOUNT VERNON, BUT THE MODIFICATIONS HAD BEGUN WELL BEFORE HE MARRIED THE WIDOW MARTHA DANDRIDGE CUSTIS IN1759. SLI~E (OF - PEALE MINIATURE) 16,

WHEN WASHINGTON LEFT MOUNT VERNON IN 1775 TO ASSUME COMMAND OF THE , HE COULD NOT KNOW HE WOULD VISIT THE ESTATE ONLY TWICE DURING THE EIGHT YEAR REVOLUTION -- IN 1781 -- ON HIS WAY TO YORKTOWN AND AGAIN ON HIS RETURN A MONTH AFTER THE VICTORY, IN HIS EIGHT YEARS AS PRESIDENT, FROM 1789 TO 1797, WASHINGTON VISITED MOUNT VERNON FIFTEEN TIMES, SOMETIMES GETTING AWAY FROM NEW YORK OR FOR AS LONG AS SEVERAL MONTHS, WHEN HE WAS FINALLY ABLE TO RETIRE IN 1797, HE HAD ONLY TWO AND A HALF YEARS TO LIVE, AND MRS, WASHINGTON FOLLOWED HIM IN DEATH IN 1802; IT IS PERHAPS LARGELY BECAUSE OF WASHINGTON'S LONG SEPARATIONS FROM MOUNT VERNON THAT WE KNOW SO MUCH TODAY ABOUT HIS LOVE OF THE PLACE, THE GENIUS WITH WHICH HE DEVELOPED IT, AND THE PERSONAL HAND

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HE HAD IN MANY OF ITS ACTUAL OPERATIONS, HIS DIARIES, LETTERS, AND • OTHER DOCUMENTS ARE A PRICELESS RECORD OF THE ESTATE HE BUILT OVER A PERIOD OF MORE THAN FORTY-FIVE YEARS, WASHINGTON'S OWN SURVIVING RECORDS OF HIS BUILDING AND FARMING ACTIVITIES ARE AMAZINGLY DETAILED, MORE REVEALING, PERHAPS, OF THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY OF VIRGINIA FOR THE PERIOD THAN THOSE OF ANY OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES, SliDE (OF LEDGER PAGE OF AUGUST 10, lZ..92) Si'v'tI?IJL FOR LONG CONSECUTIVE PERIODS AFTER THE REVOLUTION THERE ARE WEEKLY REPORTS ACCOUNTING FOR THE DAILY ACTIVITIES OF EVERY WORKER ON ALL OF THE FARMS AS WELL AS THE ACTIVITIES OF THE BUILDERS AND CRAFTSMEN, GARDENERS, TEXTILE WORKERS, FISHERMEN, AND PEOPLE AT THE MILL. WASHINGTON WAS A MEDICULOUS COST ACCOUNTANT, A FORWARD LOOKING tf SL IJ)~S ------18.

MANAGER, AND AN EXPERIENCED AGRICULTURALIST AND BUSINESSMAN, No ONE CAN READ HIS DIARIES AND LETTERS AND LEDGER ENTRIES WITHOUT ADMIRATION FOR THESE ABILITIES, BUT THEY LEAVE OUT THE SENSITIVE APPRECIATION OF ARCHITECTURAL FORMS AND STYLES WHICH WASHINGTON ALSO EXPRESSED SO WELL IN HIS DEVELOPMENT OF MOUNT VERNON. DURING GEORGE WASHINGTON'S OWNERSHIP, MOUNT VERNON GREW IN SIZE FROM ABOUT 2,100 ACRES TO MORE THAN 8,000. THE PLANTATION WAS A GROUP OF WORKING FARMS, SlJDE (OF 1793 LINE DRAWING OF THE FARMS) THE MANSION HOUSE FARM (WHICH CONSTITUTES MOUNT VERNON OF TODAY) WAS THE SEAT OF THE SQUIRE AND THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE PLANTA- TION, THE OTHER FOUR FARMS -- , DOGUE RUN FARM, MUDDY

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HOLE FARM, AND UNION FARM -- WERE WORKING FARMS ADMINISTERED BY RESIDENT OVERSEERS WHO REPORTED TO WASHINGTON THROUGH AN OVERALL MANAGER, THEIR WEEKLY EXCHANGES FILL MANY VOLUMES, AND MORE FREQUENTLY THAN NOT WASHINGTON WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THEIR PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES, No DETAIL ESCAPED HIS WATCHFUL EYE. SLIDE (AERIAL VIEW TODAY) WHEN HE DIED IN 1799 HE LEFT A SMOOTHLY FUNCTIONING AGRICUL- , TURAL ENTERPRISE RUN FROM A BEAUTIFULLY PLANNED AND MAINTAINED HEADQUARTERS, IT IS THAT COMPLEX OF BUILDINGS AS IT WAS WHEN HE DIED IN 1799 THAT THE ASSOCIATION TRIES TO PRESENT FAITHFULLY TO THE PUBLIC TODAY. ~LIDE (SHOWING PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF GATE BROCHUR~ ------_._------20,

WASHINGTON'S WILL PROVIDED THAT THE ESTATE WOULD BE SUBDIVIDED AFTER THE DEATH OF MRS, WASHINGTON, AND SO IT WAS, By 1850 THE MANSION HOUSE FARM WITH TWELVE HUNDRED ACRES WAS OWNED BY WASHINGTON'S GREAT-GRAND-NEPHEW, JOHN , JR, LONG SINCE UNPRODUCTIVE AGRICULTURALLY, THE ESTATE WAS NEVERTHE- LESS A MECCA FOR THOUSANDS OF VISITORS, RECOGNIZING THE NEED FOR ITS PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION -- WHICH HE WAS UNABLE HIMSELF TO AFFORD -- JOHN AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON TRIED TO INTEREST BOTH THE STATE OF VIRGINIA AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN ACQUIRING AND PRESERVING THE HISTORIC GROUP OF BUILDINGS WHICH WERE BECOMING QUITE RUN DOWN, ~LIDE (OF 1858 EASTMAN JOHNSON NORTH SIDE OF MANSION,

COLONNADE, ETC,) I

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~llDE (OF FREDRIC RICHARDT'S DRAWING OF EAST FACADE) THE CLASSIC SIMPLICITY AND DIGNITY OF THE MANSION AS CONCEIVED AND DEVELOPED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON HAD BECOME MODIFIED BY MINOR ADDITIONS, AND THE YEARS AND THE LACK OF FUNDS HAD TAKEN THEIR TOLL OF THE WOODEN STRUCTURES, IT WAS AT THIS POINT THAT ANN PAMELA CUNNINGHAM SLlfrE (OF ANN PAMELA CUNNINGHAM) OF SOUTH CAROLINA ORGANIZED THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION, ONE OF THE EARLIEST NATIONAL WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS IN AMERICA, SHE LAUNCHED A NATIONWIDE CAMPAIGN TO ACQUIRE FUNDS FOR THE PURCHASE AND PRESERVATION OF WASHINGTON'S HOME, HER EFFORTS WERE ULTIMATELY SUCCESSFUL; UNDER A VIRGINIA CHARTER THE ASSOCIATION ....------"._._------22,

MADE AN AGREEMENT WITH JOHN AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON IN 1858 TO PURCHASE A TWO HUNDRED ACRE TRACT INCLUDING THE MANSION} WHARF} AND SUBSIDIARY BUILDINGS NOW CONSTITUTING THE EXHIBITION AREA AT MOUNT VERNON, TODAY THE ESTATE IS FIVE HUNDRED ACRES} AND ITS BOUNDARIES CLOSELY CONFORM TO THOSE OF WASHINGTON'S MANSION HOUSE FARM, SLIDE (SHOWING EARLY EXTERIOR PHOTO FROM SOUTHEAST) AND so} THANKS TO THE LADIES WHO UNITED BEHIND ANN PAMELA CUNNINGHAM} THE PROCESS OF RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION BEGAN, As YOU CAN SEE FROM SOME OF THE LAST FEW SLIDES} THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL TO BE DONE. FORTUNATELY} THE LARGE AND INFORMATIVE CORPUS OF MATERIALS LEFT BY GEORGE WASHINGTON AND OTHERS ENABLE US TO UNDERSTAND IN

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GREAT DETAIL THE ESTATE AS IT WAS WHEN HE DIED IN DECEMBER 1799, FROM THOSE MATERIALS IT HAS BEEN POSSIBLE IN MOST CASES TO KNOW ALMOST EXACTLY DIMENSIONS} COLORS} CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS} TIME OF CON- STRUCTION} USES AND PURPOSES} AND THE MANY OTHER DETAILS THAT ARE SO ESSENTIAL TO A FAITHFUL RESTORATION. BUT IT DID NOT HAPPEN AT ONCE, SLIDES (OF 1899 PHOTOGRAPHS OF BANQUET ~ALL AND MASTER BEDROOM) RESEARCH HAD TO BE DONE. RESEARCH IS STILL BEING DONE TO DETERMINE THE AUTHENTICITY OF ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS OF ELEMENTS OF CONSTRUCTION, TODAY WE LIKE TO THINK THAT AS THE VISITOR PASSES THROUGH THE MAIN GATE AT MOUNT VERNON HE ENTERS A FAITHFUL PRESERVATION OF THE 24,

ESTATE AS IT WAS IN 1799, SlJDES (OF WORTH BAILEY'S DRAWINGS BASED ON WASHINGTON'S SHOWING EVOLUTION OF MANSION) HERE ARE SOME DRAWINGS ILLUSTRATING THE ARCHITECTURAL EVOLUTION OF THE MANSION FROM THE TIME GEORGE WASHINGTON ASSUMED OWNERSHIP UNTIL HIS DEATH, WE DO NOT KNOW FOR CERTAIN WHEN THE FIRST DWELLING STRUCTURE WAS ACTUALLY BUILT AT MOUNT VERNON, SOME BELIEVE THERE WAS A STRUCTURE BEFORE 1700 AT THE PRESENT SITE, IT WOULD CERTAINLY APPEAR THAT AUGUSTINE, GEORGE'S FATHER, HAD ENLARGED AN EXISTING STRUCTURE WHEN HE TOOK THE FAMILY UP TO THE PRESENT SITE IN 1735 AND THAT THIS BUILDING OF AUGUSTINE HAD BEEN TAKEN OVER BY LAWRENCE, IN SLjJJ!: of- J!>fl-:5t::.fJ1t:ll!r Sflotu'/ll!~ £,IOLUr/Oti

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THE OLD FOUNDATIONS IN THE BASEMENT OF THE PRESENT BUILDING THERE WAS A CORNERSTONE MARKED "L.W,". SLIDE (OF L,W, CORNERSTONE) THIS CORNERSTONE, WHICH IS NOW IN THE MOUNT VERNON MUSEUM, IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN PART OF THE EARLIEST STRUCTURE -- THE INITIALS BEING THOSE OF GEORGE'S GRANDFATHER, LAWRENCE. SLlDE (OF DRAWINGS SHOWING EVOLUTION OF MANSION) 'I- S L(.b/:S WHY WASHINGTON DECIDED TO ALTER THE OLD HOUSE RATHER THAN TO BUILD A NEW ONE IS OPEN TO SPECULATION, IT MAY HAVE BEEN THAT HE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE HIS NEW BRIDE IN 1759 TO AN EXISTING AND COMFORTABLE STRUCTURE, (BUT HE HAD STARTED THE ALTERATIONS ABOUT TWO YEARS BEFORE HE HAD PROPOSED TO MARTHA CUSTIS); OR IT MIGHT ,..------_._------26,

HAVE BEEN A SENTIMENTAL ATTACHMENT TO THE OLD BUILDING AND ITS FAMILY ASSOCIATION; OR IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN HIS NATURAL BENT FOR ECONOMY AND PRACTICALITY, WASHINGTON NEVER HAD THE FUNDS TO ORDER THE CHANGES ACCOMPLISHED AT ONCE, IN ANY CASE, THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE EARLIER STRUCTURE HE HAD ACQUIRED FROM LAWRENCE TO THE MANSION OF 1787 WAS AN IMAGINATIVE ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF BOTH TASTE AND COMFORT. SllDE (OF WEST FACADE FROM WEST GATE OR CLOSE UP) ALTHOUGH IT IS IN MANY WAYS THE PERFECTION OF COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE, MOUNT VERNON AS WE SEE IT TODAY WAS THE RESULT OF YEARS OF ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS RATHER THAN A SINGLE INITIAL CONCEPT,

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ONE OR TWO SCHOLARS HAVE MAINTAINED THAT WASHINGTON HAD THE HELP OF AN ARCHITECT OR MASTER BUILDER IN DEVELOPING AND CARRYING OUT HIS GRAND DESIGN, BUT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT TH~~ CLAIM, THE PREVAILING VIEW IS THAT WASHINGTON AS A COMPETENT SURVEYOR AND PRACTICAL MAN,SURROUNDED AND INFLUENCED BY EXAMPLES OF GOOD TASTE ELSEWHERE IN VIRGINIA, OBSERVED, LISTENED, JUDGED, ASKED FOR ADVICE, AND ALSO CONSULTED THE PATTERN BOOKS OF THE WELL-KNOWN ENGLISH ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS OF THE PERIOD. SLlllES (SHOWING FAMILY DINING ROOM CHIMNEY PIECE AND SWAN'S DESIGN, HERE, FOR EXAMPLE, IS A SLIDE SHOWING THE UNDOUBTED INFLUENCE OF THE FAMOUS EIGHTEENTH CENTURY DESIGNER SWAN IN WASHINGTON'S ------._------28.

FINAL DESIGN OF THE CHIMNEY PIECE IN THE FAMILY DINING ROOM OF THE MANSION, WE KNOW THAT WASHINGTON CONSULTED SUCH PATTERN BOOKS) ESPECIALLY THOSE OF ) BOTH FOR BUILDING DETAILS AS WELL AS THE LAYOUT OF HIS GROUNDS AND GARDENS, THE MANSION HOUSE FARM WAS CONCEIVED BY WASHINGTON AS A GENTLEMAN'S COUNTRY SEAT -- A NEW WORLD VERSION OF THE ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSES OF THE PERIOD HOUSES HE HAD HEARD ABOUT) READ ABOUT -- AND IMITATIONS OF WHICH HE HAD SEEN AND VISITED AND ADMIRED ELSEWHERE IN VIRGINIA, SLlllE (SHOWING AERIAL VIEW OF THE ESTATE TODAY) HERE IS AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE ESTATE TODAY, LOOKING AT THIS IT IS WORTH RECALLING WHAT BENJAMIN LATROBE HAD TO SAY ABOUT HIS VISIT TO MOUNT VERNON IN 1796:

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"THE HOUSE BECOMES VISIBLE BETWEEN TWO GROVES OF TREES AT ABOUT A MILE'S DISTANCE, SllDE (FROM WEST GATE OR OTHER DISTANT WESTERN VIEW) "IT HAS NO VERY STRIKING APPEARANCE) THOUGH SUPERIOR TO EVERY OTHER HOUSE I HAVE SEEN HERE, THE APPROACH IS NOT VERY WELL MANAGED BUT LEADS YOU INTO THE AREA BETWEEN THE STABLES , , . THE HOUSE IS A WOODEN BUILDING) PAINTED TO REPRESENT CHAMFERED RUSTIC) AND SANDED. SlIDE (SHOWING CLOSE VIEW OF RUSTICATION) /"f.,JO Sf- /])ES "THE CENTER IS AN OLD HOUSE TO WHICH A GOOD DINING ROOM HAS BEEN ADDED AT THE NORTH END) AND A STUDY) ETC.) AT THE SOUTH, , , ------30,

THE WHOLE OF THIS PART OF THE BUILDING IS IN A VERY INDIFFERENT TASTE,

SUDE (SHOWING LATROBE'S EAST VIEW, 1796) 41-5;0 s (tZ~!f- I [lor "ALONG THE OTHER FRONT IS A PORTICO SUPPORTED BY EIGHT SQUARE PILLARS OF GOOD PROPORTIONS AND EFFECT , , , EVERYTHING ELSE IS EXTREMELY GOOD AND NEAT, BUT BY NO MEANS ABOVE WHAT WOULD BE EXPECTED IN A PLAIN ENGLISH COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S HOUSE OF ~500OR ~600A YEAR, IT IS, HOWEVER, A LITTLE ABOVE WHAT I HAVE HITHERTO SEEN IN VIRGINIA, (5 \ I'\C Ii fllOf r-SllDE (OF MOUNT VERNON FROM THE WEST - 1792 NST F:iM~R ] L PARKYNS 119D "THE GROUND ON THE WEST FRONT OF THE HOUSE IS LAID OUT IN A LEVEL LAWN BOUNDED ON EACH SIDE WITH A WIDE BUT EXTREMELY FORMAL

31,

SERPENTINE WALK, SHADED BY WEEPING WILLOWS, A TREE WHICH IN THIS COUNTRY GROWS VERY WELL UPON HIGH DRY LAND. SLiDES (OF KITCHEN GARDEN) "ON ONE SIDE OF THIS LAWN IS A PLAIN KITCHEN GARDEN, SLIDES (OF FLOWER GARDEN SHOWING PARTERRES) "ON THE OTHER A NEAT FLOWER GARDEN LAID OUT IN SQUARES, AND BOXED WITH GREAT PRECISION, SLlllE (OF GREENHOUSE) "ALONG THE NORTH WALL OF THIS GARDEN IS A PLAIN GREENHOUSE, THE PLANTS WERE ARRANGED IN FRONT, AND CONTAINED NOTHING VERY RARE, NOR WERE THEY NUMEROUS," THE ASSOCIATION IS EXTREMELY FORTUNATE TO OWN TWO PAINTINGS BY 32,

AN UNKNOWN ARTIST DATED AS 1792. THESE PAINTINGS SHOW THE EAST AND WEST FACADES OF THE MANSION HOUSE AT THAT TIME AND HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE IN CONFIRMING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE RESTORATION OF THE ESTATE, SLIDES (OF 1792 PAINTINGS) IHlEN kJ INS L-OW /-H;mE(( THE ASSOCIATION ALSO OWNS THE ORIGINAL OF A GROUNDS PLAN WHICH IS PROBABLY THE ONLY SURVIVING FORMAL LANDSCAPE PLAN OF AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY VIRGINIA GENTLEMAN'S COUNTRY SEAT. SlJDE (OF VAUGHAN PLAN) IT WAS DONE IN 1787 BY WHO EARLIER HAD SENT TO WASHINGTON THE MARBLE MANTLE AND THE GARNITURE ON THE MANTLE SHELF IN THE NEW ROOM OR BANQUET HALL) WHICH WE SHALL SEE IN A LATER SLIDE,

33,

VAUGHAN MADE A PACED SURVEY OF THE GROUNDS AND PRESENTED THE PLAN TO WASHINGTON IN NOVEMBER) 1787. WASHINGTON LATER ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IT WAS QUITE ACCURATE EXCEPT FOR A FEW MINOR POINTS. FROM THE VARIOUS SLIDES YOU HAVE SEEN SO FAR, IT SHOULD BE QUITE APPARENT THAT THE DESUETUDE INTO WHICH THE ESTATE HAD FALLEN BY 1858 WAS NOT SO IRREMEDIABLE THAT A FAITHFUL RESTORATION WAS IMPOSSIBLE, WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT MOUNT VERNON WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ACTS OF HISTORICAL PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION OF ANY SCALE IN OUR COUNTRY, IN THE EARLY STAGES SOME OF THE MORE SOPHISTICATED ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND OTHER TECHNIQUES WE HAVE AVAILABLE TODAY WERE UNKNOWN, GIVEN THE CONTINUING IMPROVEMENTS IN TECHNIQUES) ANY PROGRAM OF RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION MUST BE A CONSTANT AND DYNAMIC PROCESS. As I HAVE PREVIOUSLY REMARKED} THE PROCESS AT MOUNT VERNON HAS BEEN IMMEASURABLY ASSISTED BY THE EVIDENCE CONTAINED IN DOCUMENTS} PAINTINGS} AND MANY OTHER ARTIFACTS ASSOCIATED WITH WASHINGTON} HIS FAMILY AND HIS FRIENDS, IN MANY CASES THERE CAN BE CHECKS AND DOUBLECHECKS ON THE ACCURACY OF AN ARCHITECTURAL MATTER OR A MANSION FURNISHING, AND YET THE WORK IS NEVER ENDING, THERE IS ALWAYS THE POSSIBILITY OF NEW EVIDENCE OR NEW LIGHT ON OLD EVIDENCE, NEVERTHELESS} WE CAN BE SUBSTANTIALLY CERTAIN THAT THE EXHIBITION AREA AT MOUNT VERNON TODAY WOULD SEEM QUITE FAMILIAR TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. AND so} TOO} THE FURNISHINGS IN THE MANSION. WHEN THE ASSOCIA- TION BOUGHT MOUNT VERNON IN 1858} THE ONLY ORIGINAL ITEMS OF ANY

35.

CONSEQUENCE LEFT IN IT WERE THE HOUDON BUST} THE TERRESTRIAL GLOBE IN THE LIBRARY} AND THE KEY TO THE IN THE CENTRAL HALL, TODAY} BECAUSE OF GIFTS} PURCHASES} AND LOANS} THE ASSOCIATION IS ABLE TO SHOW MANY OF THE ROOMS WITH MANY OF THE ORIGINAL PIECES OWNED BY THE WASHINGTONS, LET US TAKE A WALK THROUGH THE ESTATE AS A VISITOR DOES TODAY, SLIDE (OF MAIN GATE) TODAY A VISITOR WALKS IN THROUGH THE MAIN GATE AND IS IMMEDIATELY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, ~LIDE (OF WEST FACADE FROM BOWLING GREEN GATE) WALKING UP TO THE FOOT OF THE BOWLING GREEN THE VISITOR CATCHES THE MAGNIFICENT VIEW OF THE WEST FACADE. 36,

IF ONE TURNS TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY) THE TWO WEST GATE HOUSES MAY BE SEEN IN THE DISTANT VISTA VERY MUCH AS THEY WOULD HAVE LOOKED IN WASHINGTON'S DAY. SLIDE (OF WEST GATE HOUSES FROM A DISTANCE) WALKING ALONG THE SERPENTINE BESIDE THE BOWLING GREEN) SLlllE (SHOWING TREES ON BOWLING GREEN OR SERPENTINE) ONE MAY SEE AND TOUCH TREES PLANTED BY WASHINGTON IN THE 1785 PERIOD BETWEEN THE REVOLUTION AND THE EIGHT YEARS OF HIS PRESIDENCY, SllDE (OF WEST FACADE) ARRIVING AT THE CIRCLE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE MANSION) THE VISITOR IS FACE TO FACE WITH THE BROAD MASS OF THE WEST FACADE AND MAY NOTE THE ASYMMETRY RESULTING FROM THE PLACEMENT OF THE STAIRS

37,

BESIDE THE DOOR IN THE CENTRAL HALL, EVEN IN OBSERVING THIS ASYM- METRY) HOWEVER) THE VISITOR DERIVES AN OVERALL FEELING OF PLEASURE FROM THE WEST FACADE, SlJDE (OF DOVE OF PEACE CLOSE UP) THE DOVE OF PEACE WEATHERVANE ATOP THE CUPOLA INSTALLED IN 1787 CAPPED THE ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS MADE BY WASHINGTON AND BEGUN IN THE EARLY 1750's, INSIDE THE MANSION) FOURTEEN OF THE TWENTY ROOMS ARE OPEN TO VISITORS, INTO THE BANQUET HALL) OR NEW ROOM AS WASHINGTON CALLED IT) THE VISITOR HAS THE FIRST STRIKING IMPRESSION OF THE INTERIOR BEAUTY OF THE MANSION. ------"------38.

SLlUE (OF PALLADIAN WINDOW FROM INSIDE AND OUTSIDE AND ALSO BATTY LANGLEY'S PATTERN FOR COMPARISON) THE PALLADIAN WINDOW WAS TAKEN FROM THE BATTY LANGLEY PATTERN BOOK. SllDE (OF CEILING) THE BEAUTIFUL CEILING WITH ITS AGRICULTURAL MOTIF TIES IN WITH THE AGRICULTURAL MOTIFS IN THE MARBLE MANTLE PRESENTED TO WASHINGTON BY SAMUEL VAUGHAN. SLIDES (OF SOUTH WALL OF BANQUET HALL SHOWING VAUGHAN MANTLE AND GARNITURE) /11-1(££ S '-I tJ,f$ THE GRATE IN THIS FIREPLACE IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE MANSION THAT USED COAL. THROUGHOUT THE BANQUET HALL ARE ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS

THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO WASHINGTON'S HOME THROUGH THE PAINSTAKING EFFORTS OF THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION. ONE COULD SPEND A LONG TIME DISCUSSING THE DETAILS OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND FURNISHINGS OF JUST THIS ROOM, BUT WE MUST GO ON. SlIDE (OF MARYLAND SHORE FROM PORTICO) OUT ON THE PORTICO FROM THE BANQUET HALL THE VISITOR HAS A GLORIOUS VIEW OF THE POTOMAC AND THE MARYLAND SHORE AND THEN GOES BACK INTO THE EAST CENTER DOOR TO THE CENTRAL HALL, WHICH AS YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN FROM THE EVOLUTION DRAWINGS, IS PART OF THE EARLIEST STRUCTURE OF THE MANSION. SLIDE (OF CENTRAL HALL) THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE WHICH GEORGE WASHINGTON BEGAN TO MODIFY :------_._---_._------40.

IN THE EARLY 1750's CONSISTED OF THIS CENTRAL HALL WITH TWO ROOMS ON EACH SIDE AND A HALF STORY WITH DORMERS ABOVE, THESE SIDE ROOMS WERE USED VARIOUSLY BUT ULTIMATELY BECAME THE FAMILY DINING ROOM SlIDE (OF FAMILY DINING ROOM) A DOWNSTAIRS BEDROOM SlIDE (OF DOWNSTAIRS BEDROOM)

AND TWO PARLORS, ,uJO Olllf- SlIDES (OF WEST PARLOR AND EAST PARLOR) IN THE EAST PARLOR WE SEE NELLIE CUSTIS' HARPSICHORD ORDERED FROM ENGLAND FOR HER BY GEORGE WASHINGTON. MANY OF THE FURNISHINGS IN THESE FOUR DOWNSTAIRS ROOMS ARE THE ORIGINALS BROUGHT BACK BY GIFT AND PURCHASE OR LOAN, THE MANTLES

41.

AND MOLDINGS IN MANY CASES MAY BE TRACED TO THE PATTERN BOOKS OF LANGLEY AND OTHER DESIGNERS, IN ALL CASES THEY SHOW NOT SLAVISH IMITATION BUT THE PRACTICAL GENIUS AND GOOD TASTE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. HAVING ADDED ANOTHER STORY TO THE 1750 STRUCTURE IN HIS EXPANSION PLANS, GEORGE WASHINGTON MADE FOUR LARGE BEDROOMS AND ONE SMALL BEDROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR, s: U {. c.1J-j= JJ I(t: TIL, / S m J9A<.y SLiDES SUCCESSIVELY (OF THE SECOND FLOOR BEDROOMS) ~lctGtf) \j~ THE THIRD FLOOR AREA -- IN A DORMERED TREATMENT -- BECAME A SPILLOVER AREA FOR LESS IMPORTANT GUESTS AND FOR TRUNKS AND SURPLUS FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS. SLiDE (OF A THIRD FLOOR BEDROOM) ------_ ... _--- 42,

THERE IS NOT MUCH OF INTEREST ON THE THIRD FLOOR EXCEPT FROM THE CUPOLA WHICH PROVIDES A MAGNIFICENT VIEW OF THE ESTATE IN EVERY DIRECTION, SliDES (SHOWING VIEWS FROM CUPOLA) (l11e.r::6 BACK DOWN ON THE SECOND FLOOR THE VISITOR PROCEEDS TO THE MASTER BEDROOM, SLIDE (OF MASTER BEDROOM) IN THIS ROOM, ALMOST DEVOID OF ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENT, THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE AND HIS LADY WERE ABLE TO ESCAPE FROM THEIR MANY VISITORS TO COMPARATIVE PRIVACY, TODAY ALMOST EVERY OBJECT IN THE ROOM IS AN AUTHENTICATED PIECE KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN IN THE ROOM DURING WASHINGTON'S LIFETIME,

43,

SLIDE (OF BED IN MASTER BEDROOM) IT WAS HERE THAT WASHINGTON DIED ON DECEMBER 14, 1799. FROM THE BEDROOM, WASHINGTON, AN EARLY RISER, COULD SLIP DOWN THE BACK STAIRS TO THE LIBRARY SLlDE (OF LIBRARY) WHICH IN MANY WAYS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT ROOM ON THE ESTATE. HERE WASHINGTON HAD A WASHSTAND TO PERFORM HIS MORNING ABLUTIONS WITHOUT DISTURBING MRS. WASHINGTON, SLIDE (SHOWING WASHSTAND) HERE ALSO HE COULD READ AND WRITE AND CONSULT HIS RECORDS AND BOOKS AT HIS DESK, SlJDE (OF WASHINGTON'S DESK) ,.------._~ ------_. __ ._-~-- 44,

IT WAS IN THE LIBRARY THAT WASHINGTON TRANSACTED BUSINESS WITH HIS MANAGERS AND OVERSEERS, AGAIN, MOST OF THE FURNISHINGS ARE ORIGINAL, BROUGHT BACK TO MOUNT VERNON BY GIFT, PURCHASE, OR LOAN. LEAVING THE LIBRARY THROUGH THE WEST DOOR, WASHINGTON COULD WALK TO THE VARIOUS DEPENDENCIES TO CHECK ON THE WORK OF THE CRAFTSPEOPLE SlIDES (OF DEPENDENCIES) ~ SLOES OR TO VISIT THE KITCHEN GARDEN OR THE FLOWER GARDEN, OR A HORSE MIGHT BE BROUGHT FOR HIM TO MAKE HIS ALMOST DAILY INSPECTION OF THE OTHER FARMS, IT WAS SUCH A R IDE ON A WET AND COLD DECEMBER DAY THAT BROUGHT ON HIS FINAL ILLNESS,

45,

HAVING MADE THE SAME TOUR WE JUST MADE, A POLISH VISITOR TO MOUNT VERNON IN 1798 WROTE: "THE WHOLE PLANTATION, THE GARDEN, AND THE REST PROVE WELL THAT A MAN BORN WITH NATURAL TASTE MAY GUESS A BEAUTY WITHOUT HAVING SEEN ITS MODEL, THE GENERAL HAS NEVER LEFT AMERICAi BUT WHEN ONE SEES HIS HOUSE AND HIS HOME AND HIS GARDEN IT SEEMS AS IF HE HAD COPIED THE BEST SAMPLES OF THE GRAND OLD HOMESTEADS OF ENGLAND," I CANNOT STRESS TOO STRONGLY MY PERSONAL FEELING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF VIEWING WASHINGTON'S HOME NOT JUST AS A LOVELY MANSION WITH BEAUTIFUL FURNISHINGS BUT AS A HOMESTEAD WHERE HIS MAIN INTEREST AND CHIEF SATISFACTION LAY IN FARMING, IN THE SIXTH VOLUME OF THE BIOGRAPHY FREEMAN COMMENTS: "WHETHER PATRIOT AND STATESMAN OR ------_. -- 46,

PATRIOT AND SOLDIER) WASHINGTON NEVER CEASED TO BE THE PLANTER , , , WHAT OTHERS DERIVED FROM BOOKS AND GAMES) WASHINGTON TOOK FROM THE LAND," IN 1788 WASHINGTON HAD WRITTEN TO ALEXANDER SPOTSWOOD: "I THINK WITH YOU THAT THE LIFE OF A HUSBANDMAN OF ALL OTHERS IS THE MOST DELECTABLE. , , To SEE PLANTS RISE FROM THE EARTH AND FLOURISH BY THE SUPERIOR SKILL AND BOUNTY OF THE LABORER) FILLS A CONTEMPLATIVE MIND WITH IDEAS WHICH ARE MORE EASY TO BE CONCEIVED THAN EXPRESSED," IN THE SAME YEAR HE HAD WRITTEN TO ARTHUR YOUNG: "THE MORE I AM ACQUAINTED WITH AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS THE BETTER I AM PLEASED WITH THEM. , , I CAN NOWHERE FIND SO GREAT SATISFACTION AS IN THOSE INNOCENT AND USEFUL PURSUITS," As FREEMAN PUT IT: "AGRICULTURE REMAINED THE ONLY HOBBY OF HIS LIFE,"

47,

TRULY MOUNT VERNON WAS HOME TO GEORGE WASHINGTON; HE LOVED

IT, SlJDE (OF WASHINGTON FAMILY, SAVAGE, ~) I FEEL I CANNOT CLOSE WITHOUT ONE MORE QUOTATION -- FROM THE LETTER WHICH WASHINGTON WROTE TO MRS, WASHINGTON IN 1775 WHEN HE INFORMED HER OF HIS ACCEPTANCE OF COMMAND OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. HE WROTE: "I SHOULD ENJOY MORE REAL HAPPINESS AND FELICITY IN ONE MONTH WITH YOU) AT HOME) THAN I HAVE THE MOST DISTANT PROSPECT OF REAPING ABROAD) IF MY STAY WERE TO BE SEVEN TIMES SEVEN YEARS, , ,"