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Show HISTORIC MOUNT VERNON Mansion Which Is the Shrine of All Americans Was Built for Lawrence Law-rence Washington, Half-Brother of George Has Frequently Been Repainted and Additions Made As It Is Today. iff ur niiiif una i i.f BsafiMfinJtff'.Mi ' ' ! : i&v I iS : 1 " v'rfJSflH "' "ittitTiw iff iMaic T 11 Imii 1 'n ' 11 V 1 till" 1 I 1" REAR VIEW OF HISTORIC MOUNT VERNON. Wnrr.K George Washington's half-brother, young Lawrence Law-rence Washington, was absent ab-sent from home, the father rebuilt a house at Mount Vernon for him, and this now forms the central part of the mansion. On his return, Lawrence brought to the home his young bride, the beautiful Miss Fairfax, Fair-fax, daughter of his neighbor. Colonel Fairfax .of Delvolr, an adjoining estate. es-tate. Lawrence called the place Mount Vernon in honor of his English friend, Lord Vernon, under whom he had served in the navy. Shortly after the death of Lawrence Washington, his daughter Sarah died without heirs, and the Mount Vernou estate passed by will into the hands of General Washington. In order to acquire full title, he purchased from the widow of Lawrence ber dower 6"tVX .flsS ' 'l Vr I an ' Ml VSii39 kstLl f j.mv iyu jt tr 14..' ,ja ' PiA. .rfty Old Kitchen of Mount Vernon. rights. Henceforth be was sole owner own-er of the estate; an estate which had been in the family since its acquisition acquisi-tion by grant in 1070, and which remained re-mained iu the family until sold In 1858 by John Augustiue Washington to the Ladies' Mount Veruou association. as-sociation. These facts, which shod some Interesting Inter-esting light on the early history of Mount Veruou, were obtained by Mr. Callahan after constant study of the old oilicial records of the courts and vestry books of the counties lu this part of Vlrglnlu. They establish beyond be-yond all doubt the truth which is that the centrul part of the Mount Vernon mansion waa built by Ueueral Washington's Wash-ington's father, that General Washington Washing-ton lived there for two years when a baby, aud that bis father built what Is now the most cousplcuous landmark on the place the old barn. Visitors to Mount Veruou during the past few months have had opportunity to witness the interesting work of re-roofing re-roofing Washington's old home, the historic mansion wherein he died. It is learned that this la the fourth time the roof has been shingled, the other dates being 1T42, 1785 and 1800. In each instance the material selected aud ased was the best cypress shingles. A short historical review of the construction con-struction and alteration of this old dwelling may be worth notice, as few flllllfllL' llll' tllfinV Vlultiil-U Iii, i.i,..,, tin,,,. information on the subject. The central cen-tral portion of the present building was erected in 1742-3 for MaJ. Lawrence Washington, who named it the Mount Vernon "Villa," out of respect for Ad-mlrul Ad-mlrul Edward Vernon of the Hrltlsh navy, under whom be had been serving In South America. This modest cottage, cot-tage, or villa, consisted of four rooms ou the ground floor, with bedrooms aud au unfinished attic above. At the death of Lawrence Washington, Washing-ton, 1752, the property fell to the ownership own-ership of his half-brother, George, who, In 1775, added to the attractiveness of the Interior by paneling the hall and hft Ing the ceilings of the parlor aud dining room decorated In stucco. After the revolution Washington's Increased In-creased fame attracted to Mount Ver non such a horde of guests It was found a difficult problem to entertain them comfortubly In the limited number num-ber of rooms at his disposal. At first General Washington thought of tearing down the old building and erecting a more pretentious dwelling of suitable proportions to meet the requirements, re-quirements, but he finally decided to .iilarge the cottage. This he did in 1785, by adding spacious banquet hall at one end and a library and bedroom at the other. The pitch of the room was changed and dormer windows arranged to make the attic available for sleeping apartments, these Improvements resulting result-ing in an 18-room house, whi. -ii thereafter there-after was dignified by the term "nfan-slon." "nfan-slon." In changing the roof a large quantity of the original shingles (of 1743), though considerably weather worn on the exposed surfaces, were found good enough to use again by turning them over. This evidence of Washington's resourcefulness has recently re-cently come to light by the temporary uncovering of a portion of the east portico roof, which for the better shedding shed-ding of rain, had been slightly changed In 1800, revealing a few courses of the shingles of 1743 and 1785. These mute reminders of the pnst are -now again sealed from view and so protected pro-tected as to remain Intact as long as the mansion shall endure. When the Mount Vernon Ladles' association as-sociation came Into possession of the homestead the mansion was empty. Unceasing effort has been aud is being be-ing made to recover the original things, but they ure widely scattered nnd held by people who are reluctant to give them up. From time to time, however, some of the old pieces are offered of-fered for sale, hut as a general rule, the prices asked are almost prohibitive. prohibi-tive. The government purchased a number of Washington relics many years ago. Among the present collection collec-tion at Mount Vernon are many pieces of furniture of contemporaneous Interest Inter-est which have been accepted temporarily tempo-rarily to fill vacancies In the various rooms, but as rapidly as original Washington Wash-ington articles are secured the non-original non-original are eliminated. Until recently the owners have had nothing definite to guide them respecting respect-ing what the rooms formerly contained, con-tained, but there has now been found the Inventory made by the appraisers of Washington's effects shortly after he died. This Important document will be of inestimable assistance In accurately accu-rately refurnishing the mansion. Studying Mount Vernon from the viewpoint of a casual visitor, It Is difficult to conceive of a more charm- v . j.. '':' : . ' '" : '-'' Outbuilding on Estate. Ing spot. Tho perpetuation Is attributable attrib-utable to the management aud devotion devo-tion of the Ladles' association. The founder of this remarkable body waa Mis Ann 1'amela Cunningham. |