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Show HISTORIC VIRGINlAHOMESTEAD House Where George Washington's Mother Lived and Died at Fredericksburg Fred-ericksburg Still Standing. Washington. Not many tourists visit the house in which the mother of George Washington lived and died in Fredericksburg, Va. The Washing-tons, Washing-tons, or the branch of that large Washington family which played so great a role in American history, left the Pope's Creek's farm, later called "Wakefield," in Westmoreland county, about three years after the birth of George Washington. The family removed re-moved to another Washington farm in Stafford county on the north bank of the Rappanhannock river, opposite Fredericksburg. It was there that much of the boyhood of Washington was spent. It was there that the mythical exploits of chooping down Where Mother of George Washington Died. the cherry tree, etc., were performed. After George Washington and his brothers had left this farm and after the marriage of Betty Washington to Maj. Fielding Lewis of Fredericksburg, Mrs. Mary Washington bought a cottage cot-tage in Fredericksburg, close to "Ken-more," "Ken-more," the home of her daughter, and resided there many years. She died in that cottage August 25, 1789. The cottage is a plain two-story frame dwelling standing at the corner of Charles and Lewis streets two village vil-lage streets deep in dust or mud according ac-cording to the weather. The house is heavily shaded by old sycamore trees and is furnished . with Washington and other Virginia relics. It is owned and cared for by the Society for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. The superintendent is R. C. Beals, who, with his wife, occupies the house. The big living room on the ground floor and to the left of the entrance is that in which Mrs. Washington died. As nearly as possible it is preserved pre-served as Mrs. Washington kept it. A rare old mahogany tester bed stands on that part of the floor where stood Mrs. Washington's bed. The original bed is owned by a member of the Washington family. The walls are lined with steel engravings which belonged be-longed to Mrs. Washington, and some of these were her property when she was Mary Ball, before her marriage to Augustine Washington, and came from her girlhood's home, "Epping Forest," in Lancaster county, about thirty miles from Fredericksburg. Tha room in the rear of this living and sleeping room was the dining-room, and the same table around which the Washingtons ate stands in the -middle of the floor. The dining-room is bare of carpets or rugs and was in Mrs. Washington's time. The furnishings are plain and simple. |