Show C taa fra fr 4 first in dav and ya PC C J F I 1 A w F 1 I IV aa A P 1111 g GEORGE washington home X EORGE col aghas r lonial home mount vernon has not been a residence for anany years nor has it been owned sy dy a member of the washington family for three quarters of a century en says the washington star mrs eleanor washington howard daughter of john augustine augusti ne washington the illustrious washington s great grandnephew was th last private owner of the estate she first saw the world from the most historic home in america in 1856 i though general slaves numbering more than were freed by his will his nephew bushrod washington who inherited mount vernon john augustine washington Bush rods nephew and his son john augustine washington jr who in turn fell heirs to the estate were slave owners george washington who is said to have been worth several hundred thousand dollars in values had a salary of a year during his presidency and added rei sources brought to him by his marriage with the rich martha custis P with such wealth he was able t to 0 keep his estate of acres in fine condition this was despite the fact that he was constantly entertaining visitors y by the time the property was in j merited by john augustine washing 3 ton his nephew in 1829 the plant aaion had been reduced to 1225 acres only about acres of which were suitable for farming when his 4 son john augustine washington fc jr r came into possession of the es V tate in after his mothers death he realized that such wealth as his great uncle george had pos hessed was as required to restore mount vernon and maintain it in its lormer former splendor according to tradition a M miss i S S ann pamela cunningham of south Caro carolina lira who was a potomac boat passenger about the time when john pa A washington wished to sell mount bvernon vernon ernon became so impressed with H the tolling ot of the bell and the his ephs tor ical importance of george ing tons home that she became ac eltive tive in working for the purchase of 11 athe the estate j in 1858 1818 the organization she had informed as the mount vernon ladies association of the union con to buy the mansion and althe the patriotic appeal of the women and the efforts of senator edward everett of massachusetts who to toured the coti country and raised 68 A 1111 mount vernon was actually purchased in 1860 for a shrine then the washington family left the estate w with ith breaking out of the civil war miss cunningham appealed to the commanders of both armies to preserve mount vernon As both general scott and general lee gave orders that no armed man should enter the estate the shrine was self protected the only neutral spot in the united states for several years members of at least four families of the mt vernon slaves remained to care for the place in the employ of the association some of the children grew up in there ere and a few of the adults stayed long enough to gain the title of aulty aunty or uncle which was a typical southern respect for an aged negro today mount vernon a national shrine is a perfectly preserved plantation with mansion green w lei V ri colonial home now a national shrine house kitchen servants quart quarters boac coach h house smoke house dairy spinning house carpenters house gardeners house and plantation office perhaps the estates closest touch with washington are the beautiful trees in the grounds near the mansion which were planted either by general washington or by his direction americas most famous home mount vernon underwent not one but two major enlargements during the ownership of the first american who believed apparently that the first duty of an american citizen to his family was to provide a comfortable for table home according to a writer in the washington post when first built about 1743 the virginia home was an unpretentious plantation house of one and one hau half stories comprising the central section of the present mansion just before his marriage to martha custis in 1759 washington 1 ren the dwelling into a house of two and one half stories by adding one complete story but did not increase the floor area |