| Show washington Washing bon s t M W 1 I V mount vernon americal most hallowed shrene lared ra by Nations Ki tlona 1 belty sel society ty Wu hington D C kemt service VERNON Is basking in MOUNT the spotlight of the two hundredth anniversary celebration of george birth normally the estate Is visited by nearly people annually but 1932 pilgrimages are expected to break all records mount vernon Is pleasantly situated in a high dry healthy country miles by water from the sea on one of the finest rivers in the world said bald george washington in describing his estate to a friend to lo 1703 1793 at the foot of the hill topped by the beautiful colonial mansion of the first president spreads the broad potomac the high pillared east portico of the mansion offers a splendid view of the river and the wooded beauty of the Ha maryland ryland hills beyond though lofty trees which stud the estates sp spacious nelous lawns and steel terraces the west front of the mansion faces the vast farm land once carefully supervised by its illustrious owner uncertainty shrouds the origin of the present mansion certain of the ree records 0 ads indicate that lawrence washington began its construction while others seem to show that his father built it I 1 the first white proprietors of the bite of mount vernon were two old prospectors who by authority of the royal governor patented it nearly years fears ago they made no effort however to comply with the provision of the law which required them to place tenants on the property and in conse quence their title to acres reverted to the commonwealth commonweal tb in 1674 the patent to the land along with some additional acreage was reissued by lord loid culpeper to john washington and nicholas spencer three held the land before it came into the possession of augustine father of lawrence and george who purchased it from his sister for and built the first house on it about 1734 this small dwelling was burned five years later and its owner moved with his family to ta a farm near fredericksburg where he be died in 1743 george went there in 1747 under the provisions of his will the estate on the potomac passed to au agustines gu stines son lawrence who made his residence there and gave the place its name in honor of admiral vernon of the british navy under whom lie he had campaigned against the spaniards in the west indies and for whom he be entertained a deep respect and affection in 1747 george washington came to mount vernon to make his permanent home with his high minded and cultured half brother during lawrence mastership ter ship hip mount blount vernon began to as bume a position of some importance in the colony the able young joung proprietor was active in public affairs lie he was appointed adjutant of his military district by the royal governor and several times represented his county in the virginia house of burgesses la lawrence w rence washington died in 1752 and left mount vernon to his infant daughter sarah who survived her father by only a few months on her death the property went to george before he had reached his majority george washington was the sole proprietor of mount blount vernon then an estate of 2700 acres the mount vernon of 1752 and that of today which to Is essentially as george washington left it were not much alike the house was a simple one without aitho u t the present mansions third story banquet hall library or the chambers above these additions neither did it have the colonnades or tile the great portico overlooking the river the old brick barn built by augustine washington nearly twenty years earlier had bad survived the fire that destroyed ills his house and Is still standing the oldest structure on the estate like most virginians of ills his day the future father of ills his country was possessed se sea of a lively land hunger and by s gradual acquisition lie increased ills his mount blount vernon property from the 2700 acres which he had inherited to a domain of approximately acres the management of so great a hold ing presented large problems of administrations but no man in the colonies was better fitted lhnn ceorge washington to meet them successfully ile he was by natural instinct a farmer fanner and he found his greatest happiness in his marriage and the care and devel of ills his home but washington was not content to be a country gentleman who farmed fanned in the disastrous manner then generally in vogue in virginia ile he early realized that extensive and unbroken to bacco planting was wa ruinous to tile the soil at mount blount vernon he grew only so much tobacco ns as was absolutely necessary in an age when tile the so loaf leaf served ns as a medium of exchange wheat corn turnips and tiny liny lie he raised extensively pursuing a careful system of crop rotation and fertilizing his fields liberally first experimental farm mount blount vernon was the first real experimental peri mental farm on the north american continent washington made of his estate an agricultural laboratory wherein he be put to practical application the new theories of soil cultivation and stock breeding that were then being expounded successfully in england for years prior to the revolution he experimented in a comparatively small way and while the struggle tor for liberty put an end to these activities for a time it enabled him frequently to come in contact with the methods of agriculture used in the other col colonies onles As a result he accumulated much valuable information which he put to good use in later years ills return after the war marked mark ed the beginning of an era of energetic effort to improve and beautify the place he loved so well vi ell plants seeds and cuttings were viere imported from europe while many more were received from friends both at home and abroad la in general day mules were not commonly used in america and close that were seem to have been of an all inferior breed lie made earnest efforts to better the stock and was greatly aided la in his experiments along tills line by two gifts from abroad lafayette Lafa sette sent him two spirited jennies and a jack from the isle hiie of malts malta while the king of spain also made him a present of a similar trio of high bred spanish stock seed and soil tests were undertaken as well as stock breeding and the general engaged in a voluminous correspondence spon dence with the leading agricultural experts in europe to have achieved the productivity that he be did from mount blount vernons Ver naturally none too fertile acres Is a standing tribute to the agricultural genius of washington the farmer and together with the many successful experiments he conducted there justified the use of that title which pleased him most the first farmer of america his hl threshing barn general capacity for the practical application of his advanced agricultural theories was in ev evidence dence in the large barn which he be built on the dogue run farm it was a 10 sided brick structure the construction st of which he hd supervised and the plans for which he drew the bricks for it were baked on the estate and among its unique features was a circular threshing floor the boards of which were laid so as to leave regular and frequent interstices through which the flailed called or trodden grain could tall fall into bins built beneath A motive which probably impelled the master of mount vernon to include this innovation in his new barn was his bis abhorrence of wasted time by providing a good threshing place indoors he was able to be independent of the weather in preparing ills his grain and made it unnecessary for his slaves to remain idle because of rain or cold for greater convenience the mount blount vernon estate was divided into five farms ranging in size from the co comparatively in ively small mansion house farm to 0 o the river farm of ad 2027 17 acres on each of these there were slave quarters an overseers house and barns and other out buildings on one of them the union farm there was a brick barn which washington described in a letter to arthur young in december 1703 as equal perhaps per hips to any in america and for conveniences ot of all sorts soils particularly tor for sheltering and feeding horses cattle etc scarcely to be exceeded anywhere an overseer was in direct charge of each of these farms but general washington did not leave the management entirely in theli their hands just before the lie revolution general end and mrs washington had come to the conclusion that the demands upon them for entertaining would necessitate tin an enlargement of their residence work actually began in the spring of 1775 but before it was more than well started the master was called away avay to take command of the army ills kinsman lund washington took over its active direction but the interior construction st work was not completed until u n til 1780 after the generals return tile the mansion as it stood then and as it stands today was mas of virginia pine sheathing designed and painted to resemble stone blocks and built over a framework of oak the foundations were of brick and real sand stop stor tile the root of cypress shingles all the food consumed was raised on the place the llie 81 slaves aves subsisted largely on corn meal pork turnips and a few other vegetables all of which were verc home grown for the use of the table in the great house wheat fruits sheep and cattle were raised the he hospitality ot nt mount blount vernon was bountiful and seldom did tile washington family sit down to dinner alone |
