Mt. Vernon was the home to one of America’s founding fathers.  George Washington called this beautiful estate located on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia his home from 1759 to 1799 when he died.  George Washington and his wife Martha Custis Washington (1731-1802) moved to the estate when they got married and are now buried at Mt. Vernon.  To this day people come and visit their graves and tour their home.

In 1726 Augustine Washington, President Washington’s father, came to own Mt. Vernon when he received it from his father John Washington.  In 1743 George’s older brother Lawrence inherited the estate after his father passed away.  Lawrence lived at Mt. Vernon from 1743 until he died in 1752.  In 1754 George Washington began leasing Mt. Vernon.  Over the years George expanded the land area from 2,000 acres to 8,000 acres.  He also turned the one and a half stories of the house into a two and a half story house.  Another addition to the house was the two story porch or piazza.  As a final touch George added a cupola which was a beautiful and pragmatic device.  On hot days with the widows open the cupola would cool the whole house.  After the Revolutionary War there was a final touch added to the cupola.  A dove of peace was added to the top as a weather vane.
When George and Martha Washington lived at Mt. Vernon it was a working farm.  When they first moved to Mt. Vernon there were 20 slaves but  by the time he died there were over 200 slaves.  In the 1700’s most people who had slaves treated them worse than some animals.  But George was different.  He decided that after he and Martha died all his slaves were to be set free.

Today Mt. Vernon is open to the public.  In 1853 the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association bought the estate and restored it to the way it was in 1799.  It is one of Virginia’s most interesting historical sites.

Sources:
Santella, Andrew, 2005, We the People Mt. Vernon, Compass Point Books

George Washington’s Mt. Vernon Official Guide Book, The Mt. Vernon Ladies Association of the Union Mt. Vernon, Virginia.

www.mtvernon.org