You might be familiar with the story of George Washington,
but how much do you know about how the first president of the united states lived?
Hi everyone, ken here, welcome to this house. Today we are exploring Mount Vernon. Make sure
to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an exciting episode of this house!
In 1674, Lt. Colonel John Washington, George Washington’s grandfather,
was granted 5,000 acres in Fairfax County, Virginia. It was later divided up with the
Washingtons retaining ownership of 2000 acres which they would name Little Hunting Creek
Plantation. It was then sold to Augustine Washington, George’s father for 180 pounds,
or the modern day equivalent of equivalent of about 15,000 US dollars.
Augustine left the plantation to his eldest son, Major Lawrence Washington
who renamed it to Mount Vernon after his dear friend Edward Vernon
whom he had fought side by side with in the War of Jenkins’ Ear.
In 1752, Lawrence passed away leaving Mount Vernon to his widow, Anne Fairfax who then leased the
plantation to George Washinton for 82 pounds per year, or the modern day equivalent of less than
10,000 US dollars per year. Anne died in 1761, leaving the plantation to George in her will.
At this time, the house only contained 6 rooms and sat on 2000 acres, but George had grand ambitions.
He acquired 6000 more acres, laboring 317 slaves to work his tobacco plantation. This made him very
wealthy and he began expanding the simple house into the 21 room mansion we now know today.
The exterior of the home now featured an octagonal cupola
atop the roof with curving arcades connecting the out buildings.
It had been transformed into a house fitting of a nation’s first president.
Going inside, you would pass below ornate fret work rounding out above you with a
grand stair case flanking the left side of the room. Wood paneled walls were set below
dentil molding and contained elaborate door frames crowned with broken pediments.
The west parlor continued this theme with a floor to ceiling marble fireplace which
had been gifted to the washingtons. Painted wall panels encompassed the
room with a flower like plaster medalian set in the ceiling.
The state dining room had double height ceilings with a paladian window sitting
directly across from the marble fireplace. Here you can imagine the founding fathers
planning the future of the newly formed united states of america.
The family dining room was more humble, with lower ceilings and brightly colored carpets,
it was decorated with family portraits and antiques.
The study, however, was reserved for George’s most private affairs and only a small handful
of people were ever invited to hold a private conversation with him in this room.
George’s bedroom consisted of a four poster bed with all white linens and a single armchair.
His wife, Martha, had similar furniture in a smaller attic room with low ceilings.
When George passed away, the estate began to fall into disrepair as Martha
was not able to afford its upkeep without George’s income. After her death in 1802,
everything in the house was auctioned off for 100,000 dollars, or the modern day
equivalent of about 2.8 million dollars and divided up amongst their adult children.
The house switched hands between heirs several times, continuing to fall into disrepair
until 1856 Louisa Bird Cunningham floated past it on the potomac river. She found the sight
of the decrepit mansion despicable and wrote a letter to her daughter Ann Pamela Cunningham
essentially declaring that if the men of the country would not save the president’s home,
then it would be up to the women of the country. Ann raised money to save Mount Vernon as a shrine
to our nation’s first president. She founded The Mount Vernon Ladies Association and within 2 years
raised enough money to purchase the house and begin restoring it to open
it as a historic site for future generations to enjoy. Since 1858, over 80 million people
have visited Mount Vernon to enjoy the home of the first president of the united states.
Thank you all for watching, I really hope you enjoyed this video.
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