This State is such a great mixture of urban and wilderness, nature and man-made, past and present. We left the monumental architecture of Washington to follow the George Washington Memorial Parkway along the Potomac River southward to Mount Vernon and the rural beauty of the “farm.”
To quote from the visitors’ brochure, “George Washington wrote, ‘No estate in the United America is more pleasantly situated than this…’ He worked tirelessly for nearly half a century to expand his plantation to 8,000 acres and to improve the appearance of the Mansion, outbuildings and extensive gardens and grounds. Washington’s guiding hand can be seen all over Mount Vernon from the ornamental landscape to his final resting place. The Washington family continued to live at Mount Vernon until 1858 when the estate and 200 acres were purchased by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. Since that date, the private, not-for-profit organization has maintained and operated Mount Vernon for the benefit of admirers of George Washington the world over.”
The Mansion started as a fairly modest farm house built by George’s older half-brother, Lawrence, sometime after 1740. George acquired the house in 1754 and enlarged it in two separate building stages. During his 45 year tenure he personally oversaw every detail of design, construction and decoration – even when away at war and politics. The vibrant colors and interior décor have been meticulously restored to represent the Mansion as it appeared based upon the 1799 inventory taken at the time of his death. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside the Mansion but we have taken some photos of photos from the official guidebook and hope they will help to convey some of the beauty we saw.
Large Dining Room
Entry
Little Parlor
West Parlor
Small Dining Room
Master Bedchamber
Study
The innovative piazza (colonnaded patio) extending the entire length of the house and overlooking the Potomac River was begun in 1777 but not finished until 1786 and appears, by all accounts, to be the sole invention of Washington’s creative genius. There is nothing else like it in the architecture of colonial America. The final embellishment, the weathervane with an appropriate dove of peace design, was added to the cupola in the fall of 1787. Another interesting innovation of Washington’s was the exterior appearance of the Mansion. It was actually yellow pine, carved to look like blocks of stone with beveled edges. Sand was added to the final coat of paint to further enhance the appearance of stone. Washington called this rusticated boards and it is used extensively throughout the estate.
We spent hours roaming about the grounds and outbuildings photographing as many features and furnishings as we could. Washington’s designs combined beauty and functionality in wondrous harmony. From the colonnaded walkways on the north and south sides of the Mansion connecting to the servants’ hall and the kitchen, to the lanes passing by the smoke house, spinning house, laundry, salt house, clerk’s quarters, coach house and wash house, all were placed with an intent of design. Two interesting small buildings known as the "Necessaries" (outhouses) also showed the overall attention to design and detail. The Upper and Lower gardens were not only supporters of the plantations edibles but also plots for Washington’s botanical experiments. The east/west axis was left for the natural vistas of the bowling green and the Potomac River.
Spinning/Weaving
Clerk's Quarters
Salt Room
Carriage House
Storehouse
Necessary
Upper Garden
Lower Garden
Potomac River
A pleasant walk downhill, past the stable and the horse paddock, toward the river then through a forest led us to Washington’s tomb. He died on December 14, 1799 in the master bedroom of the Mansion. He had directed in his will that a new tomb was to be constructed at a site he had chosen as the old family tomb was deteriorating. The new tomb was completed in 1831 and his remains were moved there along with the remains of his wife Martha and other family members.
Past the tomb and uphill toward the 16-sided barn or out toward the wharf were hikes we simply did not have the time or energy to do. We had forgotten to eat lunch and we were feeling the effects. So we opted to hike up the Tomb Road out past the oxen and sheep paddocks. We met Earl and Duke (sounds like a colonial joke??), some of the rare Red Devon oxen used for hauling, pulling and breeding on the farm. These oxen, along with foundation strains of swine, sheep and plants, are used by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association to recreate a fully functional 18th century Virginia plantation. We then hiked back to the front entrance and the grand view of the Mansion and its grounds.
Since lunch was looming large in our world we walked to the Mount Vernon Inn for a lovely luncheon of turkey pot pie, duck and sausage cassoulet with the most incredible chestnut and peanut soup. We were fully restored and completely satisfied with everything we had seen, done and ingested so we left and traveled south to another natural haven known as Prince William Forest Park near Dumfries. This 15,000 acre watershed of Quantico Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, preserves the largest example of a Piedmont Forest in the National Park System. Situated on the rolling Piedmont Plateau where it meets the low-lying Atlantic Coastal Plain, it is marked by waterfalls and rock-outcroppings. It is also within the transition zone between northern and southern climates, supporting plants and animals from both, thus further contributing to its diversity. This land rests now after centuries of heavy use by man: Algonquin warring tribes, colonial tobacco farming, the American Revolution and Civil war, pyrite mining, and subsistence farming. In the 1930’s the New Deal included finding new uses for marginally productive land thus this area was designated for reforestation for recreational activities in 1933. It was included in the NPS in 1936 when the CCC built roads, bridges, dams and cabins. But it also served as top-secret military installation in WWII for the training of spies and the teaching of codes. Returned to the NPS in 1946 it was renamed after the county in which it is situated and developed into the haven of solitude we can appreciate today. We found the scenic drive and campground to be the perfect transition from the crush and rush of the populated areas to the tranquility of nature and our expectations for the beauty of Shenandoah National Park.
We will tell you more of our adventures in the rest of Virginia in our next Blog.
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