About an hour south of us is George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. George lived here for about 45 years until he died in 1799. Some of the furnishings, paintings and other items in our pictures are original and some are either reproductions of period-correct items. The entire complex has been restored as it was when George died right here in his upstairs bedroom. The many out-buildings are restored or reconstructed also.
The area is categorized as the historic area, the gardens, the tombs, the farm, the distillery & grist mill, the museums and the wharf.
Entrance to the Ford Orientation Center
An exploded view of the mansion
The complex includes a visitor center which includes a museum (closed for renovations) and an education center. There is also a restaurant and gift shop on site.
We arrived and quickly found parking near the bus lot. A short walk and we were at the Ford Orientation Center. We got right in and they checked our "timed ticket, then we walked towards the Mansion line where we waited for our tour.
The rear view of the mansion looking across the bowling green
Our timing was perfect and they added us to the group ahead of us, so no waiting!
It is a guided walking tour of the mansion including the interior rooms and the first and second floors. Then you are released to explore the other buildings and areas.
We first entered the servant's hall which was very basic.
We then headed towards the mansion where our guide pointed out the mansion looks like it is made of stone, but it is actually wood that has been coated to look like stone.
Inside the mansion we entered the "new room". The mansion had been expanded three times and this was the last expansion room. It was used for entertaining which the Washington's did quite frequently.
We then went out a front door onto the front porch that faces the Potomac River. You can almost imagine George and Martha Washington sitting out there looking at ships passing by on the Potomac River!
A little one making faces at Nana!
Then we went back in to a main entrance area called the "main passage". Several rooms open into this area including the "front parlor", the "little Parlor", the "downstairs bedchamber" and the "dining room".
Downstairs Bedchamber which served as a guest bedroom
The Key to the Bastille, a closed French prison, given to George Washington by Marquis de Lafayette
Dining room
Front parlor
Also in the main passage is the staircase to the second floor, and up we went. Things got a bit congested as the entire group went up there. All of the rooms there were bedrooms. George and Martha Washington's bedroom was under renovation so everything was enclosed in plastic.
The Blue Room
LaFayette Bedchamber
The Chintz room
The Hall bedchamber
The Yellow Room
Plastic sheeting up in George and Martha's bedroom. It was in this room he passed away in 1799
We headed back downstairs through a different staircase that took us right into George Washington's study. He was the only one allowed in this room.
George's "fan chair". You pump a foot pedal and the fan above goes back and forth. No air conditioning back in those days!
Also there was a butler's pantry adjacent to the study.
There is a third story with some miscellaneous rooms but we were not allow to go there. So we exited the mansion and viewed some of the outbuildings. The first one was the kitchen. It was located in a separate building to keep the heat out of the house and to reduce the chances of burning down the house if the kitchen caught on fire.
Cold storage
A line of other buildings to include a smokehouse, a store house, a wash house and a "necessary house"
The stable
The coach house
A riding chair
Washington's vehicles
And it smelled like a stable!
The old tomb, used from 1799 until 1831 when George and the other relatives were moved into the new tomb.
The new tomb
There were other outdoor things to see, such as the wharf, but we headed back towards the visitor center and the museum. Unfortunately the museum was closed for remodeling. We have seen a lot of this as we have toured along our trip. Many places took advantage of being closed for COVID and started remodel projects. COVID restrictions relaxed but the projects are not completed yet.
We did walk through the education center which was done very nicely. We watched a movie of the Revolutionary War and looked at the exhibits. Just a few of the pictures I took:
George Washington's dentures, and no, they were not made of wood, contrary to popular belief! "Throughout his life Washington employed numerous full and partial dentures that were constructed of materials including human, and probably cow and horse teeth, ivory (possibly elephant), lead-tin alloy, copper alloy (possibly brass), and silver alloy."
We could have easily spent several more hours here, but we needed to head back towards the campground.
Tomorrow we will visit Arlington National Cemetery.
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