Mount Vernon

Caption: West front of Mount Vernon

Original Source: Historic American Buildings Survey

Location: Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress), Survey number HABS VA,30-____,2-1

URL: http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/va/va0400/va0436/photos/161658pr.jpg

Description

by Katherine Raney

Mount Vernon is easily the most well-known home in Fairfax County, Virginia. It is nationally recognized as the home of the nation’s first president, George Washington. It began as a small cabin, owned by Washington’s half-brother, Lawrence, on the land owned by their father Augustine Washington. When George acquired the land and home in the 1760’s, he began to extend the home and property lines in several stages.

Mount Vernon is a frame house, two and a half stories tall. It measures approximately ninety-six feet long and thirty-two feet wide. On the east front of the home, there is a two story portico with eight columns. On the interior, there is a central hall dividing portions of the house. Mount Vernon’s grounds include some sixteen outbuildings, including a kitchen, laundry and greenhouse. George and Martha Washington are also buried in the family’s tomb on the property.

World War II Role

During World War II, Mount Vernon served a unique significance to important visitors to the country. As an extremely recognizable symbol, Franklin Roosevelt used the house and grounds as receiving area for Winston Churchill and Charles De Gaulle. Interestingly, De Gaulle viewed one piece of the home’s history in depth – a key to the Bastille presented to George Washington. Roosevelt must have used the historic Mount Vernon as a tool to remind Churchill, De Gaulle and other heads of state of the United States’ short yet significant history, especially in a world where age is directly related to importance. Mount Vernon remains an important part of the country’s history but plays a smaller role in the city’s history even as the home of the District’s namesake. It’s not the main destination for foreign dignitaries any more nor is it heavily traversed by tourists, although the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association is intent to keep its national prominence by opening a new, technologically advance museum to draw both domestic and international tourists alike.

Sources

Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress. 1933.

www.mountvernon.org