Muddy Hole Farm
Muddy Hole Farm was one of the five farms that made up the Mount Vernon estate. Located in the northeast corner of the plantation, running alongside Little Hunting Creek, Muddy Hole is said to have lived…
Explore the wide range of subjects related to George Washington’s world and the colonial and founding eras.
The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington was generously supported by Richard and Bonnie Dial in memory of Irby and George Prendergast.
Muddy Hole Farm was one of the five farms that made up the Mount Vernon estate. Located in the northeast corner of the plantation, running alongside Little Hunting Creek, Muddy Hole is said to have lived…
On December 23, 1783, then commander in chief of the Continental Army, George Washington, addressed the Continental Congress in Annapolis in order to resign his military commission. The resignation not…
Hugh Henry Brackenridge was a Scottish-born Pennsylvanian preacher, politician, writer, and jurist, who – though not strictly a Founding Father himself – was intimately familiar with several founders…
Months before his death, George Washington admitted that while he had "a large stock of Hogs—the precise number is unknown." During this period, Washington let his hogs run free to feed on vegetable…
Washington Irving was one of the most famous American authors of the nineteenth century. While he is primarily remembered for short stories such as “Rip van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow…
William Lee spent two decades as George Washington's enslaved valet accompanied him nearly everywhere.
Lawrence Washington was the elder half-brother of George Washington, being the oldest living child of Augustine Washington and his first wife Jane Butler.
George Washington’s recipe for “Small Beer” appears in a 1757 notebook of his, which can be found today in its original form at the New York Public Library.
The upper garden was established in the 1760s and paralleled the lower or kitchen garden to its south. This garden was initially planted with fruit and nut trees, and was walled and rectangular in shape…
The Venetian (also called Palladian) window on the north elevation of Mount Vernon is one of the house's most distinctive features. The window illuminates the large dining room (known as the new room)…
Deborah Sampson is best known for disguising herself as a man to serve in the Continental Army from May 1782 to October 1783. She was also one of the first women to receive a pension for her military service…
Learn more about the New Tomb at Mount Vernon - the Washington's final resting place.
The Bull-Finch is a songster, that is, a bound collection of lyrics to songs without musical notation of their melodies and Mount Vernon's copy is inscribed "Martha Washington 1759" on the title page in…
Social education in colonial America went beyond academic learning.
A Federalist politician, Timothy Pickering was appointed to several federal positions by President George Washington, most notably Postmaster General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. He later…
The Regents, Vice Regents and managerial staff of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association (MVLA) authorized significant physical and ideological alterations to the guidebooks during the mid-twentieth century…
The Department of Treasury is a cabinet department within the United States Executive Branch. It is managed by a secretary that is appointed by the president. The Department of Treasury was officially…