From the Shops: Christmas Gift Guide
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Need a unique gift for the holiday season? Check out our annual gift guide!
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Visiting George Washington’s British Ancestry at Sulgrave Manor
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Tucked away in the English country side is a rare and important piece of history few know about. It is the home of George Washington’s ancestors: Sulgrave Manor. George Washington may have been one of the founding fathers of the United States, but do you know where his family came from, who they were, and what they did? Our digital storyteller t...
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Was George Washington a Republican or a Democrat?
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Why was Washington not a member of a political party? Dr. Kevin Butterfield, executive director of the Washington Library, explains.
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Colonial Arts: Air & Optics
Tuesday, November 06, 2018
Mount Vernon’s Colonial Market & Fair features dozens of America’s finest historic craftspeople who display their talents and wares. Jon Stealey of Findlay, OH, has participated in the festival since 2013, sharing his collection of camera obscurae with fair-goers.
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Colonial Superstitions
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Superstitions: beliefs or notions not based on reason or knowledge in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurrence, proceeding, or the like. Many of the common superstitions we recognize today--walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror, opening an umbrella indoors--originated well before Washington’s time. The A...
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Guide Dogs Visit Mount Vernon
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
As a dog-friendly site, Mount Vernon welcomes pups and their humans to explore the estate. In early October, the estate welcomed a special group of canines from the Guide Dog Foundation. These six labs/lab mixes and a poodle practiced good behavior in challenging situations to prepare them for their future placements as guide dogs. From left to ...
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Boiling, Baking, and Curling 18th-Century Wigs
Tuesday, October 09, 2018
Excavated from the South Grove, these five objects offer an interesting chance to explore 18th-century life and how archaeologists attempt to learn more about it through material evidence. by Sean Devlin, Curator of Archaeological Collections Measuring roughly two inches in length when complete, these artifacts are fragments of wig curlers. The ...
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George Washington's Nominee for Chief Justice Rejected
Monday, October 08, 2018
"On December 15, 1795, the Senate administered a stinging blow to one of the nation's most distinguished "founding fathers." By a vote of 10 to 14, it rejected President George Washington's nomination of South Carolina's John Rutledge to be Chief Justice of the United States." From the United States Senate Click to read the full article
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Why Make Wine in Virginia?
Thursday, October 04, 2018
For more than 20 years, Mount Vernon has hosted a wine festival to celebrate the rich tradition of Virginia wine. Since the first colonists arrived, viticulturists—or grape growers—struggled to grow wine grapes on Virginian soil. Even skilled agriculturalists George Washington and Thomas Jefferson tried and failed many times to grow wine grapes ...
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Mary Ball Washington's Battle with Breast Cancer
Monday, October 01, 2018
By Mary V. Thompson In the spring of 1787, as George Washington was preparing to leave Mount Vernon to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, an express rider arrived, carrying an emergency summons to Fredericksburg, Virginia. In telling a friend about his change of plans, Washington noted that “not a moment is to be lost,” becaus...
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Preservation
Mansion Revitalization Project
Mount Vernon has embarked on a landmark preservation project to ensure the Mansion's structural integrity for generations to come.