Hello all!
Today I got up pretty early and headed to Mount Vernon, George Washington's house. I had to catch two metro trains and a bus as it's about a 30-40 minute drive south of DC in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
I arrived promptly at 9am just as the estate opened and as a result was the first person to tour the house for the day. I had read reviews that said in the summer it's packed. I was the only person on my tour so got the guides all to myself. As well as explaining information to me they also wanted to chat about Australia! In particular one man who has cousins that live in St Kilda back at home.
The house was really interesting and has been restored to what it would have been like in Washington's day. George's ancestors bought the property in 1674, and he inherited the house when his half brother died. Washington was born in 1732 in Virginia and his father died when he was 11. As a result, unlike his older half brothers he did not have the chance to go to England and study. He received hardly any education at all and was forced to grow up very quickly.
His first career was as a surveyor, but when he was 20 he joined the military. Initially he was fairly clumsy and made some blunders, but during the French and Indian War when his general was killed he became a war hero due to taking responsibility and helping wounded British soldiers. By the age of 23 he had been given the highest rank of a colonial officer - Chief of the Virginian forces. Soon after, in 1758 he moved home. He married Martha, a wealthy widow in 1759 and they enjoyed a loving 40 year marriage and her wealth gave him a new standing in society. He was 6 foot 2 and she was 4 foot 11 - she would have made me look tall!!
Washington served in Virginia's government, the House of Burgesses from 1759-1776. He was then made the commander in chief of the continental army during the revolutionary war, and as a result didn't sign the Declaration of Independence because he was in New York with the continental army at the time. The army he was given wasn't trained and was partially made up on convicted felons, but through his leadership the Americans defeated the British.
It's been said he was "one of few men in all human history who was not carried away by power". People wanted to make him king and he said no, he wanted to maintain the democracy that had fought for here and he urged people to support the new government. In 1783 he once again returned home and turned his attention to his farm and his new whiskey distillery (it was closed this time of year unfortunately).
In 1787, despite his having retired, he was convinced to be the first president of the United States. He could have been a king or an emperor, but he was adamant that the new country should have a government with a president at the top and not a supreme ruler like Napoleon or someone like that. He was inaugurated in New York in 1789 and set the precedent for future presidents. He also picked the location of Washington DC. He served two terms and then retired in 1797, with hopes of spending time with his family and his farm.
Unfortunately this was relatively short lived. On December 13th he caught a bad throats infection and just 36 hours later passed away unexpectedly. His wife Martha mourned his death for her remaining 2.5 years of life afterwards and closed off their bedroom, never sleeping in it ever again. She instead slept in a room up on the third floor. Today in the USA Washington has many national symbols named after him including 26 mountains, 740 schools and 155 towns and counties. He is clearly dearly loved and remembered by the people here.
In the house I saw various bedrooms, the kitchen, an entertainment and games room and the upstairs attic area. No photos were allowed in the house though. Apparently after he became president they welcomed around 600 guests over the course of the year to stay. Unfortunately after Washington's death, the house fell into disrepair. But in 1860 the Mount Vernon Ladies Association purchased the house and helped restore it to open the museum we can visit today.
After exploring the house I wandered around the grounds of the house. I saw the old tomb where George was initially buried, he stipulated in his will he wanted a new one built though. I then saw the wharf area where in summer you can catch a ferry into DC (in the summer this cost $1 return including entry to the house - how times have changed!!). The whole estate was very peaceful as hardly any people were around, but this area was in particular. Ducks were casually swimming around and the light was really pretty over the Potomac River.
Then I went to the Pioneer Farm. Washington was a keen farmer and mainly farmed wheat. He transported goods and imported goods using the wharf and the river. Down here there was a slave cabin as sadly during Washington's life over 500 slaves passed through his estate working on his farm. I then walked up through the forest trail which was lovely and peaceful until a school group rounded the corner, reminding me that in just over a week I'll be home planning what to teach my kids again. While I'm having a great time though I must say that loving my job means I'm looking forward to seeing them all again :)
Next I went to Washington's grave. His was to the right of Martha's and apparently 25 family members are buried behind them in a family vault. They were all moved here in 1831 once the new tomb was completed. Nearby to this was a memorial to the slaves that worked here on the site of a slave cemetery where up to 150 slaves are said to lay at rest.
I checked out the gardens and various other buildings on the estate including a blacksmith's hut, offices of staff and bunkhouses of slaves.
My final stop at the estate was at the museum about Washington's life and then I hopped on the bus back to the station. Unfortunately I caught a slightly different bus that took 20 minutes longer to get to the station, but the silver lining was that the driver let me on for free and I got to see suburban Virginia. The houses looked like suburbia in some American movies with pastel coloured weatherboard, huge front yards and the little red flag on the mailboxes out front.
My train crossed the Potomac back into DC and by this time it was blue and sunny. I got back to Maria's and we are now having an afternoon of just relaxing. As you can tell if you've been following my blog it's been a pretty full on few weeks travelling around here. And while I'm having a great time, I'm pretty tired and need to rest up for what LA has in store for me next week.
Tonight we are heading out for dinner and drinks in Georgetown.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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