George Washington, A Plan of My Farm on Little Hunting Creek & Potomk |
|
---|---|
![]() Click on image to enlarge |
This map shows the basic outline of what was to be later named Mt. Vernon. In 1735, Augustine Washington, Georges father, established a modest home with his wife Mary and their five small children on the Potomac River at Hunting Creek. After the return of George's older brother Lawrence from English schooling, Augustine Washington prepared his family for a move to a new home on the Rappahannock River. Lawrence received Hunting Creek as a gift from his father with its modest home. Lawrence then established a large Georgian mansion and dependency on the property and gave the plantation a name befitting its grandeur. He named the property after the famed English naval officer, Admiral Vernon, with whom he had served during England's war with Spain. Mount Vernon with its magnificent home had been established. Lawrence died in 1752, and shortly thereafter George inherited Mount Vernon. He spent the years between 1759 and 1775 as a gentleman farmer at Mount Vernon. He worked constantly to improve and expand the mansion house and its surrounding plantation. He established himself as an innovative farmer, who switched from tobacco to wheat as his main cash crop in the 1760's. He diligently experimented with new crops, fertilizers, crop rotation, tools, and livestock breeding. He also expanded the work of the plantation to include flour milling and commercial fishing in an effort to make Mount Vernon a more profitable estate. He was creative and persistent in solving problems. He also introduced the mule to America in a successful effort to find an animal better suited to farm work than the horse. Because of his distinguished military experience he joined the Continental Army and with the exception of ten days, served all other days in the field during the eight-year Revolutionary War. He voluntarily resigned as Commander in Chief after the Revolution and in the following years Washington devoted most of his time to rebuilding Mount Vernon, which had suffered in his absence. In 1787, Washington ended his self-imposed retirement and traveled to Philadelphia to attend a convention assembled to recommend changes to the Articles of Confederation. He was unanimously chosen to preside over the Constitutional Convention, a job that took four months. Once the Constitution was approved, Washington hoped to retire again to private life. But when the first presidential election was held, he received a vote from every elector. He remains the only President in American history to be elected by the unanimous voice of the people. In March 1797, he turned over the government to John Adams and returned to Mount Vernon, determined to live his last years as a simple gentleman farmer. Washington greatly expanded his Mount Vernon plantation. He increased the acreage from 2,100 to 8,000, rebuilt the home he inherited into a 2-1/2 story, 20-room mansion, and designed and built all 12 outbuildings. George Washington died after a brief illness on December 14, 1799. Medium : pen and ink and watercolor Created/Published : 1766 Creator : George Washington, 1732-1799 Housed in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress Availability: Usually ships in 1 week. Product #: ct000085 |
Go Back |