mt vernon slave tour

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Explore the lives and contributions of the enslaved community who built and operated Mount Vernon. In 1799, more than 300 slaves lived and worked on the five farms that made up Washington’s 8,000-acre plantation. Listen to their stories and learn more about their daily life. Visit the slave quarters and view reproduction clothing, tools, furniture, cookware, ceramics, toys, and personal accessories that represent their experiences.

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Time to Tell the Truth About Slavery at Mount Vernon

Sudie Hofmann | February 15, 2015

By Sudie Hofmann

The Mount Vernon estate.

On a beautiful October day I stood in line to purchase a $17 ticket to enter George and Martha Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon in Virginia, joining the more than 1 million annual visitors, many of whom are schoolchildren. As I looked at the large sign on the wall near the ticket booth, detailing the different tours available, I saw a specialty tour—“All the President’s Pups”—and a special Washington dinner tour. I inquired at the information desk in the Ford Orientation Center about the “slavery tour” I’d heard about and I was provided with a daily schedule that indicated the tour began at 2 p.m. I asked if there was any information in the center about slavery that I could read before entering the “mansion house.” The answer was no.

At the time of George Washington’s death, the Washingtons enslaved 318 people of African descent at Mount Vernon, according to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. But you would not know it from the main tour, nor from the brochure. In fact, most visitors, including schoolchildren, can spend hours admiring the Mount Vernon mansion, fine furniture, and manicured lawns without considering that it was all paid for with forced labor.

The introductory brochure highlights several perspectives: George Washington was the ultimate Southern gentleman; he was a state-of-the-art farmer; both Martha and George enjoyed entertaining; life at Mount Vernon provided an idyllic lifestyle, from the grounds and gardens to the mansion house and outbuildings, to the unimaginable comforts of the time. Slavery is mentioned, but only in one section of the brochure, which directs visitors to the Slave Memorial and Burial Ground.

Scenes like this one (while not Mount Vernon) are representative of daily life on many plantations, yet missing from the tour and brochure.

Who Was George Washington?

The Washington family. Source: Edward Savage, MtVernon.org.

George Washington is one of the most celebrated war heroes in U.S. history and served as commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He was the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. He was also a wealthy land- and slave-owning colonist. His commitment to independence was perhaps motivated more by the opportunities to become even wealthier under independence than an interest in introducing a new concept of democracy to the world. Washington had a lifetime obsession with money, keeping meticulous records of everything he owned, including people.

George Washington purchased people directly from the holds of slave ships. He preferred them to be “strait Limb’d & in every respect strong and likely, with good Teeth & good countenances,” not exceeding 16 years of age if female. Washington wanted genetically healthy girls for reproduction purposes.

While serving as president of the United States, Washington faced a legal problem with the people he enslaved. The capital was moved from New York to Philadelphia in 1791 and the enslaved people who accompanied him to Pennsylvania would be given their freedom if they resided in the state for more than six months. George and Martha Washington kept careful records and rotated enslaved people back and forth to Mount Vernon to avoid being required to free any of them.

Mansion House

Washington rotated enslaved people between the presidential house in Philadelphia (L) and Mount Vernon (R) to avoid freeing anyone.

Entering the mansion house on the docent-directed tour, visitors were told that the Washingtons loved to entertain. During the first part of the tour, the docent described the food served on elegant china, the dancing that took place and where the men would retire to discuss politics. The docent then escorted visitors through parlors and living rooms where the Washingtons carried out family life and on to the bedrooms on the upper floors where they and their frequent guests slept.

Our tour concluded with George’s study and library and then the docent encouraged us to visit the outbuildings where dairy was processed, fabric was woven, alcohol was distilled, blacksmithing was done, and shoes were made. I use the passive voice here intentionally, because the docent failed to mention the people who actually did this work. When he paused to ask for questions, I asked why there was no mention of the more than 300 people held in bondage at Mount Vernon to make this lifestyle possible. He said, “Oh we make no secret of that. You can visit the slave quarters and find out more about the slaves.” I asked why the tour guides did not mention who performed all the labor when describing the daily activities of the Washingtons. He again directed me to the slave tour and quarters.

Walking Tour—Slave Life

Newspaper ad offering a $10 reward for Oney Judge, who escaped from enslavement by the Washingtons. Click to read text.

A delightful and energetic guide met our group at the Mansion Circle for a 15-minute overview of slavery. The emphasis in this tour, and prevalent throughout the estate, was that the Washingtons were in some ways providing vocational education to the people they enslaved. Returning to the prime motivation for slavery as a profit-making venture, one needs to be cognizant that George and Martha were the ones who reaped the benefits from training enslaved people in certain trades. The profit certainly did not go, in any part, to people held in bondage at Mount Vernon.

Another theme within this tour and the signage throughout the estate was that this was a community of people willingly working toward a common goal, in an almost “whistle while you work” fashion. The astounding inequality was largely ignored. The tour’s narration instead focused on the beauty of the land, the panoramic view over the Potomac, and the warm breezes. The signage and tour create an image of an estate where everyone was happy.

During Washingon’s time, there were a number of groups organized to abolish slavery, including the Pennsylvania Abolition Society.

The guide told tourists that the slaves engaged in trickery with the estate managers when they sang songs in their native languages to warn others that a manager was near. The guide said the slaves would sleep and relax in the shade when no one was around and then the songs would alert them to get up and pretend to be working. He also said, “Slaves could be clever. A new ax could be given to them in the morning and they would make sure to break it by the afternoon. They knew how to get back at plantation owners.” He did acknowledge that there was no “incentive to work” and that being “lazy was OK.” Rather than educating our group about resistance and the need for it, he characterized the men and women as shiftless and conniving.

The guide proceeded to cover the innovative agricultural techniques used on the farm and the high standards Washington demanded. A plaque at the slave quarters states, “The sun never caught George Washington in bed and he was unwilling it should find any of his people sleeping.” At the conclusion of the tour on the front lawn overlooking the Potomac, the guide summarized his message about slavery: “Anyone from the 21st century criticizing someone from the 18th century is being sanctimonious, righteous, and unfair.”

He ignored the fact that during “Washington’s time,” abolitionist groups visited Mount Vernon bearing books and petitions about emancipation, as well as the establishment of manumission societies, humanitarian efforts, writers, and Quaker groups, working to stop the practice of slavery. One needn’t rely on 21st-century critics of slavery; they existed in the 18th century, too.

Slave Cemetery and Memorial

Memorial to African Americans enslaved at Mount Vernon. Source: MountVernon.org.

I walked down a path to the slave memorial and saw a sign asking for “quiet.” I quickly saw that I had entered the area of the Washington family mausoleum. White marble tombs hold Martha and George’s remains. A small crowd of people stood, and listened to the docent’s presentation on George’s family ancestry. There was an aura of awe and respect.

I turned and completed my short walk to the slave cemetery. There was no similar sign that asked for quiet or by extension, respect. Only two other people stood in the area reading the marker designed by Howard University architectural students in 1983. The sign reads “In memory of the Afro Americans who served as slaves at Mount Vernon.” Another grave marker placed in 1929 states “In memory of the many faithful colored servants of the Washington family.” (Italics are my emphasis.)

One has to pause and wonder how the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association can ethically continue to provide these tours at the estate and mansion house and omit mention of any honest representation of slavery and the contemporary consequences of this institution. They perpetuate the “splendid living” and “Southern hospitality” myth in the face of overwhelming evidence that this is false.

The omission of meaningful education about slavery at Mount Vernon contributes to the general curricular silence about the fact that Washington and other slaveholders like him were stealing land, labor, language, and culture from disenfranchised people on a grand scale.

The Mount Vernon tour prevents critical thinking about U.S. history by reinforcing the traditional narrative about slavery and its legacy. This miseducation continues while collecting millions of dollars at the gate to further the myth.

With all the talk of virtue, morality, and principled values on the tour, is it too much to ask that the truth, the full truth, now be told at Mount Vernon?

© Zinn Education Project, 2015

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Sudie Hofmann is a professor in the Department of Human Relations and Multicultural Education at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.

Related Resources

Presidents and the Enslaved: Helping Students Find the Truth

Teaching Activity. By Bob Peterson. Rethinking Schools. 7 pages. How a 5th grade teacher and his students conducted research to answer the question: “Which presidents owned people?” Available in Spanish.

Constitution Role Play: Whose “More Perfect Union”? and The Constitutional Convention: Who Really Won?

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 24 pages. The U.S. Constitution endorsed slavery and favored the interests of the owning classes. What kind of Constitution would have resulted from founders who were representative of the entire country? That is the question addressed in this role play activity.

Missing from Presidents’ Day: The People They Enslaved

Article. By Clarence Lusane. 2014. If We Knew Our History Series. Textbooks erase enslaved African Americans from the White House and the presidency and present a false portrait of our country’s history.

Whitewashing Our First President

Article. By Clarence Lusane. 2014. Critical review of an upper elementary non-fiction book about George Washington and the people he kept in bondage.

The Black History of the White House

Book — Non-fiction. By Clarence Lusane. 2010. 544 pages. The untold story of African Americans in the White House from the 18th century to the present, including the presidents who held people in bondage.

Never Caught: The Story of Ona Judge

Book — Non-fiction. By Erica Armstrong Dunbar and Kathleen Van Cleve. 2019. 272 pages. This is the true story of Ona Judge who escaped from enslavement by George and Martha Washington.

Feb. 18, 1797: Hercules Escapes from Enslavement by George Washington

Hercules, the head cook at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate and slave labor camp, escaped to freedom in Pennsylvania.

17 comments on “ Time to Tell the Truth About Slavery at Mount Vernon ”

Jen, Hello. I see you visited Colonial Williamsburg in January 2016. I’m thinking that the scarcity of diverse people to be seen at this time or people in general, was due to our pause for employee training. Ordinarily we would have had a lot of folks on layoff at this time, however this year we had foundation wide training and structural management changes as well. However even in full swing we don’t operate showing this town as it would have been peopled day to day. Though we are few in number we are strong in purpose. Please come back and visit again. Go into our trade shops, houses, taverns and listen to put interpreter, if you don’t hear what you were in search of, ask, ask, ask. Go to the Randolph House, the Wythe house, the James Geddy House. Go to the Capitol and Palace and ask about the half of the town who were enslaved and Expect to hear about those people. Ask about the few free blacks who walk the streets there. Ask about evening programming depicting their presence here. Programs such as African American Music, Papa Said, Mama Said, and Affairs of the Heart. Go to the Dewitt Wallace Museum and ask to be shown what represents this part of the population. Also feel free to look for me, Janice Canaday, Adam Canaday, Hooe Wright, Katrina Lewis, James Ingram, Emily James and others who would be happy to assist you in a mire inclusive tour.

Thank you for this article — I just visited the South and returned ever-so-puzzled by the thriving wedding industry on former plantations — all those brides posing for joyous photos seems analogous to an Auschwitz nuptial Albeit Macht Frei.

It is time to examine with a critical eye if the American revolution was more of a self servicing effort by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison to maintain their vast properties and the means to do so (slaves), than the creation of an equalitarian government. England, had forbidden the expansion of slavery and the colonies were already coming under pressure to conform to English law. Current to the times, especially in New England states, there was already an abolitionist movement in place. Our founding fathers could not (anymore than the Confederacy) attempt to stand on traditional values, i.e. slavery, and then espouse the principals of the Constitution. The Constitution is a moral philosophical document – the institution of slavery is not. Either we admit that to espouse both democracy and slavery at the same time is sociopathic behavior, or we admit that greed and selfishness are to be found at both Mount Vernon and Wall Street – past and present.

Thank you for this thoughtful piece. I felt the exact same way on a recent visit to Williamsburg, Virginia. There is one empty building at the edge of Colonial Williamsburg dedicated to African American religion, and supposedly their street theatre includes enslaved people. Considering that 52% of Williamsburg population were enslaved, this is FAR too little.

This article confirms my own impressions over many years of touring the founding fathers’ homes in VA, and in other states. There is an embarrassment and hostility expressed about these people owning human beings. I guess progress is coming slowly as they are now actually admitting that they were slaves, and no longer using the euphemism of “servants” when discussing them on the tours, which they only do when asked. I always ask. At Woodrow Wilson’s home in VA, there is substantial covering up about the slavery Wilson was raised around and the “servants” who were owned by the property. Given that he was a 20th century president, the argument does not hold up that these are 18th and 19th centuries practices. Montpelier is actually reconstructing slave buildings near the “big house.” Much is made about Washington freeing his slaves upon his death but nothing is said about the reason for doing so, taxation for Martha being the cause.

I was a tour guide at Mt Vernon many years ago. They’re hourly workers with absolutely no authority over the content of the tours. There wasn’t a script when I worked there, but there was a clear outline of what topics to include when. It’s a shame you decided to give one of them a hard time instead of addressing it to people who actually make the decisions.

We cannot judge the present by the past, anymore than we can judge what happened in America in the past. The times now are very different and that came about by gradual change. Thus, it is our duty to carry on the job of making our socirty a better one that yesteryear!

Maryann, its beyond perhaps, its a certianty that the truth about Georges slave holdings was buried from the eyes of history.

I don’t think it’s “guilty conscience,” Maryann, but rather perpetuating the myth for power and profit.

Another reference: The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist

Very enlightening article. I wish that history as is taught in most schools was not one-sided. We may never know the full truth of what awful things were done to people of color, whether African or Native American. Perhaps people with a guilty conscience buried the truth.

Tiffany and Jim, the point of the article escapes you. On second thought, it does not. You conveniently ignore that ugly, painful part of American History, and all the benefits America reaped from such slave policies are white washed from the tour. But this is what many Americans do: turn away shamefully, and pretend everything is OK.

God bless you for writing this article. I plan to read it to my children. The Zinn Education Project is a must have for anyone teaching their children history. I have never visited the Mount Vernon house because I could not bring myself to pay to tour a place where my ancestors were enslaved. Imagine if I had paid and then heard the docent characterize the enslaved African people as “lazy!”

The Mount Vernon website offers in-depth information on various subjects. Including slavery. There are details on those enslaved & on Washington’s changing opinion of slavery. Do investigate. This informative website is partly supported by admission to Monticello.

You failed to mention that George Washington freed his slaves in his will. Those too old or ill to work would be supported throughout their lives; young men would get education & further training to become free Virginians. Alas, slaves that Martha had inherited from her first husband & their descendants could not be freed–they went to her heirs at her death. Alas, the Custis heirs did not share Washington’s beliefs.

Neither did the three of the next four presidents who were also Virginia slaveholders. Washington had hoped to set an example, but Jefferson, Madison & Monroe never freed their slaves. Well, TJ let a few of the Hemings family leave. Jefferson forgot some youthful anti-slavery opinions as he aged–thinking that freed slaves could only be sent outside the US. Which was all too expensive.

I remember this tour well. I went with my Girl Scout troop. It was mid 60’s and it was the first time I saw slave quarters. I was 10 or 11 and was shocked that George had slaves. The ancestors of that place spoke to me, I didn’t want to leave. I saw them running around, working, hauling, getting beat… I wouldn’t leave, they had to come back to get me; everyone was waiting on the bus… It was then that the full impact of institutional racism really hit me. That summer changed my life.

I agree with your commentary however, I think your scope for the tour my exceed the limits of the physical tour to the Slave Courts at Mount Vernon. To supplement, they do offer many courses and seminars.

What is missing is history of where the slaves were from and their names. As property there must have been records of the people that Washington brought off the ships.

Congress should fund the research on identifying the people that were Washington’s slaves.

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Mount Vernon Slave Tour: A Perspective On History

MOUNT VERNON, Va. - For generations, George Washington's impressive mansion on the Potomac River has stood as a memorial to the man who carved a plantation and a new nation from the wilderness of early America.

Left out of the story until now were the people whose sweat and bondage made the plantation possible - the slaves.

This spring their presence returned to the estate near Washington, D.C., in the form of a new daily tour, "Slave Life at Mount Vernon."

Half-hour walking tours introduce guests to the 316 slaves who lived at Mount Vernon at the time George Washington died in 1799. The mansion farm was home to about 90 of them.

During the past 20 years, as interest has grown in slave life, Washington's meticulous records and archaeological digs around the estate have changed some perceptions about the slaves at Mount Vernon, said Dennis Pogue, Mount Vernon archaeologist.

A former trash pit at the greenhouse slave quarters offered two surprising finds:

Trash from the slaves looks surprisingly like trash from the main house. "They were living so close to the mansion and were house servants and craft people," Pogue said. "So much of their material looks like it was handed down from the Washington family."

Slaves who worked in the fields probably had much less.

Bones and shells from 53 different animals indicate that slaves were able to vary their daily ration of cornmeal and dried fish by hunting and fishing. "Their diet was probably better than we thought because of the diversity," Pogue said.

Remnants of clay marbles, jaw harps, pipes and possibly pieces of toys give an idea of things that might have been available for enjoyment.

Washington inherited his first slaves when he was 11 years old. Before the Revolutionary War, he stopped buying and selling slaves. He recognized slave marriages, even though state law didn't, and kept family units together.

"This was the society he grew up in," said Paula Sisco, historic interpreter. "He and a lot of others became uncomfortable with it. By the end of his life, most of his slaves had been born here."

In his will, he promised freedom to his slaves when his wife died. Martha Washington actually freed them only a year later.

"People often ask us whether we think Washington was a good slave owner," said Marilyn Sobke, Mount Vernon spokeswoman. "Was there any such thing as a good slave owner? Slavery was a fact of life, but slavery was still slavery. The plantations needed the labor force. They could not survive without a huge labor force."

The complexity of slavery surfaces in the stories of people like Hercules, the cook, and Charlotte, a spinner.

When Hercules went with the Washingtons to Philadelphia during the first president's term of office, the slave was allowed to make money by selling presidential leftovers and cooking for other families in his time off. He used some of that money to dress like a dandy in silk and velvet, with buckles on his shoes and a gold-headed cane.

Soon after the Washingtons returned to Mount Vernon, Hercules escaped. A foreign visitor remarked to Hercules' 6-year-old daughter that she must be sad not to see her father.

"She said, `Oh, sir. I am very glad because he is free now,' " Sobke said. Even a child knew what bondage meant.

Charlotte was owned by Martha Washington, as were more than half of the slaves. While the Washingtons were away, Charlotte helped out with the hog killing and asked the overseer for a spare rib - the usual payment. He refused to give it to her until later, and when she finally got it she followed him home and threw it at his door. He whipped her. She protested that she hadn't been whipped in 14 years.

Living conditions for slaves, though harsh and primitive, likewise weren't that different from the working classes in the 1700s, said Billie McSeveney, interpretive supervisor.

Slaves, however, had no chance to improve their condition as life improved in the 1800s for the white middle class. ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you go

Slave life tours are offered daily at 10 a.m., noon, 2 and 4 p.m. Mount Vernon is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April-August, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. September-March. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for senior citizens and $3 for children ages 6 to 11. Information: (703) 780-2000.

Go: Mount Vernon’s “Enslaved People’s Tour”…

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Go: mount vernon’s “enslaved people’s tour” provides haunting enlightenment.

My wife, Carol, and I had come to Mount Vernon to participate in the “Enslaved People’s Tour,” at the Mansion House Farm, site of George Washington’s iconic home. At the time of his death in 1799, Washington owned several plantations all dependent on the labor of hundreds of enslaved people. What we know today about them comes from a mixture of archaeology, George Washington’s voluminous record keeping and oral tradition.

Standing at the circle in front of the mansion, Brown explained that George Washington designed his home, and designed the grounds, but it was the enslaved people who did the physical labor. He had a master builder, “but enslaved men built that house,” she said.

The house today looks as it did in 1799. Our view of the mansion was marred by scaffolding covering the western side as workers made repairs and repainted it in its original cream color. The rhythmic tapping of hammers played out as we watched a job that slaves once would have done.

On the day of our visit, the weather was unseasonably cold with a bitter wind. I asked how enslaved people working the fields would be dressed on such a day.

“They were provided with two sets a clothing — a winter set and a summer set,” Brown said.

The summer set was linen, including a shift for both sexes, a jacket and a pair of trousers for the men and skirt for the women. The winter garments were similar, but made of wool. They received one pair of shoes a year. Field slaves would soon find themselves clothed in tatters. It wasn’t hard to imagine how miserable those ill-clothed people must have been, especially on a day like today.

Household slaves were usually mixed race and wore better clothes than their counterparts. Many of the men wore Washington’s expensive red and white livery, while housemaids wore simple gowns.

None of the structures where slaves actually lived is still standing. Brown led us to the reconstructed slave barracks, flanking the greenhouse. The original barracks, built in the early 1790s, may have housed slave families, but today, each wing is interpreted as a women’s and as a men’s barracks. In the bunk room of the women’s barracks, where about a dozen women and children might have lived, we noted a fireplace, corn bread in a pan, a spinning wheel and bunk beds. Children most likely slept on the brick floor and engaged in work like hauling water or weeding gardens. Weekly rations consisted of cornmeal and fish, supplemented by small plots for growing vegetables and raising chickens and ducks.

Some of the inhabitants of the barracks had spouses working at Washington’s other plantations. This led to a practice of “night walking.” Brown told us about George and Nathan, enslaved blacksmiths at Mount Vernon, whose wives, Lucy and Lydia, were field hands on an outlying farm. At dusk on Saturday night, the two men would walk several miles to visit their wives, then get up in the dark on Monday morning to get back by dawn.

“George Washington did not like it because he thought they were too exhausted on Monday to really give a full day’s work,” Brown said.

Other enslaved people lived in cabins, simple one-room structures with wooden clapboards daubed with Virginia clay, dirt floors, and a fire place. Mount Vernon has a replica cabin, built on the Pioneer Farm, not far from the Mansion. Later, as we looked in at the cabin, we tried to imagine a family, or even an extended family living here. Poorly insulated and rudely constructed, these cabins housed ill-clothed people with barely a blanket to keep them warm.

Before the barracks were built, some enslaved people at Mount Vernon lived in the House for Families, a brick structure that once stood near the Washington’s mansion. Archaeological digs at this site have revealed remains of buttons, buckles,and other personal ornaments, purchased by enslaved people with money made by selling eggs, or chickens, or perhaps artifacts of their own making. Much of this produce was sold back to the Washingtons.

“They were individuals, they wished to express that individuality, and if they could have a fancy shoe buckle or sew a button on their clothing to express themselves, they were going to do that,” Brown said.”

We also visited the several original dependency buildings, where slaves worked at washing, spinning, curing, and salting.

Unlike many slave owners, George Washington recognized marriages between his enslaved people and typically avoided separating families. He provided medical care for them. Some male slaves were allowed to use guns for hunting to supplement diets for themselves and their families. And in his will, he provided for the emancipation of his slaves upon his death.

Yet, on several occasions, he sold “problem” slaves to the West Indies, a cruel fate where they faced early death laboring under horrendous conditions at the sugar plantations there.

Ultimately, to Washington, his slaves were economic units.

“He treated them as equipment that had a job to do, and he took care of them so that they could produce to their highest potential,” Brown said.

Our tour ended at the cemetery were the remains of many slaves are buried in unmarked graves. Brown handed out brief biographies of several enslaved persons at Mount Vernon, and asked that we read them each aloud. One in particular left several of our group in tears.

Kitty, a dairy maid and spinner, married to Isaac, a carpenter, who both worked at the Mansion House farm. They had nine daughters. When George Washington freed his slaves in his will, Isaac was emancipated. Because Kitty was owned by the family of Martha Washington’s first husband, the Custis family, according to the law, her daughters were, too. Kitty and her two youngest daughters were inherited by Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Eliza Parke Custis Law. The other children were dispersed among Martha Washington’s other grandchildren.

“It’s just very soul-searching to try to comprehend and understand the lives of these people … I want to learn more and be able to teach my grandchildren more information about what really happened,” said Gary Stuedemann of Beloit, Wisconsin, a member of our group.

Brown then told us the story of John Newton, the captain of a slave ship, who had an epiphany leading him to renounce slavery. He later became an Anglican clergyman and wrote the text to “Amazing Grace.” Brown recited the first lines:

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost but now I am found

Was blind but now I see

“It is certainly our hope that you are able to see a little more clearly the high, high value of these enslaved people at Mount Vernon,” Brown said.

After our tour, we walked to the Donald W. Reynolds Museum to view “Lives Bound Together,” an exhibit examining the intertwined lives of the Washington family and the enslaved people on their property. Among the items on display are artifacts unearthed at the House of Families, including plates, pottery, and buttons, and George Washington’s will from 1799 in which he mentions his intention to free his slaves upon his death.

I asked Carol later her impressions of the tour. She said she couldn’t get that remark about treating slaves as equipment out of her mind.

Nor could I.

James F. Lee, [email protected]

Mount Vernon

3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon, VA 22121

(703) 780-2000 www.mountvernon.org

Mount Vernon is approximately a three-hour drive from Hampton Roads.

The property is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, a private, nonprofit that receives no government funding. General admission ticket includes a tour of the mansion, also outbuildings (many original), the tombs of George and Martha Washington, the estate’s four gardens, and the slave memorial. The Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center tells the story of Washington’s life through gallery displays, videos, exhibits, and an interactive movie. Also on display see Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon exhibit through Sept. 30, 2020.

Although admission to the Enslaved People Tour is free, tickets are required. Check website for dates and times. The tour lasts about 60 minutes.

Mount Vernon is open November through March, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and April through October, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission, adults $20, youth (6-11) $12, and children younger than 5 free. Military discounts $6 off adult admission. Purple Heart Recipients free.

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Video Clip: Mount Vernon Slave Quarters

Description.

Dennis Pogue and Susan Schoelwer gave a tour of slave quarters at George Washington's Mount Vernon that show a more historically accurate and nuanced depiction of slave life in 18th century Virginia.

• Archeological
• Mount Vernon

clock This article was published more than  4 years ago

As plantations talk more honestly about slavery, some visitors are pushing back

CHARLOTTESVILLE — A Monticello tour guide was explaining earlier this summer how enslaved people built, planted and tended a terrace of vegetables at Thomas Jefferson’s estate when a woman interrupted to share her annoyance.

“Why are you talking about that?” she demanded, according to Gary Sandling, vice president of Monticello’s visitor programs and services. “You should be talking about the plants."

At Monticello, George Washington’s Mount Vernon and other plantations across the South, an effort is underway to deal more honestly with the brutal institution that the Founding Fathers relied on to build their homes and their wealth: slavery.

Four hundred years after the first enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia, some sites are also connecting that ugly past to modern-day racism and inequality.

The changes have begun to draw people long alienated by the sites’ whitewashing of the past and to satisfy what staff call a hunger for real history, as plantations add slavery-focused tours, rebuild cabins and reconstruct the lives of the enslaved with help from their descendants. But some visitors, who remain overwhelmingly white, are pushing back, and the very mention of slavery and its impacts on the United States can bring accusations of playing politics.

“We’re at a very polarized, partisan political moment in our country, and not surprisingly, when we are in those moments, history becomes equally polarized,” Sandling said.

The backlash is reflected in some online reviews of plantations, including McLeod in Charleston, S.C., where one visitor complained earlier this summer that she “didn’t come to hear a lecture on how the white people treated slaves.”

Some white people don’t want to hear about slavery at plantations built by slaves

The review sparked shock as it made rounds on the Internet. But stories of guests’ discomfort are familiar to many on the front lines at historical sites steeped in slavery: the tour guides, reenactors and other staff with an up-close view of how Americans think and talk about a shameful past.

A shifting message

There was a time when visitors “would not have heard the word ‘slave’ in this house,” David Ronka said early on in a 105-minute dive into the lives of the best-known enslaved family at Monticello, the Hemingses.

Visitors might have heard references to “Mr. Jefferson’s people,” said the veteran guide. Or maybe “the souls of his family,” a phrase from the author of the Declaration of Independence who owned more than 600 enslaved people over his lifetime.

Saving Thomas Jefferson’s soul

Now, Monticello’s guides, called “interpreters,” tell their nearly half a million visitors a year about “enslaved people.” “Slave” is a noun, Ronka said as other tour groups’ footsteps shuffled overhead. “Enslaved” is a condition, he added: a way to talk about people defined by more than their bondage.

“We’ve been waiting, you know, for this story, for this amount of truth about the past,” said Niya Bates, Monticello’s director of African American history.

The truth came gradually, starting in the 1990s with an effort to gather oral histories and a tour on slavery. Last year, Monticello opened a room once home to Sally Hemings amid growing evidence that Jefferson fathered her children. Interpreters talk about what Ronka calls the “central irony” of the nation’s third president, who said he hated slavery, at some points advocating against it, but freed just seven of the hundreds of men and women he owned.

Visitor reviews of Monticello on travel site TripAdvisor are overwhelmingly positive. But the negative comments are increasingly likely to blast the amount of time devoted to slavery, decrying “political correctness” and the bashing of a giant of American history. Two years ago, only a couple of the poor reviews mentioned slavery. This year, almost all of them do.

“For someone like myself, going to Monticello is like an Elvis fan going to Graceland,” one review from July reads. “Then to have the tour guide essentially make constant reference to what a bad person he really was just ruined it for me.”

It is America’s original sin. So why haven’t the nation’s schools done a better job of teaching about slavery?

The Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society is a staunch opponent of Monticello’s decision to tell visitors Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemings, after years of fierce disagreement over the strength of the evidence. John Works, a Jefferson descendant and president of the society, believes Monticello has overemphasized slavery at the expense of Jefferson’s accomplishments.

“There’s a limit to the appeal, I think, of the slavery message,” he said.

Modern legacies

Staff at James Madison’s Virginia estate, Montpelier, get complaints every month that a 10-minute video they show is pushing propaganda. The film traces slavery’s effects through history, from Jim Crow and economic inequality to gerrymandering and redlining.

“It is pretty in your face,” acknowledged Price Thomas, Montpelier’s marketing and communications director.

It grew from discussions with descendants of Madison’s slaves as the staff created a permanent exhibit called “The Mere Distinction of Colour,” said Thomas, who joined Montpelier to manage the exhibition’s launch. Their advice: “You can’t talk about slavery as a relic of the past.”

Making those explicit connections to racism and inequality today can raise hackles, said Brandon Dillard, manager of special programs at Monticello.

“People do get uncomfortable because those things have been politicized despite the statistical support,” he said.

Some plantations avoid going there. Staff members at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington and a destination for more than 1 million visitors each year, “haven’t really looked into making connections to modern issues going on,” said Jeremy Ray, director of interpretation. And the issue of backlash rarely comes up at monthly training sessions, he said.

The site charges extra for its Enslaved People of Mount Vernon tour, discussing slavery in its main tour only in passing with the names and duties of seamstresses, valets and cooks.

Some people may see an agenda in just the mention of slavery. One August visitor to Mount Vernon was happy to chat with a Washington Post reporter about his day at the estate — until he learned he would be asked about the site’s approach to the people Washington owned.

“I don’t want to politicize my experience here,” the man, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said from a sunny bench in Washington’s flower gardens.

Other visitors come with politics on their mind. They think about the culture war over Confederate monuments, the neo-Nazis who marched with torches around Jefferson’s statue at the University of Virginia — 15 minutes down the road from Monticello — during the 2017 Unite the Right rally.

Neo-Nazis rallied around Jefferson’s statue. But it was a Jewish family that saved Monticello.

In South Carolina, Shawn Halifax, who trains interpreters and leads programming at McLeod, remembers the jolt of learning that white supremacist Dylann Roof visited the plantation not long before killing nine black people in a Charleston church in 2015.

He also remembers the precise words of the white woman who pulled him aside after a tour about a year ago. She told him that he hated the South, painting the cotton plantation “with a brush that was much too large and far too black.”

Halifax thanked her for her comments, he recalled. He said he disagreed but would think them over. And he has.

McLeod focuses on bondage, talking bluntly about “slave labor camps” and shunning the big white house for the fields. That means some people’s beliefs are being challenged, Halifax said. Staff members try to gauge frowns and crossed arms and even embrace them as signs of those who could learn the most, if guides can break through.

“That doesn’t mean that we coddle,” he said. “It does mean that we allow people room and space to have an experience and walk away thinking differently.”

‘One and the same’

McLeod is unusual but not alone in teaching primarily about slavery. Whitney Plantation opened in Louisiana in 2014 with a similar mission.

Some visitors warn online that Whitney is a “slavery tour” rather than a real “plantation tour,” said Joy Banner, the site’s marketing director.

“Honestly, 'plantation’ and ‘slavery’ is one and the same,” she said.

Missouri v. Celia, a Slave: She killed the white master raping her, then claimed self-defense

That mind-set has drawn newly diverse crowds. Almost 16 percent of Whitney’s visitors were African American in a survey conducted a few years ago, said Amy Potter, a professor of geography at Georgia Southern University who helped lead the research. Most plantations had white visitor percentages in the high 80s to 90s.

Even at the more traditional plantations studied, Potter said, slavery was visitors’ top interest post-tour, beating out features like the gardens and the lands’ original owners. And Whitney’s focus on enslaved lives is attracting more and more people. About 30,000 visited the first year, Banner said; 110,000 are projected to come in 2019.

Gary Watson grew up in nearby Vacherie, La., where his family members, descended from Haitians forced into slavery, were surrounded by plantations billed as romantic getaways. His grandfather refused to visit any of them.

“His ancestors worked so hard to get off plantations,” Watson said. But he thinks his grandfather would have felt differently about Whitney.

Descendants of the enslaved now work as historians and interpreters at many historical sites.

The jobs can be draining .

Stephen Seals, a black reenactor at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, tries not to be disheartened when, once a week or so, visitors walk away after realizing they’re talking with a man playing a slave. Sometimes they sigh or say, “Not this again.”

It’s worth it, Seals said, to bring humanity to people long denied it. He calls the reenacting the greatest work of his life.

Many white visitors think talk about slavery is meant to guilt them, Seals said. Others think of his character — James Armistead Lafayette, who won his freedom by spying on the British army — as telling “an African American story” far from their lives.

“It’s an American story,” Seals said. “It is a part of who we are.”

Read more Retropolis:

Before 1619, there was 1526: The mystery of the first enslaved Africans in what became the United States

She was captured and enslaved 400 years ago. Now Angela symbolizes a brutal history.

George Washington owned slaves and ordered Indians killed. Will a mural of that history be hidden?

Gabriel’s revolt: In 1800, he was savvy, armed and determined to end slavery in Virginia’s capital

Hunting down runaway slaves: The cruel ads of Andrew Jackson and ‘the master class’

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DC Day Trip: Visiting George Washington’s Mount Vernon

In this Article

Located about 40 minutes south of the bustling streets of Washington, DC, George Washington’s Mount Vernon offers a captivating glimpse into America’s past. Here’s how to spend a day exploring the first president’s historic home overlooking the Potomac River in Northern Virginia.

In a city packed with free museums, memorials, and more sights than anyone can realistically see in a week, is it worth the time and effort to travel outside the capital city and pay an entrance fee to see George Washington’s Mount Vernon? My answer is YES! (In all caps. For emphasis.)

About 20 miles south of DC, this historic estate is not just a window into the life of a Founding Father but an opportunity to experience life in the early days of the United States and compare and contrast it to the present. From its iconic mansion to the sprawling grounds, Mount Vernon is a day trip that offers far more than just a break from city life.

Each corner of this historic estate tells a unique story, echoing the legacy of George Washington and the era in which he lived. From the intimate details of the mansion’s interior to the expansive beauty of the estate’s grounds and the heartbreaking role enslaved people played, Mount Vernon is where history comes alive in the most extraordinary ways. Here’s how to explore it all in a day trip to George Washington’s Mount Vernon home.  

Have You Visited Mount Vernon?

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George Washington’s Mansion at Mount Vernon

Taking a guided tour of the mansion at George Washington’s Mount Vernon is like walking through the pages of history. This grand residence, built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style,  is the estate’s centerpiece, offering an intimate glimpse into the life and legacy of America’s first president. 

Although it lacks modern luxuries, like indoor plumbing, George Washington’s Mount Vernon mansion is still pretty swanky — even by 21st-century standards. Every floor boasts soaring ceilings. The mansion walls feature bold shades of blue and green or the most fantastic wallpaper patterns of the time. Elaborately carved mantels crown each fireplace, while a majestic staircase guides visitors from the central hall to the second floor.

Sage Advice: Each general admission ticket includes a guided tour of the first two floors. While you can explore the grounds of Mount Vernon at your leisure, you must plan your visit around the tour time on your mansion ticket. 

You’ll especially want to note the following rooms and features when you visit. Each room offers a unique perspective on Washington’s life and times, inviting you to step back and imagine the world as he experienced it.

The New Room

The New Room is Mount Vernon’s largest and most magnificent space. Conceived by Washington as a multifunctional room for entertaining, dining, and important meetings, it reflects his aspirations for the young nation. The high-ceilinged room features vibrant green walls, symbolizes wealth and status in the 18th century, and is adorned with detailed architectural ornamentation. Its unpretentious beauty and fine craftsmanship stand as a testament to Washington’s vision for the new nation.

Washington's Bedchamber

On the second floor, Washington’s bedchamber is a room of both historical and emotional significance. This is where the first president spent his final moments in 1799 before passing away from a severe throat infection. The room, preserved with the utmost care, still houses the Washingtons’ original bed as well as a mantel clock and a French writing desk that belonged to them.

Visitors often find themselves in a reflective mood here, contemplating the life and death of a man who played a pivotal role in shaping a nation. The room, with its modest furnishings, contrasts with the grandeur of the rest of the mansion, offering a more personal insight into Washington’s life.

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Washington's Study

A highlight of the mansion tour is Washington’s Study, a private sanctuary where he managed his estate, corresponded with world leaders, and contemplated the future of the United States. During Washington’s time at Mount Vernon, very few people were granted access to what is now a common sight on the standard mansion tour.

In this original man cave, the first president of the United States freshened up, dressed, read, and wrote. The study is a treasure trove of personal artifacts, including Washington’s books and surveying equipment. While some may marvel at the unique chair Washington pedaled to fan himself during warm months, I covet the gorgeous, floor-to-ceiling, built-in bookshelf along the wall behind it.

Key to the Bastille

When you tour the central passage, the oldest part of the home where guests would wait to be welcomed by the Washingtons, your tour guide will point out the key to the Bastille, the infamous prison in France. It was gifted to Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette as a “symbol of French liberty to the father of all liberty” in 1790, shortly after the end of the French Revolution the year prior. 

The Exterior of the Mount Vernon Mansion

The exterior of George Washington’s Mount Vernon is as captivating as its interior, showcasing architectural innovations and breathtaking views. Washington’s keen eye for design is evident in every aspect, from the majestic two-story back porch to the symbolic cupola atop the mansion. These features not only reflect his taste but also his vision for his beloved home.

Two-Story Back Porch

The two-story back porch of Mount Vernon, stretching the entire house, is a testament to George Washington’s architectural ingenuity. With its stunning views of the Potomac River, this porch served as more than just a relaxation spot — it made a bold statement in colonial Virginian architecture with its grandeur, a rarity in 18th-century private residences. One can easily imagine Washington sitting here, soaking in his estate’s natural beauty and tranquility.

Cupola and Weathervane

This domed architectural feature, more commonly found on public buildings at the time, crowns the mansion and serves both aesthetic and practical purposes. Added by Washington partly to help cool the house by drawing hot air out, the cupola also cleverly disguises the asymmetry of the west facade.

Atop the cupola sits a weathervane, an emblem of Washington’s hope for peace in the new nation. This weathervane, depicting a dove with an olive branch, was commissioned from Philadelphia artisan Joseph Rakestraw in 1787. While the original is preserved in Mount Vernon’s collection, a replica graces the mansion today, symbolizing Washington’s aspirations for his country.

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Outbuildings of Mount Vernon

The historic outbuildings at George Washington’s Mount Vernon are more than just functional structures; they are windows into the daily life and operations of the 18th-century estate. Each building, from the innovative greenhouse to the essential wash house, tells a story of ingenuity, labor, and life in colonial America.

The Necessary

Without indoor plumbing, where did the first president of the United States do his business? Certainly not in a typical pit toilet! The “necessary” at Mount Vernon, an elegantly designed outhouse, challenges modern perceptions of colonial amenities. Far from being a rudimentary pit toilet, this facility was ingeniously crafted with three seats and waste drawers for easy disposal, minimizing odors and flies. Its exterior, blending seamlessly with nearby structures, and its surprisingly sophisticated design, reflect Washington’s attention to detail and care for his estate’s appearance and functionality.

Wash House and Laundry Yard

There are few chores I hate more than doing laundry. But washing laundry back in the 18th century would have been truly dreadful. And dangerous.  The wash house at Mount Vernon offers a stark glimpse into the labor-intensive process of laundry in the 18th century.

Enslaved women toiled for long hours, boiling water over open fires and hand-washing clothes. This backbreaking work, essential for the estate’s upkeep, was performed six days a week, highlighting the relentless nature of the tasks assigned to the enslaved workers. The wash house stands as a sobering reminder of the hard labor that underpinned the daily life at Mount Vernon.

Sage Advice:  When you visit George Washington’s Mount Vernon, you will hear “enslaved workers” rather than “slaves.” The first time I heard the phrase, I thought the intent was to soften something ugly — like car dealers offering “previously owned” vehicles rather than “used cars.” I asked a staff member about the phrase, and he said that everyone at Mount Vernon will consistently use that term as a matter of policy. The intent is not to soften something sinister but to focus on the condition rather than categorize the individuals.

Overseer’s Quarters

The overseer’s quarters at Mount Vernon, a modest one-room structure, starkly contrasts with the grandeur of the main mansion. This building, where the overseer, who managed Washington’s farms and supervised both paid and enslaved workers, lived, reflects the vast disparity in living standards of the time. The difference in accommodation between the overseer and the mansion’s opulence is a tangible reminder of the social and economic hierarchies in colonial America.

Slave Quarters

The Slave Quarters at Mount Vernon are a poignant testament to the lives of the enslaved workers who formed the backbone of the estate’s operations. Housing over 20 individuals in cramped conditions, these quarters starkly contrast with the relative comfort of the overseer’s accommodations — and even more so in comparison to the Mount Vernon mansion. The crude wooden bunks and straw mattresses speak volumes about the harsh realities faced by the enslaved, making these quarters an essential stop for understanding the complete history of Mount Vernon.

The greenhouse at Mount Vernon, a structure of both beauty and practicality, allowed for cultivating exotic plants like coffee, aloe, and citrus, even during harsh Virginian winters. Situated near the upper garden, designed for aesthetics, the Greenhouse symbolized Washington’s interest in botany and agricultural experimentation. Today, it is a reminder of his efforts to bring beauty and innovation to his estate.

The barn at Mount Vernon is more than a practical building. It’s a place of life and activity, especially in spring when the goats and sheep at Mount Vernon proudly show off bleating kids and baaing lambs to visitors. Beyond the sight of baby animals, the warmer months also bring many bustling activities to this vibrant, working estate.

The Grounds of the Mount Vernon Estate

George Washington’s Mount Vernon grounds are as rich in beauty as in history. Strolling through these well-preserved landscapes offers a unique opportunity to connect with the past, from the meticulously maintained gardens to the historic trees that have witnessed centuries. 

Bowling Green

Spreading out from the mansion’s front door, the bowling green is a striking example of 18th-century landscape design. This carefully manicured lawn was a focal point for social gatherings and leisure activities in Washington’s time. Enclosed by a winding path and flanked by impressive trees, the bowling green reflects Washington’s desire for order and beauty in his surroundings. Today, it continues to be a serene spot, inviting visitors to envision the estate as it was during Washington’s lifetime.

The beautiful gardens at Mount Vernon are a living testament to George Washington’s passion for agriculture and horticulture. The lower garden, primarily focused on producing vegetables and herbs for the kitchen, showcases Washington’s practical approach to self-sufficiency. In contrast, the upper garden, near the greenhouse, was designed for aesthetic pleasure, blooming with a variety of flowers and ornamental plants. These gardens provided food and beauty and served as a laboratory for Washington’s botanical experiments.

Historic Trees

The historic trees at Mount Vernon are silent witnesses to the estate’s storied past. These living monuments, some of which date back to Washington’s time, add a sense of continuity and timelessness to the grounds. Each tree, with its history and connection to the past, contributes to the estate’s character and is a natural link to the era of America’s first president.

Quotes by Washington

Scattered throughout the estate are various quotes by George Washington, offering visitors a glimpse into the mind of this Founding Father. These words, etched in different locations, reflect Washington’s thoughts on everything from agriculture to personal virtues. One particularly striking quote about the forest highlights his awareness of environmental stewardship and resource conservation, showcasing his forward-thinking approach to the natural world.

Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant

When you need to refuel after exploring the vast grounds of Mount Vernon, you have a few options. For speed and convenience, there’s the Mount Vernon Food Court Pavilion. However, when we visited, it was packed with young field trippers, and my family and I wanted healthier fare. Fortunately, there’s also the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant.

In contrast to the bustling food court, this charming eatery offers a serene and more refined dining option. My family and I especially enjoyed the inn’s famous peanut and chestnut soup, which perfectly encapsulates the essence of colonial cuisine. So, no matter what you select from the menu, I highly recommend trying it.

Sage Advice: You don’t need an admission ticket to dine at the Mount Vernon Inn, making it an ideal spot for a business lunch, a leisurely Sunday brunch, or a romantic dinner in the Washington, DC, area. The combination of historical ambiance and exquisite dishes creates an unforgettable dining experience.

Final Resting Spot of George and Martha Washington

In the southwestern corner of the estate, you’ll find the tomb of George and Martha Washington, just a short walk from the slave cemetery. These sacred spots, nestled within the serene landscape of the estate, offer visitors a moment of reflection.

Original Burial Plot

The original burial plot at Mount Vernon, situated with a tranquil view of the Potomac River, was the first resting place of George Washington, his wife Martha, and 20 other family members. Recognizing the need for repairs to this old vault, Washington’s will requested the construction of a new, larger tomb. In 1831, officials moved the bodies of George and Martha Washington, along with other family members, from the original burial plot to the new family tomb. While the old crypt no longer serves as a burial site, it remains a significant historical landmark.

Tombs of George and Martha Washington

Today, the remains of George and Martha Washington rest in a new tomb, a dignified red brick structure flanked by two obelisks reminiscent of the Washington Monument. This final resting place, a testament to the enduring respect and honor bestowed upon the first President and his wife, draws visitors from around the world. The tomb, a symbol of the nation’s reverence for its founding figures, stands as a solemn and respectful site, inviting contemplation on the lives

The Slave Memorial at Mount Vernon

A short walk southwest of the Washingtons’ tomb lies the Slave Memorial, a poignant and necessary acknowledgment of the enslaved individuals who lived and labored at Mount Vernon. This memorial, marked by a brick arch, leads to a cemetery where many enslaved people were laid to rest, often without the dignity of marked graves. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association first recognized this site in 1929, pioneering the commemoration of enslaved people at historic sites. Architecture students from Howard University designed a more fitting tribute in 1983, establishing it as a significant acknowledgment of the site’s history.

The memorial, symbolizing “life unfinished,” is a powerful representation of the unfulfilled lives and aspirations of those who endured enslavement. Three steps inscribed with the words “Faith,” “Hope,” and “Love” encircle it, representing virtues that many enslaved individuals clung to despite unimaginable hardships. This site serves as a place of remembrance and starkly reminds us of the painful complexities woven into the fabric of American history.

Museum and Education Center

With 23 galleries and theatres that share even more about George Washington’s life and the estate’s enslaved community, the Museum and Education Center is a great place to wrap up your day trip to Mount Vernon. This modern facility, equipped with interactive exhibits and rich historical artifacts, provides a comprehensive understanding of Washington’s role as a military leader, statesman, and private citizen. Visitors can delve into detailed displays that cover everything from Washington’s role in the American Revolution to his efforts in agriculture and his presidency.

The Education Center, in particular, brings history to life with its engaging and interactive approach, making it an ideal destination for learners of all ages. The center doesn’t just focus on Washington’s achievements but also addresses the complexities of his time, including slavery at Mount Vernon. By offering a balanced and nuanced view of history, the Museum and Education Center ensures that visitors leave with a deeper, more informed understanding of one of America’s most pivotal figures and the era he shaped.

To Visit George Washington's Mount Vernon

Planning a visit to George Washington’s Mount Vernon is an opportunity to step into a pivotal piece of American history. This iconic estate, nestled along the Potomac River, offers a unique glimpse into the life and legacy of the first President of the United States. Here are answers to frequently asked questions as you plan your visit.

Where is George Washington’s Mount Vernon?

George Washington’s plantation home is about 16 miles south of Washington, DC, and about eight miles south of Old Town Alexandria. 

The street address is 3200 Mount Vernon Hwy., Mount Vernon, Virginia.

What is the Phone Number for Mount Vernon?

You can reach George Washington’s Mount Vernon by phone at 703.780.2000.

What's the Best Way to Get to Mount Vernon from DC?

To reach mount vernon by car.

How to Use This Map

• Zoom in or out using the + and – keys in the bottom right corner.
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To Reach Mount Vernon Using Public Transportation

You Can Also Visit Mount Vernon with a Tour from Washington DC

• This day trip to Mount Vernon from Washington DC includes a guided tour of Old Town Alexandria, a stop at the US Marine Corps War Memorial, and an hour at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
• Or visit Mount Vernon in style with a private tour of George Washington’s estate and other historic sites tailored to your interests and preferences.

How Much is Parking at Mount Vernon?

There is no fee to park at Mount Vernon.

Can You Get to Mount Vernon on the Metro?

Unfortunately, the Metro will only get you part of the way to Mount Vernon. To use public transportation to reach Mount Vernon, take the Metro to Huntington Station (yellow line) and connect to bus #101 which will stop at the entrance to Mount Vernon.

What Time Does Mount Vernon Open?

From April through October, Mount Vernon is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The other months of the year, Mount Vernon closes at 4:00 pm.

How Much is Admission to Mount Vernon?

Standard adult admission to Mount Vernon is currently $28. The ticket includes a one-day grounds pass and a timed entry, guided tour of the mansion. Mount Vernon offers discounts to children, military members, first responders, and medical professionals. Children under five can visit for free.

What Does a General Admission Ticket to Mount Vernon Include?

How many acres is mount vernon.

Although George Washington’s home once covered approximately 8,000 acres in the 18th century, today the site covers 500 acres along the Potomac River in Northern Virginia.

Did George Washington Build Mount Vernon?

George Washington did not build Mount Vernon, but he greatly expanded and improved the estate. The mansion was originally built by his father, Augustine Washington, in 1734, and George inherited it later, significantly enlarging and enhancing the property over several decades.

How Did George Washington Get Mount Vernon?

George Washington inherited Mount Vernon after the death of his half-brother Lawrence Washington and, subsequently, his widow. Initially, George leased the property from Lawrence’s widow, but he eventually inherited it outright after her death.

Is George Washington Buried at Mount Vernon?

Yes, George Washington is buried at Mount Vernon next to his wife, Martha. You can pay your respects when visiting Mount Vernon.

Where is George Washington's Tomb?

You’ll find the tombs of George and Martha Washington in the southwestern portion of the estate, situated between the fruit garden and nursery and the slave memorial.

What are the Best Places to Stay Near Mount Vernon?

For an apartment-like stay at an affordable rate, Stay APT Suites in Alexandria can’t be beat. The Hampton Inn & Suites in Alexandria is another great accommodation in Northern Virginia with convenient access to Mount Vernon and other popular sights in the Washington, DC, area. Or check out these other highly-rated hotels near Mount Vernon .

Have You Visited George Washington's Mount Vernon?

What did you do and see? Any advice you’d share with travelers planning their visit? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Ready to Go? Use These Helpful Links to Book Your Trip!

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• From hotels to private homes, find the perfect accommodation with Hotels.com or Vrbo  
• Travel in style with a suitcase, carry-on, backpack, or handbag from eBags
• Save on tickets to attractions, sightseeing tours, and more with CityPASS , Tiqets , and Viator
• Don’t leave home without travel insurance from AXA
• Discover the sights, history, and culture of your destination with an interactive scavenger hunt
• Need something else to plan your perfect trip? Visit my travel resources page for more trusted partners. Happy wandering!

Looking for more information to plan your Washington DC vacation? Check out my additional recommendations to help you plan your trip to Washington, DC , including what to see and do in Washington DC, the best places to stay in Washington DC, where to eat in Washington DC, and more!

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9 thoughts on “DC Day Trip: Visiting George Washington’s Mount Vernon”

Took my kids on a field trip to Mount Vernon last weekend. The estate is well-preserved, and the staff does a great job bringing history to life for all ages. A must-visit for history enthusiasts!

I visited Mt. Vernon 2 years ago by myself . I am now getting to share the experience with my 11 year old grandson. I was able to participate in a very moving wreath ceremony at the Slave Memorial and learned about George freeing his slaves. However, Martha’s slaves were not freed and upon her death were divided among family members by value.

I was so surprised to learn that George Washington had freed his slaves upon his death but heartbroken to learn that Martha didn’t follow in his footsteps (and the way that tore loved ones apart). Did you read my article about the Arlington House? Such fascinating history (and it has a tie back to George and Martha Washington!)

I’m a bit conflicted on visiting sites like this one because of the strong historical ties to my lineage. I go because I need to know the history, but I never feel uplifted, so I always have to mentally prepare for what I’m going to see. The stark difference between how the enslaved people lived compared to the people they were forced to serve. It’s a fantastic lesson in where we have come as a country, but also constant reminder that we still have a long way to go.

I really appreciate you sharing your perspective. While I don’t have the same personal connection you do as an African American, I agree with your comments 100%. America gained her independence from England nearly 250 years ago, yet our children are still primarily taught the white European male version of her history. And I really have a tough time glorifying historical figures who owned slaves, slaughtered Native Americans, sent Americans citizens of Asian ancestry to concentration camps, treated women as second-class citizens, etc. Yes, we’ve come along way. But, man, do we still have a long way to go. I hope I’m doing my part to shine a spotlight on these parts of our history by including them in my articles.

Wow there are so many things to see here! I bet it was quite sad as well as interesting. Seeing the slave quarters must have been upsetting.

While I really enjoyed our day at Mount Vernon, I did feel like there was sadness that hung over everything for me as I envisioned 300 enslaved people supporting the lives of 5 rich, white landowners. I thought of them when I gazed at the amazing mansion and the beautiful gardens and had to fight back tears when I saw their living conditions in the slave quarters and their final resting place.

That was life back then, as long as we learn from those mistakes, then we are good.

I agree. Not learning valuable lessons from history is a tragic mistake. Thanks for stopping by!

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George Washington’s Mount Vernon

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 26, 2023 | Original: January 25, 2018

Mount Vernon is the former plantation estate and burial location of George Washington, the American Revolutionary War general and the first President of the United States, his wife Martha and 20 other Washington family members. The current estate—which is open to visitors—includes a mansion, gardens, tombs, a working farm, a functioning distillery and gristmill, plus a museum and education center.

Where Is Mount Vernon?

Mount Vernon is located in Mt. Vernon, Virginia , overlooking the Potomac River about eight miles south of Alexandria.

It’s unclear who designed the original estate home on the site, but George Washington oversaw its many expansions and renovations until it became the iconic structure that still stands today.

Little Hunting Creek Plantation

Mount Vernon was originally called Little Hunting Creek Plantation and was owned by John Washington . John eventually passed the estate to his son Lawrence who then passed it to his daughter Mildred.

In 1726, Mildred’s brother Augustine, George Washington’s father, purchased the estate and built the main part of the plantation house—an ordinary, one-and-a-half-story structure. Augustine passed the estate to his eldest son Lawrence, George’s elder half-brother, in 1740. Lawrence renamed it Mount Vernon after the famed English naval officer Admiral Edward Vernon.

George Washington inherited Mount Vernon only after the deaths of his brother Lawrence and Lawrence’s two heirs. Lawrence died in 1752, followed by his daughter, Sarah, in 1754 and Lawrence’s widow, Ann, in 1761.

Where Did George Washington Live?

George Washington lived for much of his childhood at Mount Vernon with his half-brother Lawrence, learning the ins and outs of planting and how to be a cultured member of society. In 1753, he began what would become an illustrious military career.

Washington didn’t make Mount Vernon his home until 1759 after he married the widow and mother of two, Martha Dandridge Custis, the future Martha Washington and first “First Lady” of the United States. At the time, Lawrence’s widow, Ann Fairfax Washington, still owned Mount Vernon, so George Washington leased the estate from her until he inherited it in 1761.

Over the next four decades, Washington renovated Mount Vernon’s main house into a two-and-a-half story, 11,028-square-foot stately home with twenty-one rooms. He oversaw almost every detail, always making sure the estate reflected his distinguished status, even as he served in the Revolutionary War and as president of the United States.

The walls of the mansion are made of wood, although they look like stone. To achieve the look, Washington used rustication, a technique where wood boards are cut and beveled to look like stone blocks and then sanded and painted while wet to provide a stone-like texture.

Mount Vernon Gardens

Washington expanded Mount Vernon’s lands to around 8,000 acres. He created four gardens on the estate including:

• The Lower Garden, a kitchen garden for growing fruits and vegetables year-round.
• The Upper Garden, a garden intended for guests to stroll through which included gravel walkways, fruit trees and elaborate planting beds.
• The Greenhouse, a beautiful structure where tropical plants were grown year-round.
• The Botanical Garden, a small garden in the back of the spinning house where George grew plants from all over the world and tested potential crops.

Mount Vernon Tombs

Two tombs stand on Mount Vernon: the original family vault now known as the Old Tomb, and the new vault now known as the New Tomb which became the family’s final resting place.

After realizing the original tomb was deteriorating, Washington instructed in his will that a new resting place be built upon his death and all family members re-interred there. He also provided the financial means to build it. George and Martha were originally buried in the Old Tomb but were later moved to rest permanently in the New Tomb.

Other Mount Vernon outbuildings are:

• blacksmith shop
• spinning room
• sixteen-sided barn
• servant’s quarters
• gardener’s house
• overseer’s quarters
• slave cabins for enslaved families
• men’s slave quarters
• women’s slave quarters

Mount Vernon’s Farms

Mount Vernon’s acreage was divided into five farms. Mansion House Farm included the mansion house and its surrounding area. Large-scale crops weren’t grown there, but the farm contained gardens, woods, tree groves and meadows.

The four agricultural farms on Mount Vernon farmed over 3,000 acres and were called River, Muddy Hole, Dogue and Union. Washington originally cultivated tobacco, Virginia’s prime crop, but later made wheat his main harvest.

He also produced other grains and foods that allowed him to successfully rotate his crops and experiment with various farming methods. Washington was intimately involved in the goings-on of Mount Vernon, agricultural and otherwise. Even as he led his country, he also led the activities of Mount Vernon.

Slave Life at Mount Vernon

Over 300 slaves labored at the Mount Vernon plantation. Fewer than half were owned by George Washington: 153 were part of the bridal dowry of Martha Washington and the rest were rented out by other plantation owners.

Most of the slaves worked and lived on the estate’s farms. Many who worked at Mansion House Farm were craftsmen such as blacksmiths and carpenters. Others were weavers and cooks. Almost half of Mount Vernon’s slaves were too young, too old or too weak to work daily.

Mount Vernon’s slaves led a dismal life. They toiled from sunup to sundown every day but Sunday. In addition to taking care of Mount Vernon, they also handled their own daily chores such as caring for livestock, planting and harvesting gardens and cooking and preserving food. Their quarters were once described as “wretched.”

Days off for Washignton’s slaves were rare, although they were usually given time off for Christmas , Easter and other religious holidays. Most of Mount Vernon’s slaves were Christian, but some practiced African voodoo or Islam .

Washington was, at times, a brutal slave master. Although some reports state he treated his slaves well, documentation shows he worked them relentlessly, employed harsh punishment and sold them at will, often separating families.

Some of Mount Vernon’s slaves fought back against their unfair fate by attempting to escape. At least two were successful—George Washington’s personal cook, Hercules , and Martha Washington’s personal maid, Oney Judge .

Other slaves chose more passive ways of protest such as underperformance, theft and sabotage. Martha Washington went to great lengths to capture Oney Judge but she eluded her grasp.

Mount Vernon’s Slaves Are Freed

Washington’s will stipulated his slaves be emancipated upon Martha’s death , but she freed them in 1801, the year before she died. She could not legally free her dower slaves, however, and they were returned to the Custis estate and ownership passed to her grandchildren.

Martha may not have freed Mount Vernon’s slaves early out of the goodness of her heart since, according to Abigail Adams in a letter to her sister, the slaves knew they were to be freed upon her death and Martha feared they might kill her to hasten their freedom.

Abigail wrote, “[Martha] did not feel as [though] her life was safe in their hands, many of whom would be told that it was their interest to get rid of her–she, therefore, was advised to set them all free at the close of the year.”

Mount Vernon Ladies Association

The Mount Vernon Ladies Association owns and maintains Mount Vernon. Ann Pamela Cunningham founded the Association in 1853. The Association purchased Mount Vernon from George Washington’s heirs in 1858 for $200,000 with the goal of saving the estate and preserving its history.

It was a daunting task. But the Association—with the help of countless American citizens—worked tirelessly to save Mount Vernon and 500 of its acres. Over the years, many prominent people contributed to the cause such as Henry Ford and Thomas Edison .

The estate faced potential destruction during the Civil War but was declared neutral ground and remained open to the public and intact. The Association continues to work to safeguard the integrity of Mount Vernon and its stories.

Mount Vernon Tours

The Museum and Education Center has 23 galleries and theaters featuring interactive exhibits and short historic films. It also houses more than 700 objects and artifacts related to Mount Vernon and its famous residents.

Pets are welcome in many areas of the estate. Special tours and activities are available including period reenactments and demonstrations. Some events are included with admission, others cost a nominal fee.

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George Washington’s Mount Vernon. MountVernon.org. Mount Vernon Virginia. National Park Service. Mount Vernon, Virginia. Washington Papers.

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Framing Slavery at Mount Vernon

Posted on May 20, 2019 by admin - All Issues , May 2019

Tucked away from D.C.’s busy beltway lies Mount Vernon, the former estate of the first President of the United States. The 500-acre property was inherited by George from his father in 1761 and was purchased by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in 1858 to save the estate from ruin. Today, Mount Vernon is operated by the Association as an historic site that includes museums, Washington’s presidential library, and vintage farmsteads. But, the museum at Mount Vernon lightly touches upon the legacy of slavery in Washington’s personal and professional life, and the topic is obscured in ways that sit uneasily.

Museums and historical sites like Mount Vernon are purveyors of information that frame how we view our social world. The ways in which slavery is presented at Mount Vernon matter ideologically in terms of what Eduardo Bonilla-Silva describes as “expressions at the symbolic level of the fact of dominance” (2014:74). If we consider this definition of ideology, then we can consider how slavery is expressed symbolically at Mount Vernon. In a dominant symbolic expression, history is framed in “set paths for interpreting information” (Bonilla-Silva 2014:74). It is therefore important that we “undertake an exacting political and ethical critique of…ideologies of difference” (Mbembe 2017:177) as we follow tours and signposts.

At Mount Vernon, it would be easy to imagine a visitor who only thinks of slavery briefly, who “hears so little that there almost seems to be a conspiracy of silence; the morning papers seldom mention it, and then usually in a far-fetched academic way, and indeed almost everyone seems to forget and ignore the darker half of the land, until the astonished visitor is inclined to ask if after all there is any problem here” (DuBois1994:110). Upon entering the estate, visitors are ushered into a room where an introductory film called We Fight to be Free is screened. The film is an unapologetic tribute to Washington, who is portrayed as a morally impeccable revolutionary hero (Van Oostrum 2006).

The role of slave labor in contributing to Washington’s vast wealth—one of the richest presidents in United States history—goes mostly unmentioned. Our tour guide described the present-day estate as a “working plantation” with no sense of irony as to what a working plantation would entail if it were to include period-relevant slaves.

Progressing further along the tour, the absence of slavery becomes louder as we read maps that breezily describe the location of slaves’ quarters alongside prized fruit gardens. We climbed staircases to peer at Martha Washington’s closets and hear about her shopping habits.

Photo by Margaret Zeddies

The pockets of information where slavery is discussed are fragmented: ensconced in a museum deep in the main building, on a placard outside the boating dock, and in an isolated reconstruction of a slave’s cabin. The museum exhibit Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon (MacLeod 2016) provided personal details of slaves who were kept at Mount Vernon, but kept them at a distance from Washington’s narrative. Mount Vernon’s official website does contain a special section on slavery with over two dozen entries on subjects like Slavery at Mount Vernon , and Martha Washington as a Slaveowner (Mount Vernon 2019b). The archival nature of a website cannot be expected to be reproduced in an hour-long tour.

Perhaps most interestingly, the term “enslaved peoples” (used throughout the literature, displays, and guided tours at Mount Vernon) was deliberately chosen over the word “slaves.” A display panel in the Lives Bound Together exhibit addressed the word choice. The language, it states, was used intentionally so as to invoke the “humanity” of the slaves (MacLeod 2016). However, as Mbembe has problematized, the “idea of a common human condition is the object of many pious declarations. But it is far from being put into practice” (2017:161). Instead, a political economy approach that considered the role of slave labor in Washington’s wealth, for example, might provide an ontology that acknowledges both the labor of slave bodies and their exploitation. For, “the term ‘Black’ was the product of a social and technological machine tightly linked to the emergence and globalization of capitalism” (Mbembe 2017:6). This might even provide more support for the argument for reparations.

The guided tour ended in Mount Vernon’s kitchen where slaves labored in the pre-dawn to keep the residents fed. During my visit, one tourist marveled at the cook’s ability to rise so early. The tour guide missed an opportunity to inform guests why a slave (such as Washington’s personal favorite chef, Hercules, who later attempted escape) would be obliged to rise early. Instead, the tour ended, and the questioning tourist who exited through the kitchen’s back door had the same fate as DuBois’ “casual observer visiting the South” who “notes the growing frequency of dark faces as he rides along, – but otherwise the days slip lazily on, the sun shines, and this little world seems as happy and contented as other worlds he has visited.” (1994: 110).

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2014. Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. 4 th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Du Bois, W.E.B. 1994. The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Dover Publications.

MacLeod, Jessie, curator. October 1, 2016-September 30, 2020. Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon, VA: Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center.

Mbembe, Achille. 2017. Critique of Black Reason. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Mount Vernon. 2019a. “Hercules.” Retrieved May 1, 2019 ( https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/hercules/ )

Mount Vernon. 2019b. “Slavery.” Retrieved May 1, 2019 ( https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/ )

Van Oostrum , Kees. 2006. We Fight to be Free . DVD. Los Angeles, CA: Greystone Films Inc.

By Margaret Zeddies

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A Visit To Mount Vernon: The Best Things To See And Do

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• Activities and Interests
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• Washington, D.C.

With his proven success leading a ragtag group of patriots to win the Revolutionary War and drafting the constitution of the newly formed United States, George Washington steadfastly secured his place in history as America’s first president. And that’s why, in a city full of free memorials, museums, and other sights, it’s absolutely worth the time, effort, and cost to travel about 15 miles south of the nation’s capital to spend a day at Mount Vernon.

From the mansion where America’s first president lived to the slave cemetery a few feet away from the graves of George and Martha, these are the best things to see and do on a visit to this Founding Father’s home in Mount Vernon.

Sage Scott / Everyday Wanderer

George Washington’s Mansion

When George was a toddler, his father began building a modest home. And when the future president’s older half-brother passed away two decades later, a 22-year-old George took the reins. Over the next 45 years that Washington lived at Mount Vernon, he added to the home, turning it into the nearly 11,000 square foot, two-and-a-half-story, 21-room mansion that can be toured today.

General admission to Mount Vernon includes a guided tour of the mansion. However, entrance to the mansion is timed, so it’s best to purchase your tickets in advance and plan the rest of your visit to Mount Vernon around your scheduled home tour.

There is a lot to take in when touring the home, which is ten times larger than the average colonial Virginia home. However, your tour guide will certainly tell you all about:

• The majestic New Room (including how it got its name)
• George Washington’s study (his 18th-century man cave)
• The Washingtons’ bedroom (where George passed away from a throat infection in 1799)
• The dove weathervane atop the cupola (commissioned by Washington to symbolize his desire for peace in the new nation)

But one of my favorite experiences was learning about a key mounted on the wall of the central hall. The key was a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette, Washington’s friend and fellow revolutionary. It once unlocked the door to the infamous Bastille prison, whose destruction is considered the start of the French Revolution.

Pro Tip: To view the upper floors of the home, you’ll have to climb stairs. See the Mount Vernon website for accessibility information including recommended paths and handheld devices for guests with limited vision and hearing.

A Variety Of Outbuildings

In stark contrast to the mansion, be sure to visit the overseer’s and slave quarters. Because he was often away from Mount Vernon serving his country, George Washington hired an overseer for each of his five farms. In exchange for a modest annual salary of $133.33 — plus lodging, meals, and laundry service — the overseer at Mount Vernon was given the 18th-century equivalent of a studio apartment. And for a life of backbreaking forced labor, the hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children at Mount Vernon lived with 20 or more people in the same space.

In a world without indoor plumbing, the “necessary” was the Cadillac of outhouses back in the 18th century. Instead of a deep dirt hole where human waste would be deposited, the outdoor facilities at Mount Vernon used a system of drawers that could be removed for proper disposal and cleaning.

Other buildings to explore for a glimpse of life at George Washington’s Mount Vernon include the blacksmith shop, carriage house, stable, spinning house, and storehouse.

Gardens And Greenhouse

If you stand on George Washington’s front porch, you’ll see a large curved expanse of lush green grass known as the bowling green. While many of our homes feature green lawns today, in the late 1700s it was a rarity that reinforced the Washingtons’ wealth.

Flanking the bowling green are the upper garden (to the right) and the lower garden (to the left). The lower garden was designed to produce edibles for the kitchen, but the upper garden was created to grow flowers and be a place of beauty.

Speaking of beauty, it’s hard to miss the impressive red brick building with a row of cathedral glass windows that stands on the northeastern edge of the upper garden. In this massive greenhouse, the first president was able to successfully grow coffee beans, healing aloe plants, citrus trees, and other non-native plants through the cold Northern Virginia winters.

George Washington’s Final Resting Place

Since his death at the end of the 18th century, George Washington has been interred in two places at Mount Vernon. Overlooking the Potomac River, the old vault was the original burial plot for POTUS 1, his wife, and 20 other family members. But George Washington realized that the family vault required extensive repairs, so his last will and testament requested that a new tomb be constructed.

About three decades after his death, the bodies of America’s original president and first lady were moved to their current resting place. With two cream-colored obelisks that look like miniature Washington monuments, George and Martha are now buried in a small brick building just to the west of the old tomb.

Slave Cemetery And Memorial

While it’s a beautiful and historic place to visit, the truth is that George Washington’s Mount Vernon was constructed and operated by hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children . And although 12 American presidents owned slaves, several things set George Washington apart from other slave masters.

Despite the fact that he owned hundreds of human beings, George Washington struggled with the idea of slavery, spoke out against the institution, and expressed his desire to end the practice. And more importantly, he ultimately took action. In the will he penned in his home office, Washington stipulated that his slaves would be freed upon the death of his wife, Martha.

And when the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association identified the location of the slave cemetery in 1929 by adding a memorial marker — just steps from where George and Martha are buried — it was believed to be the first tribute of its kind at an American historic site. In 1983, architecture students from Howard University added an updated memorial to the Slave Cemetery to honor the enslaved people who were forced to spend their lives toiling at Mount Vernon.

MountVernon.org

Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant

While you can certainly dodge scores of school children and opt for a fast-food style meal at the Mount Vernon Food Court Pavilion, there is an alternative, and I highly recommend it! For just a few dollars more, you can enjoy a delicious sit-down meal at the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant. No matter which salad, sandwich, or entree you select, be sure to add a cup of George’s favorite soup to your order.

Made with a recipe that dates back to George and Martha’s time at Mount Vernon, the peanut and chestnut soup is amazing, no matter how unusual it may sound.

Pro Tip: An admission ticket is not required to dine at the Mount Vernon Inn, so if your itinerary doesn’t allow you to spend a day exploring the estate, you can always stop by for dinner (and a cup of that amazing soup)!

Other Tips For A Fantastic Visit To Mount Vernon

While the D.C. Metro is an affordable, easy-to-navigate way to get around the capital city, getting to Mount Vernon without a car can be more challenging. Here’s how to get there via subway and bus from Washington, D.C .

In addition to a guided tour of George Washington’s mansion, access to the outbuildings, and entrance to the museums, your general admission ticket also includes access to the distillery and gristmill. If you visit between April 1 and October 31, these additional sights are a short shuttle ride from the main estate.

The best time for a visit to Mount Vernon is in the spring, summer, or fall, when you’ll be able to best admire the beauty of the grounds and see the animals.

D.C. Bound? Here are 10 things to know about the Cherry Blossom Festival , plus Hotel Vs. AirBnb: Where To Stay In Washington, D.C.

Bitten by the travel bug as a preschooler when her family moved abroad for the first time, Sage Scott is addicted to travel. From her nomadic upbringing in a military family to her personal and professional travels as an adult, Sage has visited all 50 states, lived abroad twice, and explored nearly 30 other countries.

Now settled in America’s Heartland, Sage writes with a midlife traveler’s perspective from Kansas City — the Midwestern cowtown affectionately called the Paris of the Plains and the undisputed Barbecue Capital of the World — and is always in search of new experiences whether in her hometown or halfway around the world.

What to do on July 4 in the DC area, from National Mall celebrations to community parades

H appy Fourth of July! The United States is turning 248 years old, and the Washington, D.C., area is going all out with tons of fireworks, free concerts, historical events and parades.

Fourth of July on the National Mall

If there’s one holiday to celebrate on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., it’s Independence Day.

But with big crowds, road closures and extra security measures, you’ll want to make a plan. Here’s what to know about road closures, Metro and National Mall access points. The bottom line: Budget time to take Metro, navigate crowds and undergo a security screening at the National Mall access points.

National Park Service fireworks

The National Park Service’s big fireworks display will fire from either side of the Lincoln Memorial. It’s scheduled to begin at 9:09 p.m. and last for 17 minutes.

Access points to the National Mall are scheduled to open at 1 p.m. Expect a security screening and bag check. Here’s a list of prohibited items.

The fireworks can be viewed from A Capitol Fourth concert , Fourth on The Wharf and many locations in the District and in Virginia. Our Fireworks Finder lists our favorite viewing spots. Or, check our list of watch parties on rooftops, boats and more.

Daytime activities on the National Mall

Want to get started early? Daytime activities in the National Mall zone include:

• The National Independence Day Parade , which is set to begin at 11:45 a.m. The parade will go along Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th Street NW. The steps of the National Archives are a good place to watch, and the museum has a lot of special activities planned…
• Independence Day at the National Archives : Party with the Declaration of Independence itself. Not only can you visit the museum to see the United States’ founding documents, but you can enjoy a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a live performance from The Experience Band and Show and family activities including hands-on crafts. Here’s the full schedule.
• The Capital Jewish Museum’s family day is set to feature history talks, mezuzah activities, crafts, music and outdoor games. It’s located an easy walk from the National Mall, and could make a good stop between the Judiciary Square and the mall.
• The National Park Service will host espionage-themed activities from the Sylvan Theater near the Washington Monument. They're geared toward kids aged 10 and up.
• The Smithsonian museums will be open, providing a nice refuge from the weather.

Best Metro stations for National Mall access

• The Smithsonian/National Mall or Federal Triangle (both on the Orange, Blue, Silver lines) are very close to the National Mall, but the National Park Service recommends considering other stations that are a little further, but less crowded.
• L’Enfant Plaza (Silver, Orange, Blue, Green, Yellow lines), Metro Center (Red, Blue, Orange, Silver lines), Judiciary Square (Red Line) and Archives/Navy Memorial (Green, Yellow lines) are all within walking distance of the National Mall.

Fireworks in Maryland and Virginia

Our Fireworks Finder lists the big displays in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, including several shows happening over the weekend like Mid-County Sparkles in Kensington and a Wild West-themed festival in Bladensburg .

Things to do on July 4

Reading of "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site

Thurs., July 4, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., 1411 W St. SE

Frederick Douglass famously asked an audience in 1852, "What to the slave is the Fourth of July?" His now-famous speech pointedly criticized the irony of celebrating freedom in a country in which it was legal to enslave people.

In one of D.C.’s most reflective and moving July 4 traditions, actor Michael Crutcher will portray Douglass and deliver the speech on the front porch of Douglass's former home in Anacostia. After the reading, DC Strings Workshop will perform historic music. Visitors can take photos with the Crutcher and tour the first floor of the historic home.

An American Celebration

Thurs., July 4, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mount Vernon, included with admission

If most fireworks shows are after your kids’ bed time, Mount Vernon might be a good alternative.

Made-for-daytime fireworks are set to go off over the Potomac River at 1 p.m.

That’s just one part of a day-long Independence Celebration at the former home of George Washington. Performances, history talks and tours are also on tap.

A Capitol Fourth

Gates open at 3 p.m., concert begins at 8 p.m., U.S. Capitol grounds

The annual concert on the U.S. Capitol’s West Lawn will be a star-studded show featuring Smokey Robinson celebrating Motown, Fantasia, “Glee’s” Darren Criss, Sister Sledge, the National Symphony Orchestra, a send-off for Team USA and views of the National Mall fireworks.

The show and the dress rehearsal on Wednesday are free and open to the public. Gates will open at 3 p.m. on both days. 

Fourth at The Wharf

Head to The Wharf for a free day of country music on four stages and family-friendly activities. As long as the weather is decent, you can expect great views of the fireworks going off over the National Mall.

Food and drinks are available all around The Wharf. You can bring a low-back chair to the District Pier, but come early as space is limited.

Community parades

Get patriotic with the whole neighborhood at these community parades:

• Palisades Parade and Picnic in Northwest D.C.
• Capitol Hill Community 4th of July Parade beginning at Barracks Row
• Takoma Park Parade starting at Carroll and Ethan Allen avenues
• Kensington’s annual bike parade
• Arlington: See a list of community parades here.
• Fairfax Independence Day Parade
• Great Falls Hometown Parade
• Leesburg Independence Day Parade

Want to know what's up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene , our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

Open 365 days a year, Mount Vernon is located just 15 miles south of Washington DC.

From the mansion to lush gardens and grounds, intriguing museum galleries, immersive programs, and the distillery and gristmill. Spend the day with us!

Discover what made Washington "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".

The Mount Vernon Ladies Association has been maintaining the Mount Vernon Estate since they acquired it from the Washington family in 1858.

Need primary and secondary sources, videos, or interactives? Explore our Education Pages!

The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.

Slave Control

In addition to having overseers monitoring work on site, George Washington utilized a number of methods to try to control the labor and behavior of the Mount Vernon slaves. Since work as a house servant or skilled laborer was viewed as higher-ranking than field work, Washington could threaten to demote an artisan who would be punished by becoming a field worker.

Violent coercive measures were used as well, including whippings and beatings. In some instances, physical restraints were utilized to ensure that slaves would not run away. When Tom, the slave foreman at River Farm, was sold in the West Indies in 1766 as a punishment for being "both a Rogue & Runaway," Washington wrote to the ship's captain to "keep him handcuffd till you get to Sea." 1

Although one houseguest noted in his journal that George Washington prohibited the use of whips on his slaves, evidence in the historical record proves otherwise. 2 In 1758, Washington—while serving in the French and Indian War —received a letter from his farm manager explaining that he had "whipt" the carpenters when he "could see a fault." 3 In 1793, farm manager Anthony Whiting reported that he had "gave…a very good Whiping" with a hickory switch to the seamstress Charlotte. The manager admitted that he was "determined to lower Spirit or skin her Back." 4 George Washington replied that he considered the treatment of Charlotte to be "very proper" and that "if She, or any other of the Servants will not do their duty by fair means, or are impertinent, correction (as the only alternative) must be administered." 5 Washington instituted a system of review in order to determine when he deemed physical abuse as a punishment. As described by Washington's secretary Tobias Lear , "no whipping is allowed without a regular complaint & the defendant found guilty of some bad deed." 6

If threats of demotion and whipping did not succeed in changing a slave's behavior, the ultimate form of punishment was to sell the individual away from the plantation. Slaves could be sold to a buyer in the West Indies, ensuring that the person would never see their family or friends at Mount Vernon again. George Washington resorted to such sales on several occasions. Washington seems to have believed, however, that less extreme methods could have a better effect than punishment and coercion. In one case, he reminded a manager that "admonition and advice" sometimes succeeded where "further correction" failed. 7

Washington occasionally tried to encourage an individual's pride as motivation. In addition to verbal encouragement, material incentives were attempted as well. Finer quality blankets and clothing were given out to those slaves who were considered to be "most deserving." 8 Direct cash rewards were also given out to slaves as a means of encouragement.

Notes: 1. "George Washington to Joseph Thompson, 7 February 1766," The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series Vol. 7, 441, 442. For another reference to a slave being kept in shackles, see " James Hill to George Washington, 5 February 1773 ," The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, Vol 9, 172-3.

2. Louis Philippe, Diary of My Travels in America, (New York: Delacorte Press, 1977), 31-2.

3. "Anthony Whiting to George Washington, 16 January 1793;" "Anthony Whiting to George Washington, 20 January 1793."

4. " George Washington to Anthony Whiting, 20 January 1793 ."

5. "Tobias Lear to William Prescott, 4 March 1788"

6. " George Washington to Captain Josiah Thompson, 2 July 1766 ," The Papers of George Washington, Vol. 7, 453-4; "Joseph Valentine to George Washington, 24 August 1771," Vol. 8, 520, 520n-521n.

7. " George Washington to Anthony Whiting , 3 March 1793," Vol. 32, 366.

8. " George Washington to William Pearce, 29 November 1795 ," Vol. 34, 379.

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