16-Sided Barn
The 16-Sided barn on Washington's Dogue Run farm was one of the most innovative structures at Mount Vernon
Explore the wide range of subjects related to George Washington’s world and the colonial and founding eras.
The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington was generously supported by Richard and Bonnie Dial in memory of Irby and George Prendergast.
The 16-Sided barn on Washington's Dogue Run farm was one of the most innovative structures at Mount Vernon
On 2 January 1777, a Continental Army force led by George Washington successfully repulsed a British attack in Trenton, New Jersey by soldiers under the command of Lord Charles Cornwallis.
Hugh Henry Brackenridge was a Scottish-born Pennsylvanian preacher, politician, writer, and jurist, who – though not strictly a Founding Father himself – was intimately familiar with several founders…
There were many dogs living at Mount Vernon during George Washington's lifetime. These animals were owned by George and Martha Washington, by her grandchildren, by friends, and by slaves who lived on…
Washington Irving was one of the most famous American authors of the nineteenth century. While he is primarily remembered for short stories such as “Rip van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow…
William Lee spent two decades as George Washington's enslaved valet accompanied him nearly everywhere.
Lawrence Washington was the elder half-brother of George Washington, being the oldest living child of Augustine Washington and his first wife Jane Butler.
During the colonial era, rum was the preferred alcoholic drink of American colonists.
The upper garden was established in the 1760s and paralleled the lower or kitchen garden to its south. This garden was initially planted with fruit and nut trees, and was walled and rectangular in shape…
The Venetian (also called Palladian) window on the north elevation of Mount Vernon is one of the house's most distinctive features. The window illuminates the large dining room (known as the new room)…
Carthaginian general Hannibal’s invasion of Italy during the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE) provided posterity with two alternative examples of effective military strategy.
Learn more about the New Tomb at Mount Vernon - the Washington's final resting place.
In 1790 George Washington received the key to the Bastille prison from an appreciative Marquis de Lafayette. It remains at Mount Vernon to this day.
Located in Alexandria, Virginia, Christ Church opened its doors in 1773 to serve the Church of England's Fairfax Parish. George Washington helped fund the construction of the church, and his personal bible…
Founded by Benjamin Franklin Bache, the Aurora General Advertiser was published in Philadelphia between 1794 and 1824. Bache, the grandson of Benjamin Franklin, established the Aurora as a Republican newspaper…
From 1939 to 1945, an unprecedented number of foreign dignitaries visited Mount Vernon during their official tours of the United States.
George Washington went on his New England Tour from October 15 to November 13, 1789, during the first Congressional recess under the new federal government. He travelled from New York City, then the capital…