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
By the autumn of 1794, most of the prisoners in the Conciergerie, a Parisian jail that housed enemies?
Bullskin Run, also known as Bullskin Creek, is a tributary of the Shenandoah River, located in present-day Jefferson County West Virginia, formerly part of Frederick County in Virginia. The surrounding…
Months before his death, George Washington admitted that while he had "a large stock of Hogs—the precise number is unknown." During this period, Washington let his hogs run free to feed on vegetable…
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…
Hercules Posey (1747?-1812) was an enslaved cook for George Washington during the 1780s and 90s. A renowned chef during his lifetime, Hercules self-emancipated from Mount Vernon in 1797.
Mary Ball Washington (b. approximately 1707 – d. 1789) is primarily known as the mother of George Washington.
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…
Washington's New Room is the largest and most ornate of the rooms found within the Mount Vernon mansion.
Prisoners of War (POWs) are combatants captured and held by the enemy during periods of open conflict. During the American Revolution, thousands of soldiers, militiamen, and civilians were taken prisoner…
Learn more about the New Tomb at Mount Vernon - the Washington's final resting place.
Writing in George Washington’s era was a complex technical process that required a diverse array of materials and techniques, often difficult or expensive to acquire, and laden with social meaning.
After George Washington died on the evening of December 14, 1799, news spread slowly from Mount Vernon to the rest of the young republic. However, once people heard the surprising news, they expressed…
Robert Morris was a financier of the American Revolution, delegate to the Second Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and senator from Pennsylvania. Given Morris’s personal…
Mount Vernon’s distinctive cupola; white, green, and red color scheme; and especially its long, square-columned piazza appear on houses in neighborhoods across the country. By duplicating or adapting…
On April 22, 1793, President George Washington issued a Neutrality Proclamation to define the policy of the United States in response to the spreading war in Europe.