Muddy Hole Farm
Muddy Hole Farm was one of the five farms that made up the Mount Vernon estate. Located in the northeast corner of the plantation, running alongside Little Hunting Creek, Muddy Hole is said to have lived…
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.
Muddy Hole Farm was one of the five farms that made up the Mount Vernon estate. Located in the northeast corner of the plantation, running alongside Little Hunting Creek, Muddy Hole is said to have lived…
Writing from Fort Loudoun, Virginia, on June 17, 1758, Colonel George Washington honored Francis Fauquier with best wishes for a successful tenure as the new lieutenant governor of the Colony of Virginia…
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…
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…
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.
One of General George Washington’s closest relatives, Bushrod was the son of General Washington’s brother, John Augustine, and his wife, Hannah Bushrod.
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)…
Site of one of Washington's earliest military encounters
Learn more about the New Tomb at Mount Vernon - the Washington's final resting place.
The Bull-Finch is a songster, that is, a bound collection of lyrics to songs without musical notation of their melodies and Mount Vernon's copy is inscribed "Martha Washington 1759" on the title page in…
Social education in colonial America went beyond academic learning.
Held September 11-14, 1786, the Annapolis Convention was a meeting incipiently aimed at constructing uniform parameters to regulate trade between states during a time of political turbulence and economic…
By the end of World War II, Colonial American architectural features decorated hotels, restaurants, gas stations, shopping centers and other new businesses that hosted travelers along the country’s expanding…
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…