Washington with overseer and slaves harvesting wheat.

George Washington played many different roles in the founding of our nation:Commander in Chief of the Revolutionary Army, first President , and leader of the Constitutional Convention to name but a few. And it is in these roles that we think of him today. However, if you were to ask him to describe his most important occupation, he would say quite simply that he was a farmer. 

Just as he led his countrymen on the field of battle and in the executive office, Washington was a leader in the development of American agriculture. Washington's passion was his land. He enjoyed the challenge of cultivating crops and learning what techniques and tools worked best for growing things. The same calm determination he showed under fire was evident in his constant experimentation and efforts to improve the productivity of his four working farms.

Letter from Washington to William Pierce, his Farm Manager

Washington studied agricultural books, corresponded with leading farmers in America and abroad, and tested over 60 different crops and many different planting techniques at his 8,000-acre Mount Vernon plantation. When he was home, his daily routine was unchanging. Each day, he rose early, ate breakfast, and rode out to oversee his farms.Throughout his adult life, his interest in farming and his determination to make Mount Vernon a profitable venture never waned.

Today Mount Vernon visitors can see a recreation of Washington's 16-side treading barn in a working exhibit called the "Pioneer Farmer Site."

By constant experimentation, he was able to improve the quality of his soil through a crop rotation system, fertilizers, and other land conservation techniques. He modified tools and methods to suit his needs, and he transformed Mount Vernon into a diversified farm, where he grew wheat, corn, potatoes, buckwheat, oats, and rye. He also planted grasses in hopes that his soil would remain fertile year after year. Perhaps his most dramatic invention was a 16-sided treading barn for processing wheat and other grains, which he had built on his Dogue Run Farm.