At the time of George Washington's death in 1799, over 300 slaves lived and worked on the five farms at Mount Vernon. Each farm had its own overseer and workforce. Over three-quarters of the working slaves were field hands and well over one-half of the field hands were women. The slaves plowed, planted, and harvested the land according to the strict crop rotations developed by Washington. The slaves worked in gangs, made up of 8-10 people, and they were assigned specific tasks such as hoer and plower. During harvest season, farm slaves were joined by skilled and semi-skilled workers from the Mansion house, grist mill and other Mount Vernon farms.

Food grown at Mount Vernon was distributed to the slaves and their families and to the Washingtons. Any surplus was sold at market. The slaves received their food rations weekly. Many slaves also kept their own gardens to supplement their diet. The slaves could sell their food at local markets to earn extra income. The slaves were also issued clothing once a year.

The work-day at Mount Vernon was from sunrise to sunset, with 2 hours off for meals. Sunday was a holiday. Slaves also received 3-4 days off at Christmas, and the Monday after Easter and Pentecost as holidays. If a slave was required to work a Sunday during harvest, Washington would allow them a day off later, and sometimes compensated them with pay.

18th-century photo of original Mount Vernon slave cabin.

The slaves lived at the farm on which they worked. The housing at the outlying farms was considerably rougher than the Mansion House farm quarters. The houses were made of logs daubed with mud. They generally had a brick fireplace. Two families lived in each cabin. Sometimes smaller cabins housed one family. None of the slave cabins survive today, however, there is an existing photograph from the early 20th century that is believed to be a picture of a Mount Vernon slave quarter. These houses were very crude by modern standards, with very little furniture, little privacy and often dirty and smoky conditions. Julian Niemcewicz , a Polish visitor to the estate in 1798, offered a vivid account of the quarters in his diary.

In his will, Washington made arrangements to free those slaves that belonged to him.

Slaves played an integral role in Mount Vernon's history. Although little written documentation exists from the slaves themselves, much is known about their lives through primary documents left by Washington and visitors to Mount Vernon.

View more information about George Washington and Slavery