Historical Background

Take a historical journey of the Upper Garden through images! The photographs and drawings below depict the garden from the 18th through 20th centuries. We hope to combine this and the written documentary evidence (including diaries, letters, and minutes from the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association meetings) with what we find in the ground to help arrive at a more accurate layout for the garden.

Drawing of the Estate pre- and post-1775 by Morley Williams (1937).

George Washington built and arranged the Upper Garden in 1763. In 1775, he expanded and redesigned much of his estate – including the Upper Garden. This image shows the original shape of the gardens and drive to the Mansion in shaded in gray. The early outbuildings are shaded in black. From this image you can see that the pre-1775 garden was rectangular in shape. It was expanded south to a more curvilinear design just as you see when you visit the Upper Garden today.

Note the Upper Garden on the left side of the drawing.

The best representation of the new layout for Washington’s buildings and grounds appears in a plan done by Samuel Vaughn in 1787. The central garden walks are depicted in this drawing, though they may have been made more symmetrical when Vaughn produced this formal copy from his original sketch. Contained in a letter from Lund Washington to George Washington in 1775, we get a hint of the nature of these paths: “I will have gravel Carted for the walks.” After 1787, Washington added a Greenhouse and new Slave Quarters to the north side of the Upper Garden.  

North Lane looking east showing Bushrod Washington's pise structure (right) and the ruins of the Greenhouse and Slave Quarters (left), 1860.

After Martha Washington died in 1802, Bushrod Washington inherited the property. We do not know if Bushrod made changes to the arrangement of the Upper Garden, but he did construct 3 additional garden-related buildings in ca. 1814: a pise greenhouse and 2 small brick structures (a hothouse and a pinery).

North Lane looking southwest by Benson Lossing, 1858.

In 1835, the Greenhouse and Slave Quarters’ burned to the ground. This drawing depicts the ruins of the Greenhouse and Slave Quarters. Bushrod Washington’s pise (rammed earth) greenhouse can be seen on the far right. There is mention of the fate of Bushrod’s pise greenhouse in the Alexandria Gazette – it may have burned in 1863.  

Upper Garden facing southeast, circa 1885.

In the early years of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA) ownership, the Upper Garden received care and attention as a means of profit to pay for the costs of running the estate. The MVLA sold bouquets of flowers for 25 cents grown in the garden to raise funds for the restoration of buildings. In the second half of the 19th century, many additional greenhouse or propagating houses were constructed for the purpose of growing more plants year-round for sale, including a rose (1888) and a carnation house (1890). The Ladies built two generations of greenhouses on the site of Washington’s original structure: one in 1869 and a replacement in 1897.   

Upper Garden facing northwest, circa 1920s.

This image is an aerial view of the Upper Garden, facing west. The first aerial photographs of the Estate were taken in the 1920s giving historians and archaeologists a detailed picture of the Ladies’ interpretation of the Upper Garden in the early 20th century. The Greenhouse built in 1897, not authentically reconstructed, is shown here with the wings flanking either side. A glass greenhouse, built in 1883, can be seen to the left of the west quarter.   

The foundation of Bushrod's hothouse or pinery, 1951.

The 1950s represented the next major phase in reconstructing a historically accurate Upper Garden. Using a combination of archaeological excavation and historical evidence, the MVLA reconstructed the greenhouse and slave quarters and replaced the brick garden walks with loam and gravel. The 1883 propagating house along the west part of the north wall was removed and the wall reconstructed. During the excavations, the original (pre-1776) north garden wall foundation was located. This image shows the foundation of one of Bushrod Washington’s brick structures also identified in the excavations.

Excavations in the Upper Garden, 1998. Note the 1950s reconstructed Greenhouse.

This image shows archaeologists working in the Upper Garden in 1998. Reconstructing the garden has been an ongoing research project for many years as historians, horticulturalists, and archaeologists look for evidence of the locations of original plantings and pathways enjoyed by visitors since the 18th century.

We hope you’ll continue to visit the website over the winter and learn about our exciting garden excavations through our Dig Diaries!