Open 365 days a year, Mount Vernon is located just 15 miles south of Washington DC.
From the mansion to lush gardens and grounds, intriguing museum galleries, immersive programs, and the distillery and gristmill. Spend the day with us!
Discover what made Washington "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".
The Mount Vernon Ladies Association has been maintaining the Mount Vernon Estate since they acquired it from the Washington family in 1858.
Need primary and secondary sources, videos, or interactives? Explore our Education Pages!
The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.
Preservation work is always underway at George Washington's estate to ensure that generations to come will be able to enjoy the founding father's home.
The restoration of Mount Vernon is an ongoing process that began in the 19th century and continues today.
More than 12 original buildings on the estate are exposed to the extremes of weather and wear put on them by more than one million visitors each year.
Mount Vernon's preservation team restores and preserves the estate to how it appeared at the time of Washington’s death in 1799.
March 2022 - 2024
Mount Vernon’s smokehouse stands on the south lane, part of a group of outbuildings that provided support for daily life on the estate. The smokehouse was constructed in the mid-1770s. In 1776, 132 hogs were fattened, slaughtered, and “put up” or hung in it.
Today, the smokehouse is remarkably intact. Its frame, interior sheathing, and interior hanging system are original, protected for more than two centuries by its clapboard siding, a significant portion of which has survived from the 18th century. That siding has borne the brunt of 245 summers and winters and is in need of attention.
The Architecture team completed repairs to the siding boards on the south and west elevations and is now working on the east and north elevations. Sealing the building exterior will protect the building’s framing, which includes some of the few surviving original sills on the estate.
Restoration of Mount Vernon’s historic Smokehouse is sponsored by Edwards Virginia Smokehouse.
The Archaeology team is excavating 10x10-foot test units in a section of the north grove in search of archaeological features and evidence of past human activities.
Preservation work never ends. Each year, the Mansion, outbuildings, and grounds are exposed to the extremes of weather and the wear put on them by more than one million visitors.
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July 2022 - Spring 2023
The restoration of George Washington’s New Tomb will ensure the Tomb’s preservation by controlling the moisture infiltration that has been the underlying cause of deterioration since its construction in the 1830s.
The origins of the Lafayette Room date to the initial 1730s construction period of the house, with significant changes made at the beginning and end of George Washington's residence.
The room’s eighteenth-century woodwork, window sashes, door, and floors still survive.
Immediate preservation work in the Lafayette Room will include repairing and whitewashing the ceiling, cleaning the floor, and repainting the woodwork based on updated paint analysis. After recent research, the room will also be returned to the vibrancy known to the Washingtons with wallpaper reproduced from 18th-century examples.
