For Immediate Release
September 1, 2007
Digital images available
Media contact:
Melissa Wood (703) 799-5203
mwood@mountvernon.org
MOUNT VERNON, Va. – The Godspeed visits Mount Vernon September 20 - 22 from its home port at Jamestown Settlement as part of the 400th anniversary year of the founding of Jamestown, America's first permanent English colony. The 88-foot re-creation presents the story of the voyage from England with demonstrations of 17th-century piloting and navigation. Included with regular admission to Mount Vernon: $13 for adults, $6 for youth ages 6-11, and free for children 5 and under.
Completed in early 2006, The Godspeed re-creation takes American history on a nautical tour. The Godspeed decorated to the likeness of a late 16th and early 17th-century ship, took two years to re-create with a staff of 28 using historical data from the 17th century. The Jamestown Settlement ships were designated as the official fleet of the Commonwealth by the Virginia General Assembly in 2001.
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Since 1860, over 80 million visitors have made George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens the most popular historic home in America. Through thought-provoking tours, entertaining events, and stimulating educational programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation, Mount Vernon strives to preserve George Washington’s place in history as “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen.” Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, America’s oldest national preservation organization, founded in 1853. A picturesque drive to the southern end of the scenic George Washington Memorial Parkway, Mount Vernon is located just 16 miles from the nation’s capital.
Hours of operation: April-August, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March, September, October, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; November – February, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular admission rates: adults, $13.00; senior citizens, $12.00; children age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $6.00; and children under age 5, FREE. Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon.