President Woodrow Wilson

1914, 1915, 1917, and 1918

President Woodrow Wilson came out to Mount Vernon on several occasions. Mount Vernon Superintendent Harrison Howell Dodge describes one visit, which occurred during World War I, as such:

President Woodrow Wilson several times honored Mount Vernon by his presence, but quite the most spectacular event in which he took part was on the Fourth of July, 1918, when he brought as his guests, on [Presidential yacht] the Mayflower, fifty or more delegates representing the thousands of foreign-born citizens of the United States, wishing, by this public commemoration of our Declaration of Independence, to testify their loyalty to America. Each delegate bore a handsome wreath distinguished by his respective national colors, the collection quite filling the Tomb.

It was estimated that nearly 20,000 persons were present on that notable day: “The Star Spangled Banner” was sung by John McCormack, who insisted on being accompanied by a Steinway Grand piano. The instrument, so inappropriate beside the Tomb of Washington, was entirely screened from view by hastily planted cedars.   

President Wilson gave an address that day, comparing the efforts of Washington and the founding fathers to the battlefields of Europe in the World War. His speech references the importance of Mount Vernon as a location several times, noting that the estate seemed untouched by the modern world. His remarks began:

I am happy to draw apart with you to this quiet place of old counsel in order to speak a little of the meaning of this day of our nation’s independence. The place seems very still and remote. It is as serene and untouched by the hurry of the world as it was in those great days long ago when General Washington was here and held leisurely conference with the men who were to be associated with him in the creation of a nation. From these gentle slopes they looked out upon the world and saw it whole, saw it with the light of the future upon it, saw it with modern eyes that turned away from a past which men of liberated spirits could no longer endure.   

Read Wilson's Entire Address

US Presidents at Mount Vernon

1789
2022
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Andrew Jackson
James K. Polk
Millard Fillmore
James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln
Rutherford B. Hayes
Benjamin Harrison
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
George W. Bush
Donald Trump
President Joe Biden

TERM OF OFFICE: 1789-1797

George Washington

1st President of the United States. Mount Vernon was Washington's home from 1754 until his death in 1799.

John Adams

2nd President of the United States. Visited ca. June 10-11, 1800.

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Thomas Jefferson

3rd President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on January 3, 1801 to pay a condolence call on Martha Washington who was greiving the recent death of her husband.

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Andrew Jackson

7th President of the United States. Visited in November of 1815.

James K. Polk

11th President of the United States. Came to Mount Vernon in June 1845 with his wife, Sarah Childress Polk and former First Lady, Dolley Payne Madison.

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Millard Fillmore

13th President of the United States. Visited in March 1851.

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James Buchanan

15th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in 1860 with the Prince of Wales.

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Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States. In 1862, during the Civil War, Lincoln came to Mount Vernon via steam boat down the Potomac River.

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Rutherford B. Hayes

19th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on Saturday, May 18, 1878 with his wife.

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Benjamin Harrison

23rd President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in May of 1889.

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William McKinley

25th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on Thursday, December 14, 1899 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of George Washington's death.

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Theodore Roosevelt

26th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon many times with his family.

William Howard Taft

27th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in 1912 to place a wreath at Washington's tomb.

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Woodrow Wilson

28th President of the United States. Visited several times, including a grandiose Independence Day celebration in 1918.

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Calvin Coolidge

30th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon twice during his administration.

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Herbert Hoover

31st President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on Washington's 198th birthday in 1930, and again, two years later, on the 200th.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

32nd President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on May 15, 1933 and many other occasions.

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Harry S. Truman

33rd President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in 1947.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

34th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in 1958.

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John F. Kennedy

35th President of the United States. Hosted a state dinner at Mount Vernon for President Ayub Khan of Pakistan on Tuesday, July 11, 1961.

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Lyndon B. Johnson

36th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in 1961.

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Gerald Ford

38th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in 1961 as a Congressman and again in 1976 during his presidency.

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Ronald Reagan

40th President of the United States. Came to Mount Vernon on Monday, February 22, 1982 with First Lady Nancy Reagan to commemorate the 250th birthday of George Washington.

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George H. W. Bush

41st President of the United States. Landed the presidential helicopter on the Bowling Green on Wednesday, April 19, 1989.

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George W. Bush

43rd President of the United States. Paid a visit with Mrs. Bush on the Presidents’ Day holiday in 2007; came back in November of the same year to meet with the new president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.

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Donald Trump

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association welcomed President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, and Emmanuel Macron, the President of the French Republic, and his wife, Brigitte, for a private tour and dinner at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on Monday, April 23, 2018.

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President Joe Biden

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Mount Vernon on Sunday, January 30, 2022, to address the National Governors Association (NGA). They traveled to Mount Vernon by Marine One and landed on the 12-acre field overlooking the Mansion. The previous evening’s wintery mix provided a snowy ground cover, and George Washington’s iconic Mansion was illuminated for the occasion.

Presidents at Mount Vernon

Many Presidents of the United States have visited Mount Vernon before, during, and after their time in office. Explore some of the most notable visits from our Commanders in Chief.

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