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This two-story room is the largest in the house. Comprising the entire north wing of the Mansion, it was a perfect area for entertaining the large number of guests who came to visit Mount Vernon after the American Revolution. The Washingtons hosted elegant dinners in this room. Visitors were left with no doubt as to the General's interests. He personally selected decorative plaster ornamentation of crops and tools that reflected his love of farming. The stunning green color was also a favorite of Washington's, and the design of the magnificent Palladian window was adapted from a popular architectural book of the day. To complete the decor, Washington ordered two sideboards and 24 chairs from Philadelphia cabinetmaker John Aitken. The landscapes and scenic paintings adorning the walls were chosen by Washington and reflected his life-long love of nature and the frontier. The room, begun in 1774 but not completed until 1788, was the last and, arguably, the most magnificent addition to the Mansion.
The room was also the site of significant beginnings and endings in American history. The American presidency began here when, on April 14, 1789, Charles Thomson, Secretary of Congress, informed George Washington that he had been unanimously elected first president of the United States. Ten years later a nation mourned while Washington's body lay here for three days after his death on December 14, 1799, before being buried in the family vault at Mount Vernon.
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