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This gracious room was used by Martha Washington's granddaughter, Nelly Custis, who lived at Mount Vernon with the Washingtons from early childhood. The room dates to the 1758 enlargement of the Mansion, and much of the plaster and woodwork are original. As with other rooms in the Mansion, a more fashionable paint color was added to the room in the 1780's and there is evidence that the room once had blue wallpaper.
Nelly Custis married General Washington's nephew, Lawrence Lewis, at Mount Vernon on Washington's last birthday, February 22, 1799. The young couple continued to live at Mount Vernon until the completion of their home, Woodlawn Plantation, located just three miles from Mount Vernon. The couple's first child was born in this room only days before George Washington's death. Nelly remained confined to bed and was unable to attend funeral services for her step-grandfather.
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