Mount Vernon Blog

Betz Golon has traveled from Maine to Mount Vernon for more than 20 years to teach visitors how herbs were used in cooking and medicine throughout history. As an herbal historian, Betz combines her passions for history and botany to make products for museums, focusing on the herbs' recorded history. "All our products are made using organic herbs. Blends…

A key feature of the architectural restoration of the Blue Room is the repair and reinstallation of the room’s original 18th-century mantel. When the room was restored in the early 1980s, it was thought that the mantel in place at that time was not original, so it was removed and placed in storage. However, recent physical investigation, paint analysis…

Each year, Mount Vernon has the honor of welcoming the finalists for the U.S. Navy's Fleet Sea and Shore Sailors of the Year awards. Last Monday, the 2016 nominees and their families got a behind-the-scenes look of the home of the first commander in chief as part of a week-long visit to Washington D.C. Cryptologic Technician (Technical) 1st Class Courtney…

Meet Pepperdine, a two-month-old Hog Island lamb.  Conan (yes, he's named after Conan O'Brien) is an Ossabaw hog who was born on St. Patrick's Day.  When their moms needed help raising them, Conan and Pepperdine went home with our Livestock team to be bottle fed for several weeks. While living together, the adorable duo became best friends. They…

As noted in previous blog updates, the Blue Room restoration involves many architecture-related activities. One such activity was addressing the window sashes, which were in need of repair, reglazing (resetting panes) and repainting. The window sashes are the wooden frames that hold the window panes and slide up or down in the larger window frame. The…

You Dig It? Hands-on History Lessons

Thursday, May 04, 2017

Each spring, thousands of students visit Mount Vernon to learn about history in unique and surprising ways. Last week, a group of high school seniors from Akron, Ohio, visited the estate to study archaeology. James Anderson, an alumnus of the George Washington Teachers Institute, has brought his archaeology class to the estate for the last five years…