Open 365 days a year, Mount Vernon is located just 15 miles south of Washington DC.
From the mansion to lush gardens and grounds, intriguing museum galleries, immersive programs, and the distillery and gristmill. Spend the day with us!
Discover what made Washington "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".
The Mount Vernon Ladies Association has been maintaining the Mount Vernon Estate since they acquired it from the Washington family in 1858.
Need help with homework? Our Digital Encyclopedia has all of the answers students and teachers need.
The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.
George Washington studied and implemented improved farming methods throughout his life. In fact, he thought of himself first as a farmer.
George Washington devoted his life to the improvement of American agriculture.
While his initial interest in farming was driven by his own needs to earn a living and improve Mount Vernon, in later years Washington realized his leadership and experimentation could assist all American farmers.
Initially growing tobacco as his cash crop, Washington soon realized that tobacco was not sustainable and he switched to grains, particularly wheat as a cash crop in 1766. Washington read the latest works on agriculture and implemented the new husbandry methods using a variety of fertilization methods and crop rotation plans on his five farms.
George Washington took an early interest in husbandry and agricultural improvement. Learn more about Washington’s desire to improve the state of American agriculture through careful experimentation.
The majority of enslaved people at Mount Vernon were assigned to agricultural work on the plantation’s four outlying farms. Under the supervision of overseers, field hands toiled from sunrise to sunset, which could mean 14-hour days in the summer.
Dean Norton, Director of Horticulture uncovers the truth about George Washington and hemp.
"Every Labourer (male or female) does as much in the 24 hours as their strength without endangering the health, or constitution will allow of." - George Washington, 1789
Learn about the history of dairying at Mount Vernon and Washington's desire to set an example for his countrymen.
A series of savvy decisions kept Washington on the forefront of the American agricultural industry.
Learn how George Washington worked to develop the Dogue Run Farm - one of the five farms at Mount Vernon - into one of his most productive fields.
This map shows the historic boundaries of George Washington's five farms at Mount Vernon superimposed over today's modern landscape. Much of this once-rural landscape remains free from development today.
George Washington personally kept fastidious financial records throughout his life, an impressive feat considering the size of his business enterprise.
Tour the four-acre farm, whose highlights include a scrupulously crafted replica of Washington’s ingenious 16-sided treading barn and a reconstructed slave cabin.
No endeavor better represented Washington’s entrepreneurial spirit than his three fisheries along the Potomac River spanning his 10 miles of coastline at Mount Vernon
View our collection of farming and agriculture related videos
Plowing the Fields
16-Sided Barn at Mount Vernon's Farm
Duke and Earl haul treaded wheat from the 16-sided barn
Wheat Treading at the 16-Sided Barn
Sheep at Mount Vernon
Gathering wheat for treading
Corn growing at the Farm
Upper Garden Vegetables
Potato Harvest at Mount Vernon
A Tobacco Leaf
Peaches at Mount Vernon
