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 primary and secondary sources, videos, or interactives? Explore our Education Pages!
The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.
The young Marquis arrived in America at the age of 19, ready to serve the cause of liberty in the American Revolution. He quickly became part of Washington’s military family, and, over the years, their relationship grew to that of a father and his adoptive son.
George Washington met the 19-year-old Marquis de Lafayette on August 5, 1777, less than a week after the Continental Congress appointed the young Frenchman to be a volunteer Major General in the Continental Army.
Lafayette was assigned to serve on Washington's staff. Lafayette, one of the richest young men in France, left his home country on March 25, 1777, filled with desire to fight against the British in the American Revolution. He would become a valued member of General Washington's close-knit military family.
One of the richest young men in France, Marquis de Lafayette left his home country on March 25, 1777, filled with desire to fight against the British in the American Revolution.
Explore the consequential relationship between Lafayette and George Washington.
Marquis de Lafayette spent most of December 1777 and January 1778 with George Washington and his Continental Army troops at their winter quarters at Valley Forge.
In the closing days of the American Revolution, Marquis de Lafayette wrote his old commander George Washington suggesting an experiment: the two would purchase land where enslaved people could then work as free tenants.
Read a letter written by Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington after the Battle of the Virginia Capes, September 8, 1781.
Washington's relationship with the French evolved over the course of an action-packed lifetime.
Take a closer look at a portrait of Marquis de Lafayette commissioned by Washington in 1779 and displayed in the Mansion for many years.
Associate Curator Adam Erby provides an in-depth look at the Bastille Key that was presented to George Washington by Lafayette and has remained at Mount Vernon.
Curator Adam T. Erby takes viewers on a tour of the stunning Lafayette Bedchamber, restored and reopened to the public in 2022.
