Get to Know Stories of the Enslaved at Mount Vernon
Spend the day at Mount Vernon exploring the lives and loss of enslaved couples Boatswain and Myrtilla, and Hercules and Alice through a special guided tour and family activities.
Both enslaved families featured during this event suffered the loss of a loved one. Although a footnote to the farm management documents, the loss of young Boatswain, a son and brother, and of Alice, a mother and wife, transformed the lives of many who knew and loved them.
Fill Your Day with Activities
Learn Something New at the Activity Hub
10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Visit with Mount Vernon educators at the Tomb Grove to learn about the Slave Memorial & African American Burial Ground and how archaeology has shaped what we know about the space.
Make your own remembrance marker to place at Mount Vernon's Slave Memorial.
Take a Specialty Tour
10 a.m. & 1 p.m. (Free Tour Ticket Required)
Learn about the daily lives of the men, women, and children of the enslaved community who labored and loved at Mount Vernon. Lives, Loves, and Losses is an immersive tour that offers an in-depth look at the experiences of two enslaved families—Boatswain & Myrtilla and Hercules & Alice—as they navigated love, resilience, and loss. In an hour-long tour:
- Walk the same paths as Boatswain, Myrtilla, and their children, and learn about their daily lives.
- See where enslaved women like Alice and Myrtilla worked tirelessly to produce basic textiles.
Take part in honoring their lives, their loves, and the losses that shaped their community. Immediately following this tour, accompany the guide down to participate in a moving tribute at the Slave Memorial & African American Burial Ground.
Watch the Slave Memorial Ceremony
11:15 a.m. & 3:15 p.m.
Join us at the Slave Memorial & African American Burial Ground for a moving tribute. Hear select biographies of individuals from the 317 enslaved people documented as living here in 1799.
Learn about Mount Vernon’s ongoing efforts to memorialize the enslaved community, from the establishment of the 1983 Memorial—comprising three circles symbolizing faith, hope, and love—to the ongoing archaeological project, started in 2014, that continues to uncover and honor the graves within the African American burial ground.
Explore the Historic Area
Tour the Mansion
To enter the Mansion, you must reserve timed entry tickets when purchasing your ticket.
Please note that the New Room, Study, Servants’ Hall, and Kitchen are open. All other rooms are off-view due to preservation work.
Watch Demonstrations at the Spinning House
9 a.m. - 1 p.m. & 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Stop by the spinning house to learn about the enslaved and hired spinners and weavers and 18th-century cloth production.
Visit the Farm
See Cooking Demonstrations
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Visit the pole shelter to learn about recipes of the enslaved community at Mount Vernon.
Learn About Foodways of the Enslaved
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Head to the replica slave cabin to learn about the role of foraging and gardening in the lives of the enslaved people.
Observe Sheep Shearing Demonstrations
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. & 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Watch and learn as the livestock staff uses traditional shears to shear the sheep. The fleece is gathered and used in various demonstrations later in the year.
Visit Our Lives Bound Together: Slavery at Mount Vernon Exhibit
Learn about the enslaved people who lived and worked at George Washington’s five farms, gristmill, and distillery within the quarters of the historic area.
Find out how enslaved people formed families, created tight-knit communities, earned money, and acquired personal possessions.
Discover recently-excavated archaeological artifacts that highlight the humanity and work of these men, women, and children.
Explore the legacy of George Washington’s decision in his will to free those enslaved to him—the only founding father to do so—and the ongoing efforts by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and its vital community partners to research and share the lives of people enslaved at Mount Vernon.
Lives, Loves, & Loss
Remembering the Enslaved People of Mount Vernon
Online Exhibit: "Live Bound Together"
Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon explores the personal stories of the people enslaved at Mount Vernon while providing insight into George Washington’s evolving opposition to slavery.