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.
Washington depended on their labor to build and maintain his household and plantation. They, in turn, found ways to survive in a world that denied their freedom.
Pick up an audio guide to learn about the estate's history as you walk the grounds.
Look for the self-guided tour map about the Enslaved People of Mount Vernon at the Guest Services Desk.
During this 60-minute guided walking tour, learn about the daily lives of the enslaved community who built and operated Mount Vernon.
Offered daily from February – December.
Explore the interior of George Washington’s 18th-century Mansion and kitchen. A staff of enslaved butlers, housemaids, waiters, and cooks made the Washingtons’ lifestyle possible.
Entry to the Mansion is by guided tour only and requires a Mansion tour ticket.
Commemorate the enslaved community at Mount Vernon during our special wreath-laying presentations.
Offered daily from February - October.
Visit the Story of an American Icon exhibit in the Museum and learn about the different people who shaped Mount Vernon, including the formerly enslaved individuals who helped preserve and interpret George Washington’s home.
Open daily in the Museum and Education Center.
Tour the Distillery and Gristmill and learn about how enslaved distillers Hanson, Peter, Nat, Daniel, James, and Timothy performed the hot and tiring work of making whiskey.
Offered Saturdays & Sundays, April – October.
The locations below were all central to daily operations on the estate. Visit each to learn more.
This memorial marks the site where enslaved people were buried in the 18th and 19th centuries, usually without identifying markers.
In 2014, Mount Vernon's archaeologists began a multi-year project to create a map showing where individuals are interred on the ridge just southwest of Washington’s tomb. This work documents the location of each grave, and will not excavate any remains buried in the cemetery.
Learn more about the ongoing work
Tour the kitchen where enslaved cooks such as Doll, Hercules, Lucy, and Nathan, worked from 4:00 in the morning to late in the evening to prepare meals for the Washington Family and their many guests.
Learn about the complex process of 18th-century cooking and the lives of the enslaved individuals who contributed to Mount Vernon’s reputation for hospitality.
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View the reconstructed Women's and Men's bunkrooms of the Greenhouse Slave Quarters, a space that housed many of the enslaved people who worked on Mansion House Farm.
Reproduction clothing, tools, furniture, cookware, ceramics, toys, and personal accessories help depict enslaved people's living conditions and experiences.
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Visit the reconstructed blacksmith shop located on the site where enslaved blacksmiths Nat and George completed work that was essential to the running of Mount Vernon.
Chat with history interpreters to learn more about the blacksmithing trade and the lives of enslaved craftsmen.
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In the wash house, Dolsey, Vina, and other enslaved laundresses worked up to six days a week washing and drying clothes for the Washingtons, their guests, and Mount Vernon’s hired white workers.
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Learn about how enslaved men and boys, such as Peter Hardiman, were responsible for caring for and breeding Mount Vernon’s 21 horses at the coach house and stables.
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The Farm offers visitors a chance to learn more about the lives of the enslaved individuals who put Washington’s agrarian ideas into practice.
Observe historic trades interpreters as they demonstrate many of the skills that would have been performed by those assigned work at one of the outlying farms like hoeing fields, harvesting crops, or threshing wheat.
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The replica cabin allows you to see the living conditions of many of the enslaved families who lived and worked on George Washington’s outlying farms. On each farm, several cabins would be built in a cluster near the overseer’s house.
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Visit the Story of an American Icon museum exhibit and learn about the different people who shaped Mount Vernon, including the formerly enslaved individuals who helped the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association preserve and interpret George Washington’s home.
Learn More
Saturdays & Sundays, April – October, tour the Distillery and Gristmill and learn about how enslaved distillers Hanson, Peter, Nat, Daniel, James, and Timothy performed the hot and tiring work of making whiskey.
In addition to being one the largest whiskey distilleries in America in 1799, the distillery and gristmill were the central hub for the enslaved community living and working on George Washington’s Dougue Run farm.
Learn MoreLives Bound Together: Savery at George Washington's Mount Vernon was an exhibit on display from the fall of 2016 to the summer of 2021.
You can tour the exhibit virtually below.
This exhibit was on display from the fall of 2016 to the summer of 2021. Tour the exhibit virtually below.
