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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.
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The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.
Martha Washington's son, John "Jacky" Parke Custis, and his new wife, Eleanor Calvert, assembled an impressive array of imported English silver soon after they married in 1774. It included twenty-four dessert spoons featuring the Custis crest. This is one of sixteen French spoons made at a later date…
Chinese hand-painted blue and white porcelain in standard patterns, such as landscape and river scenes, offered Westerners a romanticized glimpse of the exotic East and were prized for their durability and artistry. This plate is part of an extensive dinner service which once belonged to Elizabeth Willing…
This towering looking glass caught President George Washington’s eye while at the handsome New York mansion of the Comte de Moustier, the visiting French envoy to the United States. After Moustier was recalled to France in October 1789, Washington rented his former residence and purchased a sizable…
Men and women in colonial Virginia enjoyed taking snuff, a preparation of finely ground tobacco often enhanced with aromatic oils, herbs, or spices. Household accounts indicate Martha Washington favored "best Violette Strasberg," a scented snuff popular among women. She probably stored her snuff in this…
George Washington's purchases while he was attending the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia anticipated his return to military duty. This razor case may be the "Travelling razor case ?2" he bought in May 1775. Painted with mahogany graining, the box is outfitted with a mirror, a removable…
Just weeks before his second term as President ended in March 1797, Washington purchased "2 doz chairs & 2 sideboards" from Philadelphia cabinetmaker John Aitken. Washington shipped the stylish furniture to Mount Vernon, where it graced his newest and most public room, the two-story dining room. This…
In August 1759, George Washington received from London, "3 Salvers, 1 Top piece, 1 dozn Sullibub Glasses, 2 dozen Jellys, 1 dozen Sweet Meat ditto [glasses], [and] 2 dozn Baskets." Together, this glassware formed one of the most stunning centerpieces of the day-a pyramid of round glass salvers displaying…
In August 1759, George Washington received from London, "3 Salvers, 1 Top piece, 1 dozn Sullibub Glasses, 2 dozen Jellys, 1 dozen Sweet Meat ditto [glasses], [and] 2 dozn Baskets." Together, this glassware formed one of the most stunning centerpieces of the day-a pyramid of round glass salvers displaying…
George Washington's campaign furniture, like that of his English officer counterparts, not only provided him the comforts of home while in the field of war, but attested to his rank and distinction. In October 1775, shortly after assuming command of the Continental Army, he acquired "a Field Bedstead…
This mathematical treatise is the earliest known book signed by George Washington. At the time he autographed and dated it, Washington was eighteen and in the midst of a three-year career working as surveyor on the frontier lands of Culpeper County, Virginia. Early examples of Washington's signature…
In 1797, Philadelphia cabinetmaker John Aitken supplied two dozen elliptic-cornered, square-back side chairs to George Washington for use in his "New Room" at Mount Vernon. The design of this chair is remarkably similar to surviving Washington examples, suggesting that it may also be from Aitken's shop…
In 1797, Philadelphia cabinetmaker John Aitken supplied two dozen elliptic-cornered square back side chairs to George Washington for use in his "New Room" at Mount Vernon. The design of this chair is remarkably similar to surviving Washington examples, suggesting that it may also be from Aitken's shop…
This skillfully framed, mirrored platform is one of seven sections of an oblong plateau that descended in the family of Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Martha Custis Peter. It may have been part of the “2 Sets Platteaux [$]100” listed in the Lumber (Storage) Rooms at Mount Vernon in the inventory…
