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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.
This looking glass may have been among the “Brackets glasses etc” purchased by George Washington on March 16, 1791 from carver and gilder James Reynolds. They likely graced the Green Drawing Room of the presidential manse in Philadelphia. Mounted on a wall behind an oil lamp supported on a wall…
This reconstructed wine cooler incorporates elements (the lion’s masks and the staves to which they are attached, one handle, and the brass bands) from a cooler believed to have been originally owned by George Washington. In the dining room, hosts placed these lead- or zinc-lined tubs within arm’s…
This looking glass may have been among the “Brackets glasses etc” purchased by George Washington on March 16, 1791 from carver and gilder James Reynolds. They likely graced the Green Drawing Room of the presidential manse in Philadelphia. Mounted on a wall behind an oil lamp supported on a wall…
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…
Crafted with simple lines and minimal decoration, this chair, one of a set of four at Mount Vernon, reflects the "neat and plain" aesthetic common to Virginia furniture of the eighteenth century. It was originally owned by Dr. James Craik, a longtime friend of George Washington.
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…
When financier and art collector William Wilson Corcoran acquired this dish, it came with a history of having been owned by George Washington. No evidence to confirm this tradition has come to light, but Washington would likely have been familiar with similar wares used in the homes of his contemporaries…
In the early nineteenth century, cabinetmakers and their customers referred to high-back, upholstered armchairs as lolling chairs, intended for "lolling" or reclining in a relaxed posture. Antiquarians later dubbed them "Martha Washington" chairs, perhaps in honor of their regal simplicity and distinctly…
Glass enclosed lanterns with ornate housings provided the ideal means for lighting drafty passages in eighteenth-century homes. In 1760, George Washington ordered "1 handsome glass Lanthorne for Passage - wt. Lamps & 10 Gals. Oyl" from his London factors. Though the Chippendale style of the lantern he…
As president, George Washington regularly held formal dinners at his executive residence. Such occasions were marked by carefully selected tablewares purchased by Congress. They included elegant ivory- and silver-handled cutlery and flatware. Although the presidential service was probably sold at a 1797…
Bottle sliders or "coasters" permitted diners to move wine bottles across the table and refill their own glasses more easily while preventing the table's wood surface from being damaged by moisture. With its orderly pierced bands, perfectly symmetrical flowers and neatly engraved festoons, Washington's…
In 1762, George Washington ordered from London a complete set of new china and flatware, including fourteen silver tablespoons to compliment the ten he already owned. His purchase reflected not only his own passion for orderly appearances, but his desire to adopt the genteel dining practices of the…
This Louis XVI-style chair is possibly one of six "small chairs" Washington purchased from the Comte de Moustier in 1790. It was used en suite with similarly upholstered armchairs, stools, and a sofa in the New York and Philadelphia presidential residences before being sold at public auction in March…
Throughout the Revolution, George Washington obtained a variety of trunks in which to store and transport his belongings. This trunk may be one of "4 Black Leather Campaign Trunks with Leather Straps" mentioned in a June 1781 inventory of articles left in the charge of Richard Varick, Washington's recording…
