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 help with homework? Our Digital Encyclopedia has all of the answers students and teachers need.
The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.
The heavy, stepped foot of this vessel and its engraved decoration suggest it was purchased by George Washington in the 1790s. The Washingtons likely used it to serve cider or beer during the first course of dinners at Mount Vernon. Rummers derived their name from the German drinking glass known as a…
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 six French spoons made at a later date which…
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 six French spoons made at a later date which…
This high stemmed glass may have been among the many "enameled" wine glasses George Washington acquired for his table in the 1760s and 1770s. The term "enameled" refers to the opaque white glass rods embedded in the stem, which glassmakers fashioned into a dazzling variety of spirals and twists. Washington…
On February 10, 1796, upon learning of his eldest step-granddaughter's engagement to Thomas Law, George Washington writes this letter of congratulations to him. Washington's fatherly interest in the betrothal of Eliza "Betsey" Parke Custis is apparent. He expresses surprise, gives his blessing, and…
George Washington engaged in an exchange of ideas with the Scottish agriculturalist and economist James Anderson. Washington received a gratis subscription to Anderson's publication, The Bee, and this is one of eighteen volumes of the publication that were in the inventory of Washington's library. …
Throughout his life, George Washington acquired an extensive collection of books on the subjects of military history and politics. This six-volume set, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by the English historian Edward Gibbon, was listed in the inventory of Washington's library…
The Washingtons kept a large quantity of china and cutlery on hand at Mount Vernon to accommodate the dining needs of the constant stream of guests to the estate. The inventory taken after Washington's death listed eight "knife cases" used to store utensils. This example holds thirty-seven pieces of…
The tea urn was the centerpiece of the tea table in the late eighteenth century. Its imposing form, modeled on the urns of classical antiquity, elegantly fulfilled its function as a hot water basin. John "Jacky" Parke Custis may have ordered this urn as a part of an extensive suite of silver purchased…
This imposing desk and ledger-case may have served as the center of operations in the office of plantation manager or merchant. Its interior is arranged as a compact and efficient workspace with pigeonholes and drawers for filing and storage, a fold-out writing surface, and vertical partitions in the…
Each of the ten bedrooms at Mount Vernon was simply, but adequately furnished for the convenience of the family, friends, and admiring guests that came each year to visit George and Martha Washington. A dressing table or a wash stand, outfitted with a water basin and jug, allowed company to maintain…
Like their contemporaries, George and Martha Washington used attractive, durable, and relatively inexpensive Windsor chairs in a variety of spaces. The household inventory taken after George Washington died records 30 placed outside on the Mansion's piazza, with another 10 in a first-floor parlor and…
Gorgets were worn about the neck by on-duty officers during the Revolutionary War. From a distance their crescent shape was recognized as a symbol of rank, and close-up their engraved decoration often testified to their owner's regimental affiliation and patriotic fervor. This example belonged to Lieutenant…
During the Washingtons' final years of retirement, the arrival of unexpected guests in need of refreshment and hospitality was a frequent occurrence at Mount Vernon. When the Polish visitor Julian Niemcewicz arrived at Mount Vernon in 1798, Martha Washington "appeared after a few minutes, welcomed us…
The invoices among George Washington's papers suggest he was frequently in need of new decanters to replace damaged ones and to offer a generous choice of beverages to his guests. Washington likely filled them with the imported wines he favored - madeira, claret, and port - as well as punch and cordials…
Drinking punch in the eighteenth-century was a convivial social occasion with a distinct equipage. The London date mark of 1750-1751 on this strainer suggests that it was part of the Custis plate brought by Martha Washington to Mount Vernon from her first marriage. A necessary implement of fashionable…
George Washington sent this purchase order, written in his own handwriting, to his agent in London, Robert Cary & Co., on June 20, 1768. Washington requests nails, buttons, scissors, linens, sugar and spices, fishing equipment, red sealing wax, gloves, shoe buckles, dress-goods, and similar items. One…
Philadelphian David Rittenhouse (1732-1796) was a gifted astronomer, mathematician and scientific instruments maker. President George Washington acknowledged his skills by appointing him first director of the United States Mint on April 14, 1792. Rittenhouse died in June 1796, and this print - after…
