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.
In 1674, John Washington and his friend Nicholas Spencer were awarded a 5,000-acre land grant from Lord Thomas Culpeper under a dispensation from King Charles II of England.
The grant consisted of a peninsula in the Potomac River, bordered by Dogue Run and Little Hunting Creek. The land would be divided equally between Washington and Spencer, but the entirety of the grant would one day become George Washington's Mount Vernon.
previous owners of mount vernon
George Washington's half-brother Lawrence inherited the Little Hunting Creek Plantation from his father in 1743. Lawrence changed the name of the estate to Mount Vernon after Admiral Edward Vernon, his old commander from the British Navy.
Lawrence had served under Admiral Vernon in 1741 during the Battle of Cartagena de Indias during the War of Jenkins' Ear.
John Augustine Washington III formally took ownership of Mount Vernon in 1850, but he had been running operations at the estate for nearly a decade prior.
Augustine made unsuccessful attempts to sell Mount Vernon to the federal government, and to the state of Virginia. Thankfully, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association stepped in to become the owner of the property in 1858. For the last 150 years, the organization has worked tirelessly to restore and maintain the Mansion, grounds, and outbuildings.
You can explore historic Mount Vernon from your home or classroom. Our new Virtual Tour includes 360-degree panoramic images and clickable points of interest.
As a privately funded institution we rely upon people just like you to help keep George Washington's legacy alive.
Thomas Edison at the Washingtons' tomb (MVLA)
One of the most perplexing issues regarding historic preservation is whether or not to install modern utility systems. Such was the case when the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association assembled at Mount Vernon in 1916 to discuss a proposal by Thomas Edison's firm to "electrify" the Mansion for the first time.
After touring the estate with his wife in 1923, Henry Ford informed superintendent Colonel Harrison Dodge that he believed the estate was ill-prepared for a fire outbreak. When he returned home, Ford directed his staff to send Mount Vernon its first fire engine.
The built-to-order American-LaFrance Combination Chemical and Hose Car arrived at the estate on August 16, 1923. Thirteen years later, he replaced the engine with a more advanced model and encouraged the Association to form its own fire department, to install fire hydrants, and to upgrade alarms.
ford's philanthropy
President Roosevelt on April 14, 1939, as part of the celebration of the sesquicentennial of the U.S. Constitution
In the 19th and most of the 20th centuries, sitting presidents of the United States were frequent visitors to George Washington's home. Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and many others have paid their respects to the first president.
Especially in recent years, we have also welcomed many of the First Ladies, including Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, and many others.
which presidents visited mount vernon?
1st President of the United States. Mount Vernon was Washington's home from 1754 until his death in 1799.
3rd President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on January 3, 1801 to pay a condolence call on Martha Washington who was greiving the recent death of her husband.
7th President of the United States. Visited in November of 1815.
11th President of the United States. Came to Mount Vernon in June 1845 with his wife, Sarah Childress Polk and former First Lady, Dolley Payne Madison.
15th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in 1860 with the Prince of Wales.
16th President of the United States. In 1862, during the Civil War, Lincoln came to Mount Vernon via steam boat down the Potomac River.
19th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on Saturday, May 18, 1878 with his wife.
23rd President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in May of 1889.
25th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on Thursday, December 14, 1899 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of George Washington's death.
26th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon many times with his family.
27th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in 1912 to place a wreath at Washington's tomb.
28th President of the United States. Visited several times, including a grandiose Independence Day celebration in 1918.
30th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon twice during his administration.
31st President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on Washington's 198th birthday in 1930, and again, two years later, on the 200th.
32nd President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon on May 15, 1933 and many other occasions.
35th President of the United States. Hosted a state dinner at Mount Vernon for President Ayub Khan of Pakistan on Tuesday, July 11, 1961.
38th President of the United States. Visited Mount Vernon in 1961 as a Congressman and again in 1976 during his presidency.
40th President of the United States. Came to Mount Vernon on Monday, February 22, 1982 with First Lady Nancy Reagan to commemorate the 250th birthday of George Washington.
41st President of the United States. Landed the presidential helicopter on the Bowling Green on Wednesday, April 19, 1989.
43rd President of the United States. Paid a visit with Mrs. Bush on the Presidents’ Day holiday in 2007; came back in November of the same year to meet with the new president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.
The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association welcomed President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, and Emmanuel Macron, the President of the French Republic, and his wife, Brigitte, for a private tour and dinner at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on Monday, April 23, 2018.
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Mount Vernon on Sunday, January 30, 2022, to address the National Governors Association (NGA). They traveled to Mount Vernon by Marine One and landed on the 12-acre field overlooking the Mansion. The previous evening’s wintery mix provided a snowy ground cover, and George Washington’s iconic Mansion was illuminated for the occasion.
Frances Payne Bolton, Vice Regent for Ohio (MVLA)
In the 1950s, rumors of an oil tank farm on the banks of the Potomac River brought increasing fears that the timeless view from the mansion’s piazza was at risk of disappearing forever.
Knowing this would irreversibly change the landscape across the river, Mrs. Frances Payne Bolton, Vice Regent for Ohio of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, purchased the nearly 500 acres, which led her to organize one of the nation’s earliest land trusts.
George Washington's view across the Potomac River from the mansion piazza (Ron Hirshon)
Later, President Kennedy later signed Public Law 87-362, effectively authorizing the creation of Piscataway National Park. The government continued to purchase land along the riverbank and the Park now encompasses over 4,650 acres (roughly the size of more than 3,500 football fields) and stretches six miles along the Maryland shoreline opposite George Washington’s home.
help us preserve washington's view
The George Washington Memorial Parkway is a picturesque drive, maintained by the National Park Service, that runs the length of the Potomac River. Today one can travel from Washington, D.C. to Mount Vernon in approximately 30 minutes by way of the Parkway. However this wasn't always the case.
Steamboats ran as early as 1874 to Mount Vernon, the first the Mary Washington was built by Quaker Paul Hillman troth in 1874. It held 1,500 passengers and would run round trip to Mount Vernon for 50 cents and included admission to the Estate.
In 1892, construction began on the Alexandria & Mount Vernon Electric Railway which connected Alexandria and Mount Vernon. The trolley was cheap, convenient, and enormously popular, immediately replacing the steamboat as the preferred means of visiting Mount Vernon.
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The 16-sided barn at the Pioneer Farm site (MVLA)
George Washington established himself as an innovative farmer, who switched from tobacco to wheat as his main cash crop in the 1760's. In an effort to improve his farming operation, he diligently experimented with new crops, fertilizers, crop rotation, tools, and livestock breeding.
Shortly after taking up wheat as his main cash crop, Washington built a large gristmill outfitted with two pairs of millstones. One pair of stones ground corn into meal for use at Mount Vernon and the other ground wheat into superfine flour for export to foreign ports.
Washington also began making whiskey on the advice of his farm manager, James Anderson, a trained distiller from Scotland. He soon built one of the largest distilleries in America. At its peak, Washington’s distillery produced over 11,000 gallons of rye whiskey, becoming one of his most successful enterprises.
After his death in 1799, a mourning nation wanted to honor their first president by burying him at the United States Capitol building in Washington D.C. That never happened.
In his last will and testament, George Washington included explicit instructions to be entombed at his home at Mount Vernon in Virginia. He also left provisions for a new brick tomb to be constructed which was not completed until 1831.
Inside the new tomb, two marble sarcophagi mark the final resting place of George and Martha Washington, which can be seen by visitors today.
