Coach House

Inside General Washington's Coach House or "garage" is a riding chair. It consists of a wooden chair on a cart with two wheels and was pulled by a single horse. This type of vehicle was perfect for traveling along the narrow country lanes around Mount Vernon. 

As a young man, Washington acquired a riding chair similar to the 18th-century example displayed in the Coach House alongside a modern reproduction. Popular in America and England, riding chairs could travel country lanes and back roads more easily than bulkier four-wheeled chariots and coaches. They were also relatively inexpensive compared to other wheeled vehicles. Carriages were taxed by the number of wheels, so a two-wheeled riding chair could save the owner money. Members of all social classes used these chairs to traverse the rough Virginia terrain.