Wheat Treading at the 16-Sided Barn
See how Washington used his remarkable 16-sided barn at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is open to visitors throughout the inauguration week. We look forward to seeing you.
Located on the banks of the Potomac, the four-acre Farm site explores George Washington’s role as a visionary farmer.
The Farm represents the more than 3,000 acres Washington cultivated during the second half of the 18th century. It offers visitors a chance to learn more about the lives of the enslaved workers who put Washington’s agrarian ideas into practice.
Watch costumed interpreters demonstrate Washington's innovative farming and fishing practices, hoe fields, cook over a fire, sheer sheep, and harvest crops (activities vary day to day).
Explore a replica slave cabin and Washington's 16-sided treading barn. Stroll along the Wharf for a view across the Potomac River.
The 16-sided treading barn is George Washington’s very own invention and is used for processing wheat.
The reconstruction of Washington's barn was based on extensive documentation, including Washington's own design drawings and 19th-century photographic evidence.
The Farm is a smaller representation of Washington’s approach to farming in the 18th century.