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Spring House

A square brick structure on the east slope, overlooking the Potomac River, provides a glimpse into a little-known aspect of early Mount Vernon history.

The spring house at Mount Vernon. (MVLA)

It stands at 15-by-15 feet, beneath a pyramidal roof and latticework ventilators. Inside, a small arched opening is the intended entrance for the spring, which once collected in a small semicircular pool in the floor before exiting the building by French drain. Nineteenth-century graffiti—carved initials and painted symbols—adorns the interior brick and wooden framing.

Isolated and embedded on the steep hillside, Mount Vernon’s spring house is not accessible by the public, but the structure poses many questions to researchers. While the existing spring house was likely constructed by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in the mid-19th century, a spring house in one form or another has existed in that vicinity since George Washington’s ownership of Mount Vernon.

A spring house in one form or another has existed on the east slope since George Washington’s ownership of Mount Vernon.

What is a Spring House?

A spring house is a small building, usually of a single room, constructed over a spring with the purpose of keeping the water clean from dirt, fallen leaves, and other foreign material. In Washington’s time, it served as a source of drinking water, but it also doubled as an 18th-century refrigerator.

The water from the spring would maintain a constant cool temperature (somewhere around 55 degrees) inside the spring house throughout the year. Foods that might otherwise spoil, such as meats, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products, could be preserved longer in a spring house.

For this reason, spring houses often doubled as dairies.

Learn More About Washington's Dairy Operations

This small arched opening is the intended entrance for the spring water, which once kept the structure’s interior around 55 degrees. (MVLA)

Springs and Dairies

The spring water, latticework ventilators, and overhanging eaves were all incorporated into the design of a spring house to help maintain a cool temperature. (MVLA)

Historically, a dairy was simply a clean room where milk could sit chilled and undisturbed for a period of approximately 10 hours, until the cream rose to the surface. Temperature regulation was very important in the processing of milk. If temps were too warm, the milk would sour. If the milk got too cold, it would not coagulate correctly and could not be churned. The spring water, latticework ventilators, and overhanging eaves were all incorporated into the design of a spring house to help maintain a cool temperature.

The spring water was channeled or poured into troughs, and the milk pails would be partially submerged in these troughs to keep milk at the appropriate temperature. Frequently, the dairy was also the workroom for the churning of cream into butter.

The spring often dictated the location of a dairy, and, like at Mount Vernon, this outbuilding was often removed from the other service structures. The spring house’s hillside location was not one of convenience but necessity. The abundant springs on the east slope provided the building with the cool temperatures needed for the storage and processing of milk.

Washington makes it clear he was familiar with this concept in a 1796 document, in which he described another of his dairies, at River Farm, as “an excellent brick dairy with a fine spring in the middle of it.”

Early Evidence

This illustration overlays the original outbuildings (in blue and white) onto Mount Vernon's existing layout (red and white), designed and constructed by Washington in the 1770s. The early dairy was located southwest of the Mansion. (MVLA)

A spring house, or dairy, has existed at Mount Vernon at least since Washington’s older half-brother Lawrence owned the estate.

When George Washington began leasing Mount Vernon in 1754, a small dairy existed just west of the Mansion. However, account books from 1763 note the purchase of “2 Large Churnes,” “Lathing and Planking” for a “Spring House” at the “Home Hous,” and “900 Lathing nails” for the “Dayere.” Assuming that the “Spring House” and “Dayere” are the same building, these entries could indicate a 1763 construction date for the original spring house on the east slope.

Perhaps Washington decided the take advantage of the cool spring waters on the hillside, moving his dairy operations from the outbuilding by the Mansion to this new structure.

The first visual evidence of the spring house was recorded by Samuel Vaughan during his visit to Mount Vernon in June 1787. This sketch plan of the estate in Vaughan’s diary denotes a building at or near the location of the present spring house (marked "18" at top right) and refers to it as the “spring house.” (MVLA)

References to the Spring House

The first reference that gives conclusive evidence of the spring house’s existence on the east slope is a survey Washington conducted in 1786, in which he mentions the “spring—at the Dairy—which is about 50 feet above high water mark.”

The first visual evidence of the spring house was recorded by Samuel Vaughan during his visit to Mount Vernon in June 1787. A sketch plan of the estate in Vaughan’s diary denotes a building at or near the location of the present spring house and refers to it as the “spring house.” In his second, finalized version of the sketch, Vaughan refers to this building as the “Dairy.”

Correspondence during the later months of 1792 between Washington and Anthony Whiting, his superintendent, frequently mentions the spring house on the east slope and efforts to control the path of water from the hillside’s springs.

Learn More About the Vaughan Plan

Abandoned

There’s little mention of the spring house in Washington’s final years. Just days before his death in 1799, Washington expressed frustration with the estate’s butter production, perhaps suggesting Mount Vernon’s dairies were inactive.

Around 1815, Washington’s nephew Bushrod Washington, who inherited Mount Vernon, constructed a dairy just south of the kitchen, and apparently the spring house on the east slope was abandoned. Presumably, the spring house was demolished at some point, either by Washington descendants or the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.

Just days before his death in 1799, Washington expressed frustration with the estate’s butter production, perhaps suggesting Mount Vernon’s dairies were inactive.

The Existing Spring House

This photograph from 1932 includes the spring house on the bottom left. (MVLA)

It has been hypothesized that the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA) constructed the existing spring house during the organization’s early days, sometime shortly after their acquisition of the property in 1858. This would explain the lack of documentation, for detailed records were not kept on all activities during these early years.

Architecturally, the spring house, although a 19th-century construction, is appropriate for the time period of interpretation. Its basic features (size, overhanging eaves, louvered ventilators) match other dairies in the region from the 18th century.

Stereoscopic view from the ice house looking downhill towards the roof of the spring house, c. 1870. (MVLA)

Spring House

Take an inside look at Mount Vernon's spring house, a structure that isn't accessible to the public.

Preservation Over the Years

A view of the interior wood framing of the spring house roof. (MVLA)

By its nature, a spring house is built on ground that is uneven and damp, often leading to structural issues. Over the decades, Mount Vernon staff has made many repairs to the spring house: fixing cracks and brick separation, replacing the shingles, and repairing wood decay.

Colonel Harrison Howell Dodge, an early superintendent of Mount Vernon, suggested that the building was a reconstruction, not a replica, of the original. Since documentation does not exist to prove or disprove his theory, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association treats the spring house as a valuable component of the estate that deserves preservation.

A Revealing Structure

Though much is unknown about the spring house, it does enhance our understanding of life at Mount Vernon.

The presence of a dairy conveys the richness of Washington’s table. Having fresh milk and butter was unusual for the time; only the wealthy planter class was accustomed to such extravagance. The spring house also speaks to Mount Vernon’s self-sufficiency and is further testament to Washington’s entrepreneurial spirit.

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The home of America’s first president, George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate is now one of the nation’s most visited historic sites.

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Spring House

A spring house in one form or another has existed on the east slope since George Washington’s ownership of Mount Vernon.

What is a Spring House?

Springs and Dairies

Early Evidence

References to the Spring House

Abandoned

Just days before his death in 1799, Washington expressed frustration with the estate’s butter production, perhaps suggesting Mount Vernon’s dairies were inactive.

The Existing Spring House

Spring House

Preservation Over the Years

A Revealing Structure

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