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 Yellow Room overlooked the Potomac River and was filled with a stately suite of carved mahogany furniture, draped in a vivid yellow damask, was a reminder of the Washingtons’ beginnings and English roots.
Painted cream architectural moldings and mantel frame the space, while the yellow textiles and wallpaper distinguish it. Today, the Yellow Room holds the distinction of being the sole bedchamber that visitors actually enter, as they move from the central core of the Mansion into the Washingtons’ private living quarters.
The Yellow Room incorporates changes from significant periods in the Washingtons’ lives, from when George Washington first became the gentleman landowner of Mount Vernon to decades later, when his status as gentleman, military hero, and national leader was fully established.
In preparation for the Yellow Room’s partial restoration, the Architecture team performed thorough research and preliminary physical investigation of the room’s architecture, including the ceiling, floors, windows, framing, and woodwork.
In the 18th century, rooms were typically named after the color of their textiles, and the wall finishes were chosen to complement these. The name indicates that yellow defined the room’s textiles and wall finishes.
The 1800 inventory taken after George Washington’s death names four prints that hung in the Yellow Room. The prints, part of a collection of over 100 that Washington had amassed in Philadelphia, announced his emergence as a collector and a man of taste.
The furniture suite centered on a grand yellow damask-draped bedstead accompanied by carved “Gothick” chairs and a serpentine dressing table. These furnishings made an impressive statement about the Washingtons, their wealth and early ambitions, and their participation in a British Atlantic world of consumer goods, design, and taste.
The Yellow Room is one of the few rooms in the Mansion to be mentioned by name in multiple contexts during the 18th and early 19th centuries.
