Mount Vernon's Influence On George Washington

In the United States, there are many famous people, inventions, and wars. In Washington D.C., there are many monuments celebrating and remembering these famous people and events. One memorial, a couple miles south of Washington D.C., is Mount Vernon, also known as the home of George Washington. The property is more than just his home; it is his birthplace, his home, and it is his grave. Mount Vernon was built long before George Washington, but for 45 years, he almost completely remodeled and expanded the home to reflect his status as a Virginia gentleman. Today, the home is owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union and they preserved the property. Mount Vernon is now one of the oldest ongoing preservation projects in the United

Years before George Washington was born, his great grandfather, John Washington, became the owner of Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union 13). When the property was passed down to George Washington’s grandfather, Lawrence Washington, he renamed the estate Mount Vernon in honor of Admiral Edward Vernon rather than the original name, Little Hunting Creek plantation (The Editors of Encyclopᴂdia Britannica n.p.). George was born on the property. Washington worked to improve the appearance of the Mansion, outbuildings, extensive gardens, and grounds. Also, George took this time to expand the plantation to eight thousand acres (n.p. n.d.). After George Washington was elected president, he only visited Mount Vernon fifteen times during his eight years of presidency. After the eight years, Washington returned to the estate and soon died afterwards. In 1853, Ann Pamela Cunningham believed that Mount Vernon should become a monument and formed the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union. After five years, the association raised two hundred thousand dollars and bought the house and two hundred acres of the original estate. Finally, as Ann Pamela Cunningham desired, Mount Vernon became a United States

It took nearly half a century for George Washington to expand his plantation and make sure that every detail of the Mansion and outside buildings make Mount Vernon look its best. One thing is that George Washington painted the small dining room in the Mansion a rigid green color because he found the color was “grateful to the eye” and less likely to fade. Also, in the Mansion, sits Martha Washington’s porcelain tea service in the west parlor. She used to serve tea to guests. As a gift from Lafayette, George was given a key to a French prison, the Bastille. In the library, original books from Washington’s original collection still sit there. On the grounds of the estate, there are special features and places there. For one thing, there is always a home for sheep in the paddock on Mount Vernon all year round. Another interesting place is the Slave Memorial and Burial Ground. The memorial is a cemetery for all the slaves who worked on the Mount Vernon property. Just southwest of the Mansion lies George and Martha Washington themselves. The old family vault was turned into a tomb as a request from George and was moved there after dying in his bed (n.p. n.d.). George Washington succeeded in his goal to make Mount Vernon look the way it does today.

Mount Vernon is a monument in our country that has been preserved