Mount Vernon and George Washington

We are studying the Revolutionary War and I took this opportunity to take the kids to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home.  They have a great museum there explaining more about the history of Washington's life.  We were not able to take any photos inside the family home.

Gates leading up to the house.  This house belong to George Washington's father and was passed down to George's older brother Augustine.  

When Augustine died George inherited the house and after marrying Martha enlarged the house and the farm over the years. 

View from the back porch is beautiful.  We were told the the ladies of Mount Vernon (the group that rescued the home) have fought and successfully won several court battles to keep companies from obstructing the view to keep it as George and Martha Washington had it.

George Washington was very much into architecture and  and every aspect of  his home was carefully planned and considered.   These were the privacies (bathrooms) located around the grounds.  He wanted them  beautiful and not be visually ugly to the grounds.

a replica of his wagon

This was something new I hadn't seen...The riding chair (a replica) which George Washington acquired.  these chairs were popular for riding about the country roads as they were less bulkier and inexpensive then the type of wagon in the above picture.

This is the old vault where family members of the Washington clan were buried.  When George died he willed that a new vault be constructed. 

Washington also dictated where on the property the new Vault would be built. 

George and Martha are interred inside and the other family members are buried in the back door.  No further family members can be added to the vault according the person there.

Mount Vernon grounds are extensive and we did not have time to go thru the slave quarters or see the other parts of the grounds due to it being so hot.  However I hope to return to further explore the grounds

Next we went into the museum.   This sword was used by George Washington during the French and Indian War

Dress and shoes worn by Martha Washington

We learned that George Washington had two favorite horses that he like to ride.  One was for battle as it was not skittish and the other for more formal ceremonies as it was consider prettier:)

We read about George Washington's stance on Slavery and how he ran his household.  While he was opposed to slavery and freed all the slaves he personally owned when he died.  Martha Washington did not feel the same and when one of her favorite slaves ran away, George Washington did everything he could to find her and return her to the plantation.  Luckily for her she was never caught and was able to raise a family.

Washington believe that America's future lay in westward expansion and he had two visions to accomplish this.  One was to improve the Potomac River creating a 22 mile project  which included building a canal

The other was to build a National road from the east coast to the Ohio valley  which we learned about in another museum.  I have added this to the kids lesson plans while we study George Washington.  He was a remarkable man in so many ways.