Mount Vernon (Va. : Estate)

Dates:

Establishment

History notes:

Mount Vernon is located on the Potomac River near the city of Alexandria, Virginia, and is best known as the home of George and Martha Washington. George Washington's ancestors acquired the estate when it was known as Little Hunting Creek Plantation. In 1740, Lawrence Washington renamed the plantation Mount Vernon after the English naval officer Admiral Edward Vernon, under whom he served.

Under George Washington, the plantation reached a size of nearly 8,000 acres and was divided into five farms for the purposes of management. These included the Mansion farm, River farm, Muddy Hole farm, Dogue farm, and Union farm. Approximately 200 enslaved people and other workers lived on the farms.

The Estate was subsequently owned by Martha Washington (1799 - 1802); Bushrod Washington (1802 – 1829); John Augustine Washington II (1829 - 1832); and John Augustine Washington III (1850 - 1858). It was then purchased by the Mount Vernon ladies Association of the Union in 1858, and opened to the public as a museum and historic site.