Mount Vernon (Va. : Estate). Union Farm

Map of Mount Vernon's farm divisions

The Union Farm was composed of two smaller farms known as "The Ferry" and "French's." Both were acquired by George Washington in six purchases between 1769 and 1786. With the final purchase completed in October 1786, Washington resurveyed the individual tracts into two farms, each with orderly seven-field crop systems. Washington envisioned the farms as a single operating unit, placing his new farm complex at the center of the two farms. By November of 1788 the two farms were united under one manager. The farms retained separate identities for several more years, however, and the barn built there in 1788 was often referred to as "the New Barn," "the barn at Ferry and French's," or as "the Ferry Barn."