Mount Vernon, the home of America’s first president, is one of the most popular places to visit in America. Each year 1 million people tour George Washington’s Mount Vernon, making it a top United States attraction. I recently took a tour and was surprised by how many things there are to do.
Mount Vernon is special because it was the beloved home of America’s first President and an American landmark. More than that, it’s historically essential preservation of colonial America depicting a way of life long gone. Not only is the original home preserved, but so are the grounds and the artifacts of the plantation community. It is also the site of Washington’s grave.
Washington inherited the home and lived at it before he became a Revolutionary War General and after serving two terms as President. He worked to renovate, preserve and add to the home throughout his lifetime. Today, over 500 acres surround the house, but in Washington’s time, there were about 8,000 acres.
Arriving at George Washington’s Home
Because it is one of the most visited historic homes in the country, they’ve developed a lively welcome center to engage, educate and showcase information about Washington and Mount Vernon.
Fun Fact: The White House in Washington D.C. is the most visited historic home, with nearly 2 million visitors yearly.
Several large parking lots lead to a ticketing queue and a museum. This is also where you’ll find the Mount Vernon Inn and gift shops. Inside the spacious, modern center, you’ll find a large movie theatre giving an excellent overview of Washington and Martha Washinton’s Custis family members. There’s also information about those enslaved there and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association – attributed with preserving the estate after it was abandoned and left to deteriorate.
You must walk to Mount Vernon from there, but it’s no hardship; the gardens are spectacular.
Grounds and Gardens of Mount Vernon
The trails are peppered with smaller houses and sheds that house the many tools and functions necessary to run the plantation. The several elaborate gardens are arranged in artful patterns filled with fragrant peonies, fancy tulips, sweet William and much more. They also sell many of the unique plants grown on the plantation.
Upper Garden and Greenhouse
The Upper Garden and Greenhouse are filled with fragrant flowers outside and exotic plants and fruit trees inside. Near the greenhouse were bunk rooms that once housed enslaved people, weaving rooms, smokehouses, blacksmith shops, kitchens, and other small buildings.
Lower Garden
Used for the kitchen and filled with fruits and vegetables.
Botanical Garden
Found behind the spinning house, it’s where Washington experimented with plants.
Fruit Garden and Nursery
Cherries, apples, peaches, apricots and other fruit orchards grow here.
If you follow the trails, they all eventually lead to Mount Vernon.
Inside Mount Vernon
All tickets are timed, and visitors gather in groups of about 20 to walk through the house together. A line set up near the great lawn is where you get your first glimpse of the estate.
Fun Fact: Washington inherited the house from his half-brother Lawrence who named it Mount Vernon after his former Navy commander.
From a distance, the house is large, though not imposing. It is dignified, though not grand, like Monticello. From its position behind the great lawn, you can tell it is a home for a stately but humble man – a gentleman planter.
Fun Fact: The house’s exterior looks like stone, but it was too expensive, so workers covered pine siding with white paint mixed with sand, making it look like they constructed it with sandstone blocks.
Flanking the house on either side are two large houses for the enslaved or indentured people to perform their duties adjacent to the household. We enter through the cloakroom on the left and, from there, into a grand reception room.
Inside the first room, there are 15-foot ceilings with ornate plasterwork on the ceiling depicting farming implements and agriculture. The wallpaper was flashy and colorful, as was the gilded and decorative furniture. The guides said most of the items in the home were not Washingtons, except for a mirror in the far corner, though it’s all historically and similar to what he is recorded to have had. As we passed, most of us stopped looking in the mirror like he might have.
The Guided Experience
Each room had a different host who explained key facts about the space as they ushered guests from room to room on each other’s heels. The guides quickly led us through rooms, including the bedroom where Washington died and ended in an enslaved person’s kitchen on the right-side ground floor.
The interior tour took about 20 minutes; then, we were free to roam the grounds again and watch the many engaging and informative, interactive presentations.
View of the Potomac
Behind the house is perhaps the most impressive aspect of the tour – the view of the Potomac River that Washington so loved. It is still the same view he had when he lived in the house and there’s a reason for it. An agreement between the National Park Service, congress, and independent landowners protects the view. It ensures easements “run with the land” and are binding to any future owners as well.
Fun Fact: the George Washington Memorial Parkway is a 25-mile-long parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, northwest to McLean, Virginia.
Washington’s Grave
You’ll pass Washington’s grave if you take a short walk down a sloping hill past the pioneer farm, slave houses, and farmland heading toward the Potomac docks. He died on the estate in his bedroom after a severe throat infection at age 67.
In his will, he made provisions for constructing a new tomb he designed to replace an old one. He made room for his wife Martha, and other family members there also. The staff holds a wreath-laying ceremony every day at Washington’s grave.
Enslaved People’s Cemetery
Further down the hill, there is a memorial for the enslaved workers. They were buried without markers. In recent years the estate has done archelogy to locate the graves and has tied white twine to sticks to show where they’ve found bodies.
Washington enslaved hundreds of people; at his death, there were 317 still living on the plantation. In his will, he ordered that they be freed after his wife Martha died. Unfortunately, Washington only owned about half of those 317. The others belonged to the Custis estate, and Martha’s grandchildren inherited them after her death.
Today, those enslaved people have a memorial marker giving belated tributes to their stolen lives. The staff lay a wreath on their marker each day.
The Mount Vernon Inn and gift shops
The Mount Vernon Inn restaurant focuses on early American food and flavors the Washingtons might have served during their time. It has three-star prices and white tablecloth service. I had excellent fried green tomatos. There’s also a food court with grab and go fair that is more affordable, if less authentic.
The two gift shops sell reproductions of Mount Vernon items like porcelain China, linen, books, toys, and more.
George Washington’s Whiskey
You might be surprised to learn that Washington had one of the largest distilleries in the United States, producing almost 11,000 gallons of whiskey in 1799. You can still visit the distillery today and buy a bottle to take home.
Three miles from Mount Vernon, you can visit his old grist mill and distillery. They still use the same distilling process and recipe that Washington used. If you want this whiskey, you must visit the plantation or the mill – they don’t sell small bottles, ship it, or sell drinks of it. The estate only sells it by bottle at about $100 each.
Admission to tour the mill is included with a Mount Vernon ticket or $10 on its own. Find it at 5514 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy, Alexandria, VA.
Mount Vernon is Worth Visiting for Several Reasons
The home is just 15 miles from Washington, D.C., making it an easy excursion. If you enjoy American history, colonial reenactments, beautiful scenery and outdoor activities, visiting Mount Vernon is worth it.
There’s so much to see and do at Mount Vernon that you can easily spend several hours at the plantation. I was there for about four hours and felt like I rushed through much there was to see.
Admission tickets include an audio tour and self-paced access to the historic area, outbuildings, gardens, tomb, farm, trails, and the Museum & Education Center. The only way to see any of the house without a ticket is by boat from the Potomac.
The guided group tour of George Washington’s Mount Vernon costs $28 per person.
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