Mount Vernon, VA Summary

A monument to the nation, Mount Vernon was the country estate of George and Martha Washington.

Constructed in 1754, Mount Vernon was home to the architect of American independence from 1759 to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775. In 1797, after completing two terms as the nation’s first president, Washington returned to the rambling property, and died two years later. Overlooking the Potomac River, 16 miles from downtown Washington, DC, Mount Vernon showcases Washington’s life as a farmer, rather than the legendary politician. Visitors can view various colonial furnishings and personal artifacts together with the estate’s slave quarters and manicured gardens.

Nearby is the Georgian estate of Woodlawn Plantation and Pope-Leighey House, a wedding gift to Martha Washington’s granddaughter from the president. Exhibits feature Nancy Custis Lewis’ late eighteenth-century needlepoint and a more recent collection of furnishings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright at Pope-Leighey.

Another colonial estate in Fairfax County just shy of Mount Vernon is Gunston Hall, once owned by George Mason, the Bill of Rights architect. Built in 1755, the estate features original boxwood gardens and furnishings. Visitors should also take in the beautifully reconstructed George Washington Gristmill.

Mount Vernon is an easy train ride from Washington, DC. By car, take the George Washington Memorial Parkway.