Admission is free on Presidents Day (Feb. 20) and George Washington’s birthday (Feb. 22). Admission tickets will be distributed on-site upon arrival; a limited number of tickets are available.

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Mount Vernon

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The Estate

George Washington

Preservation

Education

Washington Library

The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington

Explore the wide range of subjects related to George Washington’s world and the colonial and founding eras.

The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington was generously supported by Richard and Bonnie Dial in memory of Irby and George Prendergast.

Agriculture (14)
American Revolution (134)
American West (18)
Animals (12)
Artists (15)
Enslaved Community and Slavery (52)
Family (28)
Food and Drink (14)
Gardens (5)
Mansion (15)
Military (31)
Mount Vernon (22)
Objects (13)
Personal (71)
Politics (28)
Preservation (20)
Presidency (37)
Servants and Laborers (58)

Agriculture

Muddy Hole Farm

Muddy Hole Farm

Muddy Hole Farm was one of the five farms that made up the Mount Vernon estate. Located in the northeast corner of the plantation, running alongside Little Hunting Creek, Muddy Hole is said to have lived…

American Revolution

Hugh Mercer

Hugh Mercer

In the summer of 1776, when British military operations shifted from New England to the Mid-Atlantic, George Washington dispatched Brigadier General Hugh Mercer to confer with the Governor of New Jersey…

American West

George Washington's Kentucky Lands

George Washington's Kentucky Lands

Though George Washington’s first land purchase was in 1752, in Frederick County, Virginia, his holdings soon encompassed lands in West Virginia and extended westward into Pennsylvania, New York and the…

Animals

Dogs

Dogs

There were many dogs living at Mount Vernon during George Washington's lifetime. These animals were owned?

Artists

Washington Irving

Washington Irving

Washington Irving was one of the most famous American authors of the nineteenth century. While he is primarily remembered for short stories such as “Rip van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow…

Enslaved Community and Slavery

William (Billy) Lee

William (Billy) Lee

William Lee spent two decades as George Washington's enslaved valet accompanied him nearly everywhere.

Family

John Augustine Washington III

John Augustine Washington III

John Augustine Washington III was the great-grand nephew of George Washington and the last private owner of Mount Vernon.

Food and Drink

Recipe for Small Beer

Recipe for Small Beer

George Washington’s recipe for “Small Beer” appears in a 1757 notebook of his, which can be found today in its original form at the New York Public Library.

Gardens

Upper Garden

Upper Garden

The upper garden was established in the 1760s and paralleled the lower or kitchen garden to its south?

Mansion

Palladian Window

Palladian Window

The Palladian (also called Venetian) window on the north elevation of Mount Vernon is one of the house's most distinctive features. The window illuminates the large dining room (known as the new room)…

Military

Fort Duquesne

Fort Duquesne

Constructed by the French in 1754 at the heart of the Ohio River Valley, Fort Duquesne was an important landmark during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). Because of its strategic location on the land…

Mount Vernon

Tomb

Tomb

Learn more about the New Tomb at Mount Vernon - the Washington's final resting place.

Objects

Bastille Key

Bastille Key

In 1790 George Washington received the key to the Bastille prison from an appreciative Marquis de Lafayette. It remains at Mount Vernon to this day.

Personal

Christ Church, Alexandria

Christ Church, Alexandria

Located in Alexandria, Virginia, Christ Church opened its doors in 1773 to serve the Church of England's Fairfax Parish. George Washington helped fund the construction of the church, and his personal bible…

Politics

Aurora General Advertiser

Aurora General Advertiser

Founded by Benjamin Franklin Bache, the Aurora General Advertiser was published in Philadelphia between 1794 and 1824. Bache, the grandson of Benjamin Franklin, established the Aurora as a Republican newspaper…

Preservation

Allied visits to Mount Vernon during the Second World War

Allied visits to Mount Vernon during the Second World War

From 1939 to 1945, an unprecedented number of foreign dignitaries visited Mount Vernon during their official tours of the United States.

Presidency

Genet Affair

Genet Affair

The “Genet Affair,” also known as the French Neutrality Crisis, was a diplomatic incident that occurred during George Washington’s second term as President of the United States. The debate centered…

Servants and Laborers