We spent Saturday at George Washington’s Mount Vernon
plantation. Owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association and open to the
public since the 1850s, the plantation reflects the nature and character of its
owner who regarded himself not as a soldier or leader but a farmer.
While one cannot fail to be impressed by monumental
Washington, that is the job of great imperial capitals, these sites, Mount
Vernon, Yorktown, Jamestown, remind us of who and what the founders thought
they were.
The monuments reflect the face we turn to the world, these
sites represent what we were and might yet be.
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| The reflecting pool in DC is drained, the Mall dug up, the Capitol sheathed in scaffonding and draped and now Mount Vernon. WTF?? |
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| An eighteenth century visitor to Mt. Vernon would travel with his or her personal servants who would be housed here, right next to the mansion |
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| The kitchen, joined to the house by breezeway |
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| The site, chosen by Augustus Washington, George's father |
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| Various other outbuildings |
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| The plantation stables |
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| The ancient tomb. Washington did not want to be interred here . . . |
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| so he built a new tomb |
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| The association also interprets Washington's innovative farming. Early on, he recognized the severe damage done to the soil by tobacco, so he gave it up in favor of various varieties of wheat. Farm stables |
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| This woman really knows the history of textiles |
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| Washington's innovation, a sixteen sided barn for threshing wheat |
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| A slave cabin. Were they this neat and orderly? |
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| Since the beginning of this portion of the trip Rosa has wanted a colonial mob cap, but we could find none that fit. This one is rather fetching, doncha think? |
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| Y'r humble servant. |
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