Guide Dogs Visit Mount Vernon
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
As a dog-friendly site, Mount Vernon welcomes pups and their humans to explore the estate. In early October, the estate welcomed a special group of canines from the Guide Dog Foundation. These six labs/lab mixes and a poodle practiced good behavior in challenging situations to prepare them for their future placements as guide dogs. From left to ...
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Boiling, Baking, and Curling 18th-Century Wigs
Tuesday, October 09, 2018
Excavated from the South Grove, these five objects offer an interesting chance to explore 18th-century life and how archaeologists attempt to learn more about it through material evidence. by Sean Devlin, Curator of Archaeological Collections Measuring roughly two inches in length when complete, these artifacts are fragments of wig curlers. The ...
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George Washington's Nominee for Chief Justice Rejected
Monday, October 08, 2018
"On December 15, 1795, the Senate administered a stinging blow to one of the nation's most distinguished "founding fathers." By a vote of 10 to 14, it rejected President George Washington's nomination of South Carolina's John Rutledge to be Chief Justice of the United States." From the United States Senate Click to read the full article
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Why Make Wine in Virginia?
Thursday, October 04, 2018
For more than 20 years, Mount Vernon has hosted a wine festival to celebrate the rich tradition of Virginia wine. Since the first colonists arrived, viticulturists—or grape growers—struggled to grow wine grapes on Virginian soil. Even skilled agriculturalists George Washington and Thomas Jefferson tried and failed many times to grow wine grapes ...
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Mary Ball Washington's Battle with Breast Cancer
Monday, October 01, 2018
By Mary V. Thompson In the spring of 1787, as George Washington was preparing to leave Mount Vernon to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, an express rider arrived, carrying an emergency summons to Fredericksburg, Virginia. In telling a friend about his change of plans, Washington noted that “not a moment is to be lost,” becaus...
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Why the Washington Library Matters
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
by Kevin Butterfield, Executive Director of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington I am passionate about the story of the American Founding. I cannot imagine a fictional story with more drama and unpredictability, tragedy and triumph, complexity and openness to diverse interpretations, or with a more fascinating ca...
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More than Reconstruction
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Throughout the summer, volunteer boat builders from the Alexandria Seaport Foundation have been constructing two punts at Mount Vernon’s Pioneer Farm. These small boats resemble a punt built by Sambo Anderson, an enslaved carpenter at Mount Vernon. As the team worked, they interacted with guests and taught them about the construction process, An...
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A Teacher’s Perspective: George Washington and the Principles of the Constitution
Monday, September 10, 2018
By Sean Brennan, American Government teacher, Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School in Broadview Heights, OH My involvement in the George Washington Teacher Institute Residential Program has had a dramatic impact on my teaching and my students’ achievement. Learning from top scholars at the home of the Father of our Country was truly inspiri...
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5 Major Updates to Our Audio Tours
Friday, September 07, 2018
Mount Vernon’s audio tours received a much-needed update, and the new version launches September 7. Here are the highlights of the new version: 1. New stops, no order Visitors previously selected an audio tour that guided them on a prescribed path to a limited number of stops. The new version includes 29 stops, and visitors can select which stop...
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Running and Fifing
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
On the grounds of Mount Vernon, the whistle of a fife signals Don Francisco is near. As Mount Vernon's Resident Fifer and a history interpreter, Don educates visitors about the role of fife and drum music in the American Revolution, as well as entertaining guests with musical renditions of pop tunes and fight songs. Once a year, he changes his p...
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