Making History at Mount Vernon

On Saturday, September 30, we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the George Washington Presidential Library.

As the leading educational institution focused on Washington’s life and legacy, the Washington Library safeguards Mount Vernon’s growing number of original Washington papers, manuscripts, and books, as well as thousands of important historical documents. The Library serves as the center for scholarship on the founding era. Historians and scholars study original letters and papers penned in Washington’s own hand, close to where many of the historic documents originated.

Since its opening on September 27, 2013, the Washington Library has enhanced Mount Vernon’s educational initiatives. The George Washington Teacher Institute residential program has welcomed 1,135 educators from 50 states for immersive courses of study. Mount Vernon provides free and unlimited access to digital resources, making the lessons from the life and legacy of George Washington accessible to students and educators around the world.

The MVLA founded the George Washington Leadership Institute in 2013 to examine and teach about the leadership qualities of America’s first president. Learning from failure and mentorship, George Washington became one of the premier leaders of the young United States. His commitment to execution, his focus on strategic vision, and his emphasis on organizational character continue to be important lessons in the 21^st century, and we strive to keep the life of George Washington relevant for current and future generations of leaders.

Thank you for joining us to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the George Washington Presidential Library and help us make history for generations to come.

Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act in 1955, funding modern presidential libraries through taxation. Mount Vernon accepts no funding from the government, so how did the George Washington Presidential Library come to be?

During his retirement, Washington wrote that he had devoted his infrequent leisure time "to the arrangement, and overhaul of my voluminous Public Papers—Civil & Military—that, they may go into secure deposits.”

Washington planned to erect a building at Mount Vernon. Even on the last day of his life, Washington worried about his papers. His friend and longtime secretary Tobias Lear recorded that, hours before his death, Washington told him, "I find I am going, my breath cannot continue long. . . do you arrange & record all my late Military letters & papers—arrange my accounts & settle my books."

After the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association purchased Mount Vernon from the Washington family in 1858, preservation of the Mansion and outbuildings began immediately. In 1859, John Augustine Washington gifted Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association founder and first Regent Ann Pamela Cunningham four original Washington papers. He thought of them as useful in terms of repairs and restoration, but of course, the Ladies prized them because they were Washington’s.

In 1983, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association officially broadened its vision beyond the preservation of Mount Vernon, and sought to extend the education of Washington’s life, achievements, and character to the entire world. As part of this new vision, Mount Vernon constructed the Ann Pamela Cunningham Administration Building, which opened in 1983, and provided space for a new education department and additional space for a library and research center.

In 2010, that mission expanded to include the construction of a new research library. The MVLA announced the creation of the George Washington Presidential Library to further the organization’s mission of advancing appreciation and understanding of George Washington. The announcement resulted from a remarkable gift of $38 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the largest received in the history of the MVLA. The Campaign for the Library – with Gay Hart Gaines, the Vice Regent for Florida, as chair – set an ambitious goal to raise $100 million to construct the library. The Campaign exceeded its goal by raising $106.4 million by June 2013, all provided by private donors, and was officially opened on September 27, 2013.