The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

A Decade of Excellence

Fellowships begin for academic research and the creation of teacher resources, fostering new scholarship about Washington and the founding era.

Since the Library’s founding, it has hosted 171 research fellows, 38 Life Guard teacher fellows, and 77 leadership fellows, resulting in 57 new books on the founding era. Of these books, three have won the Washington Book Prize and eight have been finalists.

The Library launches Ford Evening Book Talk, a free, monthly public program that spotlights authors and their new books. Since then, Mount Vernon has hosted 123 free Ford Evening Book Talks with more than 15,000 in-person attendees and over 545,000 virtual views.

The Library launches the Founding Debates, an event where authors, public figures, and historians discuss interpretations of a question of national import.

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association Archive is centralized at the Library.

Mount Vernon acquires the Potomac Navigation Company Archive. The Potomac Navigation Company was a cooperative project between Maryland and Virginia to expand the Potomac River and establish navigable waterways that would further develop commercial trade. Established in 1785, the company’s first major investor was George Washington, who also served as its first president.

Mount Vernon formally launches the George Washington Leadership Institute to examine and teach the leadership qualities of America’s first president. Since its establishment, the Institute has emerged as a premier platform for cultivating the necessary skills of future leaders.

The George Washington Teacher Institute (GWTI), founded in 1999, becomes more accessible, serving teachers and students throughout the nation. Overall, the Library has welcomed 1,135 teachers in residence and engaged 2,791 educators through various programs.

Mount Vernon acquires letters between Washington and François-Jean de Beauvoir, chevalier de Chastellux, third in command of French general Rochambeau’s army and a critical liaison between the allies. The correspondence was part of a vast trove of papers, including letters to Thomas Jefferson, Baron Von Steuben, and Voltaire, much of which the Chastellux family is allowing the Library to digitize for the collection.

Noted historian Dr. Kevin Butterfield begins serving as the Library’s executive director.

The online educational film for classroom use, Washington’s War: George Washington and the Revolutionary War, earns three Telly Awards, joining previous Telly Award-winning films Now or Never: Yorktown Campaign of 1781 and A More Perfect Union: George Washington and the Creation of the U.S. Constitution.

The interactive experience Be Washington: It’s Your Turn to Lead (released 2018) earns a Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement. In its first year, 130,000 people accessed the Be Washington platform in-person or online.

The Richard Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection of more than 300 loose-leaf and 1,200 bound historic maps is donated, joining the Paul Stevens Map Collection of 27 historic maps.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits. He joins many illustrious visitors, including former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, Supreme Court Justices, Cabinet members, governors, and more.

The American Revolutionary Geographies Online (ARGO) launches in partnership with the Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library, combining founding era maps from many repositories into a single portal for broader public access, learning, and interpretation.

The podcast Secrets of Washington’s Archives launches, breaking the Apple Top 100 History Charts just three days after release.

A 10th-anniversary Library celebration is held at Mount Vernon, celebrating a decade of scholarship.

Library programming has included some 221 events, representing a rich variety of intellectual exchanges.

Through its 495 programs, the Leadership Institute has engaged colleges and universities, federal agencies, and trade associations, imparting the qualities exemplified by Washington to some 14,200 participants.