“…I saw there [at Mount Vernon] for the first time preserved strawberries…Those were large and beautiful, and I indulged in eating a few of them.” Pierre-Etienne Duponceau, 1780
Activities
Gardens and Landscape Tour
11 a.m.
Come take a walk through the General’s garden and see the founding flowers and plants that recreate Washington's 18th-century landscape and gardens.
Dining with the Washingtons Tour
1 p.m.
Explore how the people who lived at Mount Vernon in the 18th century dined on a tour that takes you to the gardens, salt house, smokehouse, slave quarters, greenhouse, and the Mansion’s kitchen. Discover how food was grown, preserved, prepared, and served at Mount Vernon. You'll leave this specialty tour knowing the Washingtons’ favorite recipes, what hired and enslaved servants at Mount Vernon ate, and why Martha Washington wasn’t a fan of Vulcan, Washington’s French hound.
Go Fish
Net Making: 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Fish Packing: 9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m., 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Salt House
Join our staff at the Salt House to learn about the role of the smokehouse and salt house in food preservation at Mount Vernon. See demonstrations on methods of food preservation and try your hand at packing fish for preservation and making a fishing net.
From Hoecakes to Great Cakes
Visitors touring the Mansion will learn about the demanding work of Doll, Hercules, and Lucy, each of whom served as cook to the Washington family, in the Kitchen. Discover what it took to prepare a meal for the Washingtons and their guests at Mount Vernon.
Roll Out the Barrels
9 a.m. - 12 p.m., 1 p.m. - 5 p.m., Farm
Visit Master Cooper Marshall Scheetz who will be on hand to talk about and demonstrate the intricate process of barrel making and its importance to food preservation.
What Grows Here?
9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. - 4 p.m., Farm
Pickling was a common form of food preservation in the 18th century. Join our Trades Team on the 12-acre field for pickling demonstrations and discover the wide range of foods that were picked.
2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., the Farm
Learn about Washington's switch from tobacco to wheat farming with our Historic Trades staff.
Saturday 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m. 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m., 12 p.m. 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m.
Greenhouse
Join our Character Interpreters in the Greenhouse and engage them in conversation about Mount Vernon's gardens.
Cherries at Mount Vernon
9 a.m. - 1 p.m., 2 p.m. - 4 p.m., the Farm
You may have heard about the recent discovery of 18th-century bottles containing preserved cherries in the basement at Mount Vernon and wondered what they would have been used for. Visit our Historic Trades staff on the 12-acre field for demonstrations of the uses of preserved fruits.
