1850
The Last Washington at Mount Vernon
John Augustine Washington III became the owner of Mount Vernon in 1850. Unable to afford the estate's maintenance, he offered it for sale in 1851. After the Commonwealth of Virginia and the federal government turned him down, Washington agreed to sell the Mansion and 200 acres of adjoining land to the Ladies' Association in 1858.
Forming the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
In 1853, Louisa Cunningham observed the dilapidated Mansion from a boat in the Potomac River. She lamented to her daughter, Ann Pamela Cunningham, that she “was painfully distressed … Why was it that the women of this country did not try to keep it in repair, if the men could not do it?"
Accepting this challenge, Ann, a mild-mannered 37-year-old from rural South Carolina, founded the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association in 1853, with the express purpose of saving Washington's home for future generations. In order to raise $200,000 - an incredible sum in the pre-Civil War period - to purchase the rapidly declining Mansion from the Washington family, Miss Cunningham and her original board of 12 determined women organized a campaign that would captivate the entire nation. In doing so, they planted the seeds for the preservation movement in America.
The First Ladies
With a civil war looming, Ann Pamela Cunningham realized that in order to avoid regional discontent and to establish a broad fundraising base, the campaign to save Mount Vernon would have to be national in scope. Her idea was to establish a network of supporters, all working under the direction of a core group of ladies, each of whom would represent a given state. A total of 13 women, with Cunningham as the Regent, and the other serving as Vice Regents, made up the first council.
Raising Funds
Edward Everett, one of the greatest speakers of his age, tirelessly traveled the nation, delivering two-hour orations on the first president, and donating his lecture fees to the purchase of Mount Vernon.
Saving the Mansion
In 1858, the piazza was nearing collapse and was propped up by old ships' masts. Although the Association did not actually take possession of Mount Vernon until 1860, John A. Washington III allowed repairs to begin even before his family moved out of the Mansion.
Modern Preservation Efforts - Sand Casting
What did they buy?
This bird's-eye view of the Mount Vernon estate shows the 200 acres purchased by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association - the core of what had been George Washington's 8,000-acre plantation.
With the success of the fundraising campaign behind them, Cunningham and the Vice Regents began the daunting task of preserving the site. The first priority was to stabilize and repair the dilapidated buildings.
...we need not have anything to do with politics - ought not to have - no sectional divisions should affect our position - we must bide the storm, and then the officers would meet and pledge themselves to continue in harmony to carry out the purposes for which we are a chartered body, and show to the world that we at least had profited by the warning counsels of Washington.
Ann Pamela Cunningham, 1861
War comes to Mount Vernon
Between 1861 and 1865, as the Civil War raged, restoration stopped at Mount Vernon. Soldiers from both sides visited the site, but they were required to lay down their arms before touring.
Mrs. Halsted
The Vice Regent for New Jersey from 1868 until 1891, Nancy Wade Halsted challenged the Ladies to furnish each room in the Mansion. Eighteenth-century pieces were to be used wherever possible, with more recent Greek Revival and Victorian furnishings filling the gaps. Many decades would pass before the Association could furnish all rooms with original Washington pieces or very similar examples.
The Founders
Twelve founding Ladies of the Association, representing their home states, pose on the piazza in 1870 with the famous Houdon bust of George Washington. Miss Cunningham, first Regent of the Ladies' Association is seated to the right of the bust. The other ladies pictured are Vice Regents in the Association's governing council, a structure still in place today.
Ladies, the home of Washington is in your charge; see to it that you keep it the home of Washington. The Mansion and the grounds around it should be religiously guarded from change - should be kept as Washington left them. Let no irreverent hand change it; no vandal hands desecrate it with the fingers of progress. Those who go to the home in which he lived wish to see in what he lived and died.
Ann Pamela Cunningham to the 1874 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association Council announcing her retirement as Regent
Mrs. Hearst
Phoebe Apperson Hearst served as Vice Regent for California from 1889 to 1918. Mrs. Hearst was an especially generous contributor to the Mount Vernon cause, funding construction of a stone wall along the river shore to protect against erosion, and supporting the installation of Thomas Edison's electrical system.
Preservation
The contrast between the appearance of the new room before 1890 and now reveals the Association's ongoing quest for historic authenticity. This room was once the principal space to display "relics," ranging from the prized Houdon bust of Washington to a monumental equestrian portrait by Rembrandt Peale.
As standards for historic preservation evolved, so did the Association's ambitions to restore Washington's home to its authentic 18th-century appearance. Mansion rooms once filled with artifact cases and dozens of Washington portraits were transformed to recreate a home that reflected the owner's true taste and style. New scholarly research was complemented by microscopic analysis of paint colors, tree ring dating, and archaeology.
In 1981, this Mansion room was the first to be restored to the colors selected by George Washington.
1900
Miss Comegys
Harriet Clayton Comegys of Delaware served as Regent from 1909 until 1927. During her tenure, the gardens and grounds were given greater attention than ever before, marking the first concerted attempt to recapture their appearance during George Washington's lifetime.
Electrifying Mount Vernon
Thomas Edison designed and installed Mount Vernon's first electrical system in 1916. Only after considerable debate did the Vice Regents agree to Edison's proposal, finally being persuaded that the new technology for lighting would be safer than kerosene lamps.
Fire Prevention
Keenly interested in preserving Mount Vernon, inventor and industrialist Henry Ford donated a new fire truck to the Ladies' Association in 1924 and encouraged the installation of fire hydrants and alarms. The Ford Motor Company continues to provide vehicles for Mount Vernon's motor fleet and has sponsored many educational programs, facilities, and traveling exhibits.
Honoring the Enslaved
In 1929, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association placed a commemorative marker noting the site of the 200-year old slave burial ground. We believe this marker to be the earliest of its kind on a historic plantation. Despite this official recognition, the burial ground lay unattended in dense underbrush for years.
