Gardener's House

This building first served briefly as a hospital for enslaved workers, then as a space for wool-spinning, and finally as a dwelling. William Spence, a young Scotsman who was head gardener at the Mansion House Farm in 1799, probably lived here. Washington hired European-trained gardeners who could cultivate the varieties of plants and seeds he received from around the world. With the aid of two or three enslaved workers, Spence oversaw the Upper and Lower Gardens, orchards, and Greenhouse.