Wharf

Visitors arriving by boat to Mount Vernon first land at the Mount Vernon wharf. Visitors can also enjoy a 45-minute round-trip sightseeing cruise, offered from April to October. In the 18th-century, waterways like the Potomac River were major travel and commerce routes and provided critical natural resources. George Washington shipped and received countless goods via the river and transported crops around his large estate on both the Potomac and nearby Dogue Creek. In addition to its value as a trade route, the river supplied Washington with one of his most important commodities: fish. In 1772 alone, his fisheries reaped 1.3 million herring and more than 11,000 shad. Those harvests helped feed the Mount Vernon plantation and provided an important source of income. 

The wharf was rebuilt in 1880, replacing an earlier structure, during a time when most visitors arrived at Mount Vernon by boat. The wharf was restored in 1991 and dedicated that year by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.