Post 448: Revisiting Mount Vernon Part 2

Revisiting Mount Vernon Part 2 

Tuesday, June 2, 2026 Mount Vernon, Virginia. It was time to go see George again, for several reasons. With the country's 250th birthday celebration this year, it was a good time to revisit Mount Vernon, home of America's First President. And in 2024-2025 they did a lot of renovations, so there is curiosity to see what was done, and what is still in the works.

See Mount Vernon Revisited Part 1 for pictures inside the Mansion.

After purchasing our tickets online and scheduling our visit (our house tour was at 12:05pm, highly recommended to get your tickets ahead of time), my neighbor and I took off for the revisit on Tuesday morning, June 2.

The Outbuildings at Mount Vernon

Let's pick up where we left off in Part 1. We had just come out of the Mansion from George Washington's Study and the Butler's Pantry and we are walking over to the kitchen.

The Potomac River view before going into the Kitchen. Some restoration is ongoing, especially in the cellar.

The Outbuildings at Mount Vernon begins where else? In the kitchen. Reminds me of a song with the lyrics, "You will always find me in the kitchen at parties." - by Jona Lewie 

But maybe not in the 1700's.

The Kitchen. The enslaved staff cooked all the meals for the Washingtons, including Hercules, Doll, Nathan, and Lucy. You can read more about Hercules here, and in the museum it gave some of his history as well.

It was noted that Martha Washington was very proud when serving her roasted hams and she sometimes gave her smoked hams as gifts.

Kitchens in this era were separated from the house for several good reasons - mainly for the protection against fires. A separation of the kitchen from the main house also reduced the smells, the noise, and kept the heat separate.

The MV Staff member said that the only thing original in the room was the marble slab on the table. The Bake Oven is to the right of the fireplace. It was also pointed out that with the size of the fireplace, roasting large slabs of meat were easy - and Washington's original smoke jack device is still in the chimney.

As stated on the Mount Vernon website, there were "more than 50 enslaved men and women that were trained and skilled in various and specific trades" that were a part of making the Estate function. Those skills included the care of all the livestock - riding and draft horses; food processing - growing, curing, cooking, and storing; and the repair and construction, maintenance of the Mansion. And because there was no local Lowe's or Home Depot, skilled persons were needed to make and maintain the tools and textiles used in home and for farming.

View from the Kitchen to the Servants' Hall (mainly used for the visitor's servants)

The Storehouse and Clerk's Quarters are across from the Kitchen. 

The Clerk's Quarters. From the sign, "' To copy and record letters and other Papers, to keep Books...and an account of articles received from and delivered to the Farms...would constitute your principal employment.' - George Washington to Albin Rawlins, February 12, 1798. 

After his retirement from the presidency, George Washington hired Albin Rawlins to perform clerical duties and act as his business agent, especially when travel was required. Rawlins, a bachelor, found this room and the loft above to be sufficient living space. The quarters were convenient to the Mansion study, from which Washington could quickly summon his clerk, and the Mansion cellar where the white servants' dining room was located."

The Smokehouse. See this to learn more https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/location/smokehouse 

From the sign, "'...I believe Mrs. Washingtons Charitable disposition increases in the same proportion with here meat House" - Lund Washington to George Washington, January 17, 1776,

In order to preserve meat in the 18th century without refrigerators, it was salted and smoked in a smokehouse (or 'meat house'). After a large number of hogs were butchered in December, enslaved workers packed the meat in salt to dry for four to six weeks. The meant was then hung inside the smokehouse over a smoldering fire pit in the center of the building. The smoke further dried the meat and prevented future spoilage. For long-term storage, meat remained hanging and was occasionally covered with ashes. The hams cured here were a point of pride for Mrs. Washington who sometimes gave them as gifts to special friends."

The Smokehouse

The Clerk's Office & Quarters from the side.

A View of Mount Vernon from the East. Someone asked about the tent to the North side but the staff member said something about the renovations...which seemed odd to me. I wondered if some big event was happening soon.

The Potomac River toward the North view from the Estate, toward the future Washington DC. When George was President from 1789 to 1797, the US Capital was first located in New York City (1789), then Philadelphia (1790). In 1800, the Capital officially became Washington DC, a federal district named after George Washington (d 1799). 

The site for the White House was first selected by George in 1791, with the cornerstone laid in 1792. The construction was completed in 1800.

The first President to begin his term in the new Capital was Thomas Jefferson, followed by John Adams. 

Washington DC was originally designed as a perfect square measuring 10 miles per side, equaling 100 square miles. In 1846, 31 square miles was ceded back to Virginia breaking that perfect square.

The Potomac River straight across to Maryland. 

The Potomac Wharf is on the water below to the right side and was where the Estate shipped and received goods. The river provided fish for the Estate and ice during the winter.

The Wash House is behind the Smoke House. No one should fuss about doing laundry these days after reading what working in the Wash House was like. See https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/location/wash-house

View of Mount Vernon from the South. George and Martha's Bedchamber were on the second floor and George's Study would be on the first floor. The Kitchen is to the left.

The Carriage House. And George's Riding Chair

Now, if you remember my question toward the end of Part 1, "Did you see any bathrooms in the house?" Raise your hand if you know the answer. I'll wait...

Well, if the chamber pot in your room wasn't for you, where did you go to go? Down the stairs and out the door... That small building is called The Necessary at Mount Vernon. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail, nor snow...Actually during inclement weather, folks probably used the chamber pots in their rooms. Lovely, right?

And just how far a walk was it from the house?

The Necessary. Some call it a privy or an outhouse, the Estate has 2 restored Necessaries but originally they believe there were 4. The other restored Necessary was down near the Lower Gardens and they had 3 seats each. What fun. Sing along with me, "Getting to know you, getting to know all about you..."

Ok so much for that TMI but you know you wanted to know about it. Oh good golly...and no TP...!

The Stables. The MV Staff member told us that plans were in the works for a much larger stable to be built at some point. The current stable was not large enough for the amount of horses that were on the estate.

The Dung Repository. Where's there's horses, there is the 'necessary' place to put the stall cleaning products...Which, if you're a gardener or farmer, you would understand the composting, curing, and preparation of fertilizer necessary for the gardens and orchards on the property.

The Ha-ha Walls. This is pretty nifty. "George Washington wanted to keep farm animals away from the Mansion without obstructing visitors views of a pastoral landscape with animals grazing in the distance. Instead of fences, he used ha-ha walls, which have a top level that is even with the Mansion's lawn and a turf ditch on the pasture side. These hidden barriers kept livestock safely in the pasture, but their boundary was concealed.

Why were they called ha-ha walls? No one knows for sure, but some suggest that the name refers to the surprise of discovering these hidden walls which cannot be seen until one is right on top of them!"

The Ice House. Before electricity and refrigerators, there were cellars and underground ice houses where the temperature was much cooler than any where else. In winter, ice was hauled from the Potomac River and put in the Ice Hose and kept there until the warm season for as long as it held out. See https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/location/ice-house

The Wharf was nearby, but can you imagine dragging blocks of ice up to the Icehouse?

The Sheep were having lunch

The Old Vault. "'The family vault at Mount Vernon requiring repairs and being improperly situated besides, I desire that a new one of Brick, and upon a larger Scale, may be built a the foot of what is commonly called the Vineyard Inclosure...' - The Last Will and Testament of George Washington, July 1799 

George and Martha Washington along with twenty other family members were originally interred in the old vault. In accordance with his will, Washington directed the building of a new tomb. The Washingtons were moved to the New Tomb in 1831."

The Potomac River beyond the Vault

This was the view of MV from the walkway above the step down leading to the Old Vault. I had wondered if they didn't want the tomb so near the house - but as stated on the sign, it needed repairs anyway.

The Icehouse walkway was further up the slope.

Heading toward the New Tomb

"Within this Enclosure Rest the remains of Gent GEORGE WASHINGTON"

Martha Washington is to the left and President George Washington is to the right

"Tomb of WASHINGTON Erected 1830-31 Site & Material Specified in Washington's Will"

After the New Tomb, even though we had not covered all of the grounds, we started heading back up to the Museum and FOOD. I've actually never walked down below this spot...time and stomach growling determined the direction. We missed seeing the Mt Vernon Ferry Landing (The Wharf), Lower Garden, the Slave Memorial, the 16-Sided Barn, a Slave Cabin, the Batteau Shed, and the Farm. Hence, I must revisit again.

On the way back up the slope...though, we made a few pauses...when we saw these guys.

And these guys...

There were 2 pig pens side by side and this momma has 4 less than a week old piglets. The other sow was due soon.

Who let the sheep out? 

My neighbor

The Greenhouse with the Upper Garden

The Women's Slave Quarters. There were 10 sleeping spaces in both the women's and the men's living spaces and I read that children often slept on the floor. As it says on the MV website, the slaves that worked in the Mansion stayed in these quarters.

The Shoemaker's Shop. With nearly 100 slaves laboring in the fields, farm, and grounds, William "Billy" Lee learned the shoemaking trade making and repairing shoes.

The Stove Room. The attached Greenhouse had tropical plants so the heat from the stove room provided the heat needed during the winner.

The Men's Quarters. 

The Blacksmith Shop with some fellows showing how it was done. 

We actually did not see the Gardener's House, the Salt House, the Spinning House and the Overseer's Quarters. 

By this time, our tummies were growling, so we ate at the Mount Vernon Inn and had the crab cakes. Highly recommended. Once we finished our late lunch, we had the museum to do and the gift shops - although by that time, many of the visitors were coming through to finish up too. 

The museum is awesome of course, and extensive. I didn't take pictures while in there although there was so much to see and to do. We enjoyed the room where you had to decide how you would lead one of the Revolutionary War battles that George Washington fought. They explained the battle and various person's that were giving Washington advice on what he should do. You had to make a decision and see how it played out on an interactive screen.

I had hoped to stop at the Distillery and Gristmill close to Route 1 but learned the Gristmill is only open on Saturday and Sundays.

The day was starting to be late and the going back home to Woodbridge as the afternoon fades is always a traffic challenge whether on Route 1 or on 95. And it was.

So then the decision is of course, when do we go again?

Drop a comment below - when are you going? You have been before right?

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Author: Donna Liguria  is the Blogmaster for Donna's Cave Paintings and the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, VA. Donna specializes in acrylic paintings of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art.

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