Autumn Settles on Mount Vernon

Across the country, leaves are turning the brightest reds and yellows, pumpkins and mums are decorating front porches, and grocery stores are finally selling those acorn squash that sat untouched all summer. Mount Vernon is preparing for autumn as well- the summer slipcovers have been replaced by heavy damask, the summer vegetables have come off the dining room table to make room for pumpkin and cabbage, and there will be no more ice cream (a Washington favorite!) until warmer weather returns. Other changes in the Washington household this autumn include:

• Martha Washington’s famous boiled ham remains on the table, which was always a favorite with the Washingtons’ many guests. Game hens are also on the table this season. Martha Washington owned Hannah Glasse’sThe Art of Cookery, which includes a recipe for dressing fowl with peas. Glasse notes that for the fall months “all sorts of fowl, both wild and tame, are in season.”
• Crabapples are in the kitchen being prepared for cider. On April 1, 1799, Washington received a letter from Nicholas Fitzhugh who wrote “I send you by the Bearer some Seed of the Hugh’s Crab apple which I have lately received…” “Hewe’s crabapple” was perhaps the most famous apple in the South for making cider. Washington cultivated crabapples at Mount Vernon and also drank crabapple cider. Crabapples are tough and not easily eaten, but Washington grew other varieties of more edible apples at Mount Vernon which were also harvested in the fall.
• Pickled green beans (or French beans), pickled asparagus, and mushrooms have been brought from the cellar and sent to the table. It was important to properly store or pickle vegetables during the spring and summer seasons to sustain one’s household during the fall and winter. In the kitchen, guests will see evidence of slaves preparing these vegetables for the Washingtons’ table. After a long winter of eating pickled vegetables, diners would have eagerly awaited the coming spring and the new crop of fresh vegetables. Martha Washington was very fond of garden-fresh vegetables, stating that, “vegetable is the best part of our living in the country.”
• The mosquito netting, useful to ward off mosquitoes and other summertime pests, has been removed from the Washingtons’ bedchamber. The side and foot curtains have been re-installed on the bedstead. When pulled closed, these curtains would have encapsulated the sleepers, providing not only privacy, but also protection from cold drafts during crisp fall nights.

What are some other ways that 18th century homes prepared for the cold weather ahead in your area? Leave a comment to let us know!

Photo by L. Toshio Kishiyama.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 10:27 am and is filed under Research/Lectures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.