Object Spotlight: Martha’s Bathing Gown
In an era when tanning and beach volleyball weren’t exactly de rigueur, neither was a two-piece, water-friendly swimsuit. That’s why Martha Washington hit the waves in this blue- and white-checked linen bathing gown.
What sort of occasions did Martha Washington have to splash around? The Washingtons frequently traveled to what is today known as Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, a spot where mineral water has bubbled out of the ground for thousands of years.
Sixteen-year-old George Washington first visited “ye fam’d Warm Springs” in 1748 as part of the crew surveying lands belonging to his mentor and neighbor Thomas, Lord Fairfax. Washington returned to take the waters in 1750 and 1751 with his older half-brother Lawrence, who was suffering from tuberculosis.
Over the next three decades, Mrs. Washington journeyed with her husband several times to the bustling resort town (called Bath) for health and recreational reasons. In late summer 1767, they left their children at home and spent nearly a month there with their friends and neighbors, George William Fairfax and his wife, Sally. The Washingtons went again in August 1769, this time taking Martha Washington’s daughter Patsy with them, in hopes that the mineral water might cure her epileptic seizures. Writing about this trip, George Washington confided to a friend, “About a fortnight ago I came to this place with Mrs. Washington and her daughter, the latter of whom being troubled with a complaint, which the efficacy of these Waters it is thought might remove, we resolved to try them, but have found little benefit as yet from the experiment; what a week or two more may do we know not, and therefore are inclined to put them to the test.”
Martha Washington’s oldest granddaughter, Eliza Parke Custis Law preserved this garment with a note stating that her grandmother “bathed [in it] at Berkeley Springs … soon after her marriage with Genl Washington,” thus suggesting it may date to one of the trips they took in the 1760s. It is simply constructed of one length of linen for the front and back. Triangular side gores add fullness, while linen tape ties secure the deep-cut neck closure. Four circular lead weights, each sewn into a pocket located just above the hem ensured Martha Washington wouldn’t be indecently exposed mid swim.
Few of Martha Washington’s garments survive intact, making her bathing gown a rare specimen. Eliza Law’s granddaughter presented the gown to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.
Object Spotlight is a regular feature on George Washington Wired that highlights some of the household belongings that Washington came into contact with. Assistant Curator Amanda Isaac contributed to this report. Check out Mount Vernon’s eMuseum to find more of Washington’s belongings.
Gift of Mrs. George R. Goldsborough, Vice Regent for Maryland 1894 [W-580]
September 12th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Did the Washington’s and Fairfax’ take the waters together or women separate from men?
September 15th, 2011 at 10:16 am
Love these posts! A quick question, though, I thought Sally and George William Fairfax had no children?
September 16th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
From MV assistant curator Laura Simo: Men and women bathed separately, and until the first bathhouses were built at Berkeley Springs in the 1780s (also segregated by gender), in pretty primitive conditions.
September 20th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Good catch! They did not … we’ve changed the text to reflect that. Very sharp!