January is one of the chilliest times of the year, which also means that here at Mount Vernon, it’s one of the most overlooked by visitors, who neither stop by for vacation nor pop by for neighborly visits during this coldest of months. It also means January is ideal for having the estate to yourself. Discover the five best reasons to get to Mount Vernon before February and the busy Presidents Day season begins.
1) Visit the estate without disruption: Attendance in January usually hovers around 20,000 to 25,000 visitors, which means there are six or seven times fewer bustling people than during busy months such as May. Lines are shorter and the estate’s sweeping panoramas are that much more stranger-free for your picture-taking purposes.
2) Scouting-oriented children get in free: All Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Camp Fire members wearing their uniform or official pen get into the estate for free through February 17 — not a bad treat after a long season of cookie sales. They can also complete activities toward patches and pins.
3) It’s a romantic time of year chez Washington: George and Martha, the happy colonial couple, were married on January 6; it was a day referred to back then as Twelfth Night, which marked the end of the Christmas season. For current-day Americans, Christmas is long gone by January 6, but not the Washingtons’ anniversary.
4) Hot cider abounds: The Mount Vernon Inn is a place filled with the adjective delicious. Add hot cider to the menu and you’ve got yourself a warm treat to enjoy beside one of the inn’s several fireplaces.
5) There’s always snow here: Even if it’s not snowing much outdoors this winter, it snows every day in our Revolutionary War Theater, where film-watchers have an immersive experience when real “snow” falls on the audience as Washington crosses the Delaware.
Every December Mount Vernon hosts its Evening for Educators — a time for nearly 200 area teachers to gather at the estate for a totally free performance, hors d’oeuvres and wine, and candelight tours of George Washington’s Mansion. It’s Mount Vernon’s way of saying thanks to all the educators who work hard keeping America’s children abreast of the nation’s past. This year teachers got a behind-the-scenes peak at the enslaved community at Mount Vernon. Washington’s enslaved servants Billy Lee, Caroline, Oney Judge and Christopher Sheels, plus Thomas Jefferson’s manservant Bob Hemings, discussed what the new constitution might mean for them.
The performance was filmed as part of a Mount Vernon distance learning program, and will air on local Fairfax Network on February 22 from 1 to 2 p.m. Afterwards, it will be available for free on DVD.
Interested in attending next year’s event? Keep an eye out as the holiday season rolls around and RSVP. Find out about programs such as this via our education department’s email listserv: Ask to be included by emailing education@mountvernon.org with your request.
For the second year in a row the turkey pardoned by President Barack Obama (and the spare standby turkey) came to Mount Vernon after its White House pardoning ceremony to live out the rest of his days.
Check out this year’s bird, Liberty, as President Obama excuses him from the dinner table and as he arrives to fanfare at his new home at Mount Vernon. Liberty will be on display through January 6 and then retire to the estate’s behind-the-scenes farm facility where he will join his buddy, Peace, the alternate turkey, who headed to the farm facility today.
For the second year in a row Mount Vernon will be the recipient of the White House’s presidentially pardoned turkey. Last year President Barack Obama pardoned Apple who, along with his buddy Cider (the standby “vice presidential” turkey), came to live at Mount Vernon after the ceremony.
After meeting with the president, the pardoned turkey’s day will culminate with a celebration at Mount Vernon, where an 18th-century wagon “motorcade” will bring the bird to Mount Vernon’s main lawn, the bowling green, to the tune of trumpet fanfare. Washington’s farm manager James Anderson will greet the turkey and read George Washington’s Thanksgiving proclamation. The turkey, who is yet to be named, will be on display until January 6 when he will join his standby counterpart and go into retirement at Mount Vernon’s farm facility.
For the official White House announcement read after jump:
Almost in the shadow of Mount Vernon lies another great estate of Washington fame: Woodlawn, home to Martha Washington’s granddaughter Nelly Custis and George Washington’s nephew Lawrence Lewis.
The Washington family tree is a complex one. Although Nelly Custis was Martha Washington’s granddaughter via her first husband and therefore not a blood relative of George Washington, the Washingtons adopted Custis and one of her brothers, taking them in as children of their own. In sum, Woodlawn was the home of Washington’s adopted daughter as well as his nephew.
Today however Woodlawn is simply a historic estate open to the public. Located a mere three miles down the road from Mount Vernon, it’s well worth a visit by anyone hoping to avoid the crowds that flock to George Washington’s house. The scenic estate will unfortunately be closed between now and March 2012 for window restoration.
In the meantime, enjoy the above slideshow and the prospect of a springtime visit to a home that is a trove of Washington memorabilia for those seeking something outside the normal Mount Vernon routine. Distinctly Washington items include a bust of the General commissioned by Custis in the mid-19th century. She had the piece, which was made by sculptor Hiram Powers, placed outside her window at her son’s house so that she could “look upon the countenance of my grandpapa” when she awoke in the morning. A spyglass thought to have been given to Lewis by Washington is also on prominent display.
What is perhaps most Washingtonian about the grounds, however are simply the grounds themselves. Originally part of the Mount Vernon estate, the 2,033-acre parcel of land that in Washington’s words was “a most beautiful site for a gentleman’s seat” plus money with which to build the house were gifted by Washington upon the marriage. In his will Washington would also leave his gristmill and distillery to Lewis.
Woodlawn was finished in 1805, after Washington’s death, and 100 workers, at least 90 of whom were slaves, tended the plantation. Today the estate comprises only 126 acres and is home to the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, a nonprofit farming and food initiative that provides fresh produce to Washington restaurants and underserved neighborhoods. It’s just the sort of initiative that would likely have made Washington, an ever-innovative farmer, proud.
Mount Vernon recently invited K-12 schools nationwide to request framed portraits of George Washington to display in a respectful, prominent place.
The response was overwhelming: thousands of schools submitted letters! Along with the portrait, schools received curriculum materials to help explore our first president’s contributions.
