Washington family In 1674,
John Washington, the great-grandfather of
George Washington, and
Nicholas Spencer came into possession of the land from which Mount Vernon
plantation would be carved, originally known by its
Piscataway name of
Epsewasson. The successful patent on the acreage was largely executed by Spencer, who acted as agent for his cousin
Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper, the English landowner who controlled the
Northern Neck of Virginia, in which the tract lay. When John Washington died in 1677, his son
Lawrence, George Washington's grandfather, inherited his father's stake in the property. In 1690, he agreed to formally divide the estimated 5,000 acre (20 km2) estate with the heirs of Nicholas Spencer, who had died the previous year. The Spencers took the larger southern half bordering
Dogue Creek in the September 1674 land grant from Lord Culpeper, leaving the Washingtons the portion along Little Hunting Creek. The Spencer heirs paid Lawrence Washington of
tobacco as compensation for their choice. Lawrence Washington died in 1698, bequeathing the property to his daughter Mildred. On 16 April 1726, she agreed to a one-year lease on the estate to her brother
Augustine Washington, George Washington's father, for a
peppercorn rent; a month later the lease was superseded by Augustine's purchase of the property for £180. He built the original house on the site around 1734, when he and his family moved from Pope's Creek to Eppsewasson, which he renamed Little Hunting Creek. The original stone foundations of what appears to have been a two-roomed house with a further two rooms in a half-story above are still partially visible in the present house's cellar. Augustine Washington recalled his eldest son,
Lawrence, George's half-brother, home from school in England in 1738, and set him up on the family's Little Hunting Creek tobacco plantation, thereby allowing Augustine to move his family back to
Fredericksburg at the end of 1739. In 1739, Lawrence, having reached 21 years of age, began buying up parcels of land from the adjoining Spencer tract, starting with a plot around the grist mill on Dogue Creek. In mid-1740, Lawrence received a coveted
officer's commission in the
British Army and made preparations to go off to war in the Caribbean with the newly formed American Regiment to fight in the War of Jenkins' Ear. He served under Admiral
Edward Vernon; returning home, he named his estate after his commander.
George Washington Lawrence died in 1752, and his will stipulated that his widow should own a
life estate in Mount Vernon, the
remainder interest falling to his half-brother George; George Washington was already living at Mount Vernon and probably managing the plantation. Lawrence's widow, Anne Fairfax, remarried into the
Lee family and moved out. Following the death of Anne and Lawrence's only surviving child in 1754, George, as executor of his brother's estate leased his sister-in-law's estate. Upon the death of Anne Fairfax in 1761, he succeeded to the remainder interest and became sole owner of the property. In 1758, Washington began the first of two major additions and improvements by raising the house to two-and-a-half stories. The great majority of the work was performed by
enslaved African Americans and artisans.
Agriculture and enterprise . This painting shows an idealized version of plantation work, far removed from the reality of the harsh conditions endured by the slaves. Heritage Breed Cow|thumb|A
Red Devon bull at Mount Vernon George Washington expanded the estate by purchasing surrounding parcels of land beginning in the late 1750s and was still adding to the estate into the 1780s, including the
River Farm estate. From 1759 until the Revolutionary War, Washington, who at the time aspired to become a prominent agriculturist, had five separate farms as part of his estate. He took a scientific approach to farming and kept extensive and meticulous records of both labor and results. In a letter dated 20 September 1765, Washington writes about receiving poor returns for his tobacco production: In the same letter he asks about the prices of
flax and
hemp, with a view to their production: The tobacco market declined, and many
planters in
Northern Virginia converted to mixed crops. By 1766, Washington ceased growing tobacco at Mount Vernon and replaced the crop with wheat, corn, and other grains. Besides hemp and flax, he experimented with 60 other crops including cotton and silk. He also derived income from a
gristmill which produced cornmeal and flour for export and also ground neighbors' grain for fees. Washington similarly sold the services of the estate's looms and blacksmith. Washington built and operated a small
fishing fleet, permitting Mount Vernon to export fish. Washington practiced the selective breeding of sheep in an effort to produce better quality wool. He was not as invested in animal husbandry as he was in cropping experiments, which were elaborate and included complex field rotations,
nitrogen fixing crops and a range of soil amendments. The Washington household consumed a wider range of protein sources than was typical for the Chesapeake population of his day, which consumed a great deal of beef. Although Washington was involved with nearly every detail of the estate's operation, he was also absent for long periods, to include during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the
Constitutional Convention (1787), and his two terms as President (1789-1797). To handle the daily management of the estate in his absence he hired
Lund Washington, a distant cousin, from 1764 to 1785, then
George Augustine Washington, a nephew who also lived at the estate, from 1786 to 1791. The managers provided him with detailed reports, typically weekly. After George Augustine was unable to continue because of illness in 1791, he was replaced with, successively, Washington's secretary Robert Lewis, Anthony Whitting, and finally
James Anderson, a recent
Scottish immigrant, from 1796 to 1802. Even during his presidency however, Washington returned home as often as he could. The new crops were less labor-intensive than tobacco; hence, the estate had a surplus of slaves. But Washington refused to break up families for sale. Washington began to hire skilled
indentured servants from Europe to train the redundant slaves for service on and off the estate. Following his service in the war, Washington returned to Mount Vernon and in 1785–1786 spent a great deal of effort improving the
landscaping of the estate. After his presidency, Washington tended to repairs to the buildings, socializing, and further gardening. In 1797, farm manager James Anderson suggested the establishment of a
whisky distillery, which proved to be the estate's most profitable business venture over the decade of its operation.
George Washington's will In his will, written several months before his death in December 1799, George Washington left directions for the emancipation of all the slaves who belonged to him. Of the 317 slaves at Mount Vernon in 1799, a little less than half, 123 individuals, belonged to George Washington. Under the terms of his will, these slaves were to be set free upon Martha Washington's death. In accordance with state law, George Washington stipulated in his will that elderly slaves or those who were too sick to work were to be supported throughout their lives by his estate. Children without parents, or those whose families were too poor or indifferent to see to their education, were to be bound out (or apprenticed) to masters and mistresses who would teach them reading, writing, and a useful trade, until they were ultimately freed at the age of twenty-five. Abstracts of court records in
Fairfax County, Virginia record this transaction. The slaves received their freedom on January 1, 1801. == Washington's tomb ==