Historical Highway Marker
Virginia Landmarks Register
September 9, 1969
National Register of Historic Places
October 15, 1966
National Historic Landmark
December 19, 1960
The first President of the United States was an avid writer of letters and a keeper of journals throughout his life, and special collections at libraries throughout the country can attest to this. Washington's most famous piece, however, is most likely his Farewell Address of 1796, which was carried first in Philadelphia newspapers and later in many others. In it, he lays out the reasons for his retirement from politics, expresses his fervent patriotism and warns against the political party system. Although born in Westmoreland County , Washington counted Mount Vernon as home for most of his life.
TEXT OF HIGHWAY MARKER
"Two miles to the east. The original house was built in 1743 by Lawrence Washington. George Washington came into possession in 1752. From here he set out, in April, 1775, to take his seat in the Continental Congress. On December 24, 1783, he returned from the army and here he died on December 14, 1799."
TEXT OF ENTRY ON VIRGINIA LANDMARKS REGISTER
"George Washington became the proprietor of Mount Vernon in 1754 and through a series of alterations and remodelings, completed by 1787, transformed a simple farmhouse built by his father into the mansion that it is today. The composition is set off by its cupola, rusticated wooden siding, and famous portico. Every aspect of the estate—the architecture of the mansion, the decoration of its interior, the planning of the outbuildings, the layout of the gardens, and the operation of the plantation—received Washington's most careful attention. After Washington's death at Mount Vernon in 1799, the property gradually fell into disrepair. In 1858 some 200 acres of the original 8,000-acre plantation were acquired by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association organized by Ann Pamela Cunningham. The association continues to maintain the meticulously restored complex in its matchless Potomac River setting as a shrine to the father of our country."