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GEORGE WASHINGTON BIRTHPLACE National Monument Virginia
GEORGE WASHINGTON BIRTHPLACE National Monument Virginia
by J. Paul Hudson NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES No. 26 Washington, D. C., 1956 The National Park System, of which George Washington Birthplace National Monument is a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and enjoyment of its people. George Washington, colonel of the Virginia militia at the age of 40. From a painting by Charles Willson Peale. Courtesy, Washington and Lee University. ”... His integrity
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PATERNAL ANCESTRY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
PATERNAL ANCESTRY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
Col. JOHN WASHINGTON Born 1632, founder of Washington family in Virginia, 1656-57. Died Sept. 1677. ANNE POPE Daughter of Lt. Col. Nathaniel Pope. Married 1658, died 1669. Capt. LAWRENCE WASHINGTON (1) Born Sept. 1659, Westmoreland Co., Va. Died 1698. MILDRED WARNER, GEORGE GALE (2) Daughter of Augustine Warner. Married 1690, died 1701. Capt. AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON Born 1694. Died 1743. (1) JANE BUTLER Born 1699. Married 1715. Died 1729. Butler, died young. Lawrence, of Mt. Vernon. Augustine, inhe
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John Washington
John Washington
In late 1656, or early 1657, John Washington, about 24 years old, arrived in the Potomac River in Westmoreland County, Va., as mate of the Ketch, Sea Horse of London . Owing to a disagreement with the owner and captain of the vessel, Edward Prescott, John decided to remain in Virginia. Of John’s early history little is known. He was born in England about 1632, son of the Reverend Lawrence Washington (M.A., B.D., Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, Rector of Purleigh, Essex) and Amphillis Twigde
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Lawrence Washington
Lawrence Washington
Lawrence Washington was 5 years old when his parents moved from Mattox Creek to the Bridges Creek plantation. Except for a few months when he may have attended grammar school in England, he lived at Bridges Creek until early manhood. He was 18 when his father, John Washington, died; being the eldest son, he inherited the largest share of the land. As he grew and matured, he became a man of means, culture, and ability, and during his short life-span of 39 years he was honored with the highest pol
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EARLY LIFE.
EARLY LIFE.
George Washington’s father, Augustine Washington, was born at Mattox Creek, Westmoreland County, Va., in 1694. He remembered little of his father, as Lawrence Washington died when Augustine was only 4 years old. Two years later his mother married George Gale, and during the autumn of 1700, the family moved to England. Their family life abroad was short-lived, however, as Augustine’s mother died a year later, when he was only seven. His stepfather, who seems to have been a kindly man, sent August
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FIRST MARRIAGE.
FIRST MARRIAGE.
Augustine Washington became of age in 1715, and shortly thereafter married Jane Butler, daughter of Caleb Butler, a successful Westmoreland County lawyer and planter. Four children were born of this union: Butler, 1716 (who died in infancy); Lawrence, 1718 (who built and named Mount Vernon); Augustine, Jr., 1719 or 1720; and Jane, 1722. Popes Creek....
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PURCHASE OF POPES CREEK FARM.
PURCHASE OF POPES CREEK FARM.
In 1717-18 Augustine Washington bought from Joseph Abbington 150 acres of land on Popes Creek—a beautiful tract overlooking the tidal creek and the Potomac River. Popes Creek, running along the east side of the tract, was approximately one-half mile wide, and joined the Potomac half-a-mile away. From Augustine’s land the river could be seen clearly, as it was over 5 miles wide from the Virginia side to the distant Maryland shore. Augustine’s historic piece of property is described in Westmorelan
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BUILDING THE BIRTHPLACE HOME.
BUILDING THE BIRTHPLACE HOME.
Some time between 1723 and 1725 Augustine Washington hired David Jones, a local carpenter and undertaker, to build a house on his Popes Creek property for 5,000 pounds of tobacco with extra amounts in cash for incidentals. The late Charles A. Hoppin, authority on the Washington family, believed that George’s father had the brick for his new home made on the plantation grounds, the foundations built, and many timbers hewed for the building before Jones began construction of the house. Jones also
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THE BIRTHPLACE.
THE BIRTHPLACE.
While little is known about the appearance of the home in which George was born, the foundations and cellar floors uncovered during archeological excavations revealed that it was built either partially or entirely of brick. Several foundations of outbuildings were unearthed, and all were constructed of brick. So, also, all walls, cellar stairways, wine vaults, and fireplaces that have been excavated were built of brick. The location of the new home was superb, being on a rise of ground 26 feet a
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SECOND MARRIAGE.
SECOND MARRIAGE.
Sixteen months after Jane’s death, Augustine married another young lady from the Northern Neck, Mary Ball, on March 6, 1731. Mary was born at “Epping Forest” in Lancaster County, and was left an orphan at the age of 12. Between that time and the day of her marriage to Augustine Washington (when she was 23) she had lived with two prominent Westmoreland County families—the George Eskridges and the Samuel Bonums. George Eskridge, a kindly guardian, was like a real father to Mary and it is believed
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VIRGINIA IN 1732.
VIRGINIA IN 1732.
In 1732, 125 years had passed since the founding at Jamestown of the first successful English colony in America. The county of Westmoreland had been established for 79 years, and three-quarters of a century had gone by since Augustine’s grandfather, John Washington, had settled in Virginia. Williamsburg had been the capital of the colony for 33 years, and William and Mary College was in its 40th year. Some of Augustine’s older friends remembered Bacon’s Rebellion, which had flared up and had bee
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George Washington
George Washington
On February 11 (Old Style), 1732—when jasmine and jonquils were beginning to bloom and dark purple berries were forming on the native “cedar” trees—Mary Ball Washington gave birth to her first child, a boy she named George. The time was about 10 o’clock in the morning. At a later date the event was recorded with brevity in the family Bible: George Washington son to Augustine & Mary his Wife was Born ye 11th Day of February 1731/2 about 10 in the Morning & was Baptis’d the 5th of
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The Disastrous Fire
The Disastrous Fire
George’s elder half brother, Augustine Washington, Jr., the second owner of the Popes Creek home, died in 1762. The plantation passed to his son, William Augustine Washington, George’s eldest nephew. William Augustine took title in full in 1774 when his mother, Ann Washington (who had a dower life interest in the estate), died. About this time the Popes Creek plantation, for the first time, was called “Wakefield,” a name said to have been inspired by Oliver Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield , and w
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A Century of Neglect
A Century of Neglect
After the disastrous fire at Wakefield, 36 years passed before the birthsite was marked. Finally, in 1815, George Washington Parke Custis (a grandson of Martha Washington and a ward of George Washington) visited Popes Creek and, in an imposing ceremony, marked what he considered to be the spot. Custis, in a letter to the editor of the Alexandria Gazette , described his visit in the following language: In June, 1815, I sailed on my vessel, the “Lady of the Lake”, a fine topsail schooner of ninety
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Glass.
Glass.
Hundreds of pieces of broken wine bottles were found, including 11 wine bottle seals bearing the initials of George’s father, “AW”. During the 18th century only well-to-do planters imported wine bottles from England with their names or monograms stamped on the necks of the containers. Many wine-glass stems were also found, revealing the fine assortment of drinking glasses used by the Washingtons. Numerous windowpane fragments were unearthed....
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Tableware.
Tableware.
Many bonehandled knives and forks of excellent quality were excavated, together with several types of pewter and latten metal spoons. A few of the knife and fork handles found were dyed green, described in the 1762 inventory as “green Ivory handled knives & forks.”...
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Furniture hardware.
Furniture hardware.
Many brass upholstering tacks, knobs, drawer pulls, and keyhole escutcheons, which at one time embellished high quality English furniture of the 1725-75 period, were unearthed....
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Clay pipes.
Clay pipes.
Hundreds of fragments of English white clay pipes were found in the vicinity of the birthsite....
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Lighting devices and fireplace equipment.
Lighting devices and fireplace equipment.
Brass candlesticks, candlesnuffers, and brasshandled fireplace tools excavated revealed that the Washingtons imported fine metalware from the mother country....
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Pottery and porcelain.
Pottery and porcelain.
Countless fragments of colorful earthenware and stoneware pottery were found, together with a fine assortment of oriental porcelain. Much of the pottery (including slip-decorated earthenware, Delftware, white salt-glazed stoneware, “Whieldon” ware, hand-decorated Staffordshire, and creamware) was made in England; some was imported from Holland (tin-glazed Delftware) and Germany (stoneware), whereas most of the porcelain came from China. Tools unearthed near the site of the home in which George W
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1. Granite shaft.
1. Granite shaft.
This shaft, of Vermont granite, weighs about 50 tons. It is nearly one-tenth the size of the Washington Monument in the Nation’s capital, and of the same relative proportions. First erected in 1896 by the War Department (at or near the foundations of the home in which George Washington was born), it was moved to its present location near the entrance to the national monument in 1930. GEORGE WASHINGTON BIRTHPLACE NATIONAL MONUMENT— Westmoreland County, Va. Tilt-top table in the dining room. The o
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2. Superintendent’s office.
2. Superintendent’s office.
Visitors seeking information are always welcome here....
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3. Main parking area. 4. Post office, Washington’s Birthplace, Va.
3. Main parking area. 4. Post office, Washington’s Birthplace, Va.
Souvenirs, postcards, potted plants, and soft drinks may be purchased in the post office building....
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5. Site of Building “X.”
5. Site of Building “X.”
So-called because its history is unknown, the brick foundations of Building “X” were discovered in 1930. They were partially unearthed that year, and completely excavated in 1936. The boxwood plants outline only one room of the building, known as Unit “A.” The brick foundations of Building “X” were the most extensive ones unearthed at Wakefield. Including the projecting wings, the foundations were almost 70 feet long. The center of the building was approximately 19 feet wide. One wing was 22 fee
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6. Memorial house.
6. Memorial house.
This was built in 1930-31. The furnishings are of the 1700-50 period. One item, a tilt-top table, is the only existing piece of furniture said to have been in the original house at Wakefield, having been saved at the time of the fire in 1779. Much of the pottery, porcelain, glassware, tableware, and metalware in the house are similar in period and style to many of the artifacts which were unearthed near the birthsite during archeological excavations....
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7. Colonial-style garden.
7. Colonial-style garden.
South of the memorial house is a colonial-type garden enclosed by a handsplit picket fence. It is connected with the memorial house by a boxwood-lined brick walk. The English boxwood is well over a century old, and was transplanted from the home, 8 miles away, of Sarah Tayloe Washington (a daughter of the last occupant and owner of the home in which George Washington was born.) It is believed to have grown from cuttings originally taken from Wakefield. In this fragrant, old-fashioned garden, wil
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8. Grove of eastern redcedars.
8. Grove of eastern redcedars.
South of the colonial garden is a magnificent grove of eastern redcedars, Juniperus virginiana . The grove covers Burnt House Point, which juts out into Popes Creek....
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9. The kitchen and historical museum.
9. The kitchen and historical museum.
The colonial-style kitchen building is located about 50 feet west of the memorial house. Its old chimney was the last above-ground brickwork of the original buildings at Wakefield owned by George Washington’s father. Still standing in 1872, when it was sketched by a visiting artist, it finally collapsed and fell to the ground the following year. In 1930 the foundations of the old kitchen were uncovered, and subsequently a colonial-style building was constructed on the site. The east room in the
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10. Site of smokehouse.
10. Site of smokehouse.
The boxwood plants mark the site of an old building foundation believed to be that of an early 18th-century smokehouse. Excavated in 1936, the building had brick foundations as well as a brick floor. The foundations were located about 65 feet west of the kitchen building....
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11. Duck Hall parking and picnic area.
11. Duck Hall parking and picnic area.
This section of the national monument is located approximately three-quarters of a mile northeast of the granite shaft. It may be reached over a paved road which runs north from the granite shaft for about one-fourth of a mile, then turns eastward. From the Duck Hall picnic area may be seen magnificent views of Popes Creek and the Potomac River....
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12. Site of 17th-century brick building.
12. Site of 17th-century brick building.
In 1934 brick foundations of a small 17th-century building were unearthed about 180 feet southeast of the Washington family burying ground. One glass bottle seal found near the building site was inscribed with the name “John Washington.” The structure was probably an outbuilding which belonged to George Washington’s great-grandfather. Washington family burying ground....
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13. Washington family burying ground.
13. Washington family burying ground.
Established by John Washington, the founder of the Washington family in Virginia, the family burying ground is located about 1 mile north of the granite shaft. In his will, John, the great-grandfather of George, asked “to be buried on ye plantation wheire I now live, by the side of my wife yt is already buried.” In the years that followed, members of succeeding generations of Washingtons found final resting place in the ancient cemetery. Here the father, grandfather, and great-grandfather of Geo
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14. Potomac River view.
14. Potomac River view.
About a quarter of a mile north of the Washington family burying ground is the south shore of the Potomac River. Here may be seen a delightful view of the river, approximately 5 miles wide at this point. President James Monroe, the fifth President, was born on a farm facing the deep bay on the extreme left....
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How To Reach the Monument
How To Reach the Monument
George Washington Birthplace is 72 miles south of Washington, D. C., via the Potomac River Bridge. It may also be reached from Washington by way of Mount Vernon and Fredericksburg, a distance of 83 miles. The national monument is 69 miles northeast of Richmond, by way of Bowling Green and Port Royal, or 75 miles via U. S. 360, and State Routes 3 and 204. It is 100 miles from Williamsburg and 123 miles from Norfolk over good roads. Washington’s Birthplace is on the Potomac River, and should not b
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About Your Visit
About Your Visit
George Washington Birthplace National Monument is open from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m., Eastern Standard Time, every day of the year including Sundays and holidays, except Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission to the area is 25 cents for adults. Children under 12 are admitted free. Special interpretive talks are given to school classes and other organized groups if arrangements are made in advance with the superintendent. Soft drinks, postcards, potted plants, herbs, and souvenirs may be purchased at
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Related Areas
Related Areas
There are several other areas in the eastern United States administered by the National Park Service which illustrate various aspects of George Washington’s life and public career. These include: Fort Necessity National Battlefield Site, Pa.; Independence National Historical Park, Pa. (which includes the Deshler-Morris House in Germantown, where Washington lived for a short while in 1793 and again in 1794); Morristown National Historical Park, N. J.; Colonial National Historical Park (including
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Administration
Administration
George Washington Birthplace National Monument, now containing about 400 acres, was authorized by an act of Congress on January 23, 1930. It is administered by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. Communications concerning the national monument should be addressed to the superintendent whose address is Washington’s Birthplace, Westmoreland County, Va. Inquiries should not be sent to Wakefield, Va....
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Suggested Readings
Suggested Readings
Eaton, David W. Historical Atlas of Westmoreland County, Virginia. Dietz Press. Richmond, Va. 1942. Eubank, H. Ragland. Touring Historyland: The Authentic Guide Book of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia. Northern Neck Association. Colonial Beach, Va. 1934. Fitzpatrick, John C. Writings of Washington. 39 vols. Government Printing Office. Washington, D. C. 1931-44. Ford, Worthington C. Editor. The Writings of George Washington. The Washington Family, Appendix to Vol. 14. G. P. Putnam’s Sons. New
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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES
FOR SALE BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON 25, D. C. Copy of survey made by George Washington at the age of 16. Surveying A Plan of Major Larw. Washington’s Turnip Field as Survey’d by me This 27 Day of February 1747/. GW...
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