A-Z Index

Explore the wide range of subjects related to George Washington’s world and the colonial and founding eras.

The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington was generously supported by Richard and Bonnie Dial in memory of Irby and George Prendergast.

Agriculture

16-Sided Barn

16-Sided Barn

The 16-Sided barn on Washington's Dogue Run farm was one of the most innovative structures at Mount Vernon

Learn More

American Revolution

Francis Fauquier

Francis Fauquier

Writing from Fort Loudoun, Virginia, on June 17, 1758, Colonel George Washington honored Francis Fauquier with best wishes for a successful tenure as the new lieutenant governor of the Colony of Virginia…

Learn More

American West

The "Indian Prophecy"

The "Indian Prophecy"

In October 1770, George Washington, his personal physician Dr. James Craik, and a group of fellow soldiers journeyed to the Ohio Country. According to Craik's recollections, an indigenous sachem (local…

Learn More

Animals

Hogs

Hogs

Months before his death, George Washington admitted that while he had "a large stock of Hogs—the precise number is unknown." During this period, Washington let his hogs run free to feed on vegetable…

Learn More

Artists

Washington Irving

Washington Irving

Washington Irving was one of the most famous American authors of the nineteenth century. While he is primarily remembered for short stories such as “Rip van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow…

Learn More

Enslaved Community and Slavery

William (Billy) Lee

William (Billy) Lee

William Lee spent two decades as George Washington's enslaved valet accompanied him nearly everywhere.

Learn More

Family

John Augustine Washington III

John Augustine Washington III

John Augustine Washington III was the great-grand nephew of George Washington and the last private owner of Mount Vernon.

Learn More

Food and Drink

Recipe for Small Beer

Recipe for Small Beer

George Washington’s recipe for “Small Beer” appears in a 1757 notebook of his, which can be found today in its original form at the New York Public Library.

Learn More

Gardens

Upper Garden

Upper Garden

The upper garden was established in the 1760s and paralleled the lower or kitchen garden to its south. This garden was initially planted with fruit and nut trees, and was walled and rectangular in shape…

Learn More

Mansion

New Room

New Room

Washington's New Room is the largest and most ornate of the rooms found within the Mount Vernon mansion.

Learn More

Military

Fort Necessity

Fort Necessity

Site of one of Washington's earliest military encounters

Learn More

Mount Vernon

Tomb

Tomb

Learn more about the New Tomb at Mount Vernon - the Washington's final resting place.

Learn More

Objects

The Bull-Finch

The Bull-Finch

The Bull-Finch is a songster, that is, a bound collection of lyrics to songs without musical notation of their melodies and Mount Vernon's copy is inscribed "Martha Washington 1759" on the title page in…

Learn More

Personal

Social Education

Social Education

Social education in colonial America went beyond academic learning.

Learn More

Politics

Classicism

Classicism

Thirteen centuries after the Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D., the compendium of Roman classics served as an ideological guidebook for the American founders. Classical Roman concepts and figures exerted a…

Learn More

Preservation

Mount Vernon and American Domestic Architecture

Mount Vernon and American Domestic Architecture

Mount Vernon’s distinctive cupola; white, green, and red color scheme; and especially its long, square-columned piazza appear on houses in neighborhoods across the country. By duplicating or adapting…

Learn More

Presidency

Benjamin Franklin Bache

Benjamin Franklin Bache

Benjamin Bache is regarded as one of the fathers of the American tradition of the ideological and partisan political press.

Learn More

Servants and Laborers

Login
Buy Tickets Activities Calendar Shop Restaurant Give Membership
Estate Hours

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

iconDirections & Parking
buy tickets online & save