Spoiler Alert: This site is a re-creation. Nevertheless…

The Land Itself…

Pope’s Creek, a beautifully situated tributary of the Potomac River in a still-rural and sparsely populated area of Westmoreland County, in Virginia’s Northern Neck, had been in the Washington family for three generations before George Washington was even born.

His great-grandfather, John Washington, arrived in 1657, married Anne, the daughter of Nathaniel Pope, who dowered her with 700 acres to start their married life. They planted a self-sustaining kitchen garden, plus acres of corn and wheat, and at least fifteen acres devoted to tobacco, then accepted as currency to trade with Britain for household and luxury goods. Over the next decades, he purchased additional land, including a tract on Little Hunting Creek, which eventually became Mount Vernon.

George’s father, Augustine Washington added still more acreage, and married Mary Ball, a year after his first wife died. George was their first child together. George lived there until he was nearly four, when his family moved briefly to Little Hunting Creek, and then finally to Ferry Farm, where GW spent most of his childhood. 

But wherever they lived, it was on a farm, close to the land, and near a great river. Love of the land and love of the river were entrenched in Washington’s life forever. 

GW: The Mid-Years

Augustine Washington died when GW was eleven. The expected “classical education in London” that was given to his older-by-somewhat half-brothers, Augustine and Lawrence, was now out of the question. The balance of his formal education was spotty, but he trained as a surveyor, a respected (and much needed) profession in the early part of the 18th century. It opened several doors for him.

Actual records indicate that by fifteen or so, GW spent time at Pope’s Creek, which had been inherited by his eldest half-brother Augustine, and surveyed a fair portion of that property, where his earliest preserved map was drawn.

His other half-brother Lawrence had inherited the property at Little Hunting Creek, next door to the powerful (money, title and influence) Fairfax family, and married one of their daughters. GW was a frequent visitor, and another door opened. The Fairfaxes liked the teenager, and invited him to join an expedition to survey the Shenandoah Valley. That led to an appointment as surveyor of Culpeper County. And that led (since he was familiar with those “western” lands) to an assignment with the Virginia Militia to investigate French encroachments on those lands. 

That in turn led to the start of the French and Indian War, GW’s rise in military experience and command.

When Lawrence Washington died, George inherited the Little Hunting Creek property, which his brother had renamed Mount Vernon. 

He returned to Pope’s Creek only once or twice to visit family during the next decades. His “birth house,” then owned by his nephew, burned in 1779.

Remembering George Washington for 250 Years

The next public notice anyone took of George Washington’s birthplace was around 15 years after his death in 1799. His step-grandson George Washington Parke Custis visited the area, and placed a stone marker stating “Here on the 11th of February, 1732, Washington was born.” (Note the calendar change is now February 22). In 1858, the State of Virginia acquired the Pope’s Creek property. 

Meanwhile, when GW’s Centennial was held in 1832, plans began for erecting the Washington Monument in the city that bears his name. It took more than fifty years to complete, punctuated by national strife, civil war, and lack of funds. But in 1882, the War Department took over much of the birthplace site, and in 1896 the Army Corps of Engineers erected a 50-foot stone obelisk (about one-tenth the size of the Washington Monument), to commemorate where (they believed) the original house was located. 

As the Bicentennial (1932) of GW’s birth came closer, it was determined that the birthplace required additional dignity and attention. With help from John D. Rockefeller Jr., the Wakefield National Memorial Association was established, including “borrowing” some of the historians, archaeologists, engineers, etc., who were resurrecting and restoring Colonial Williamsburg. 

Archaeological excavations in the area have unearthed some 1700-era tools, glass items, and even a seal with Augustine Washington’s initials. 

The Engineers moved the obelisk about a half mile away, and built a Colonial-Revival style birth house in 1931, likely considerably finer than the actual house where GW was born, but it represents a typical upper-class house of the time. The bricks were handmade. The furnishings are evocative of the 1730-50 period, but are not from the Washington family. The house is surrounded by a kitchen garden, a recreated colonial kitchen, a weaving room, farm workshop and barn.

According to The George Washington Birthplace National Monument docents, “Mount Vernon (with its huge pocketbook) is the largest repository of GW owned artifacts. We try to fill in with period pieces.” 

The actual foundation of the birth house was unearthed in 1936, (not far from the Memorial House), reburied for its protection and outlined in oyster shells. The living colonial farm was established in 1968.

And, for your edification, a committee is already in place to determine the plans and priorities for George’s Tricentennial!

The George Washington Birthplace National Monument is run by the National Park Service, and is located about 40 miles from Fredericksburg, VA. It has a nice little visitor center with commemorative displays, book/gift shop – and a really nice 15-minute film.

Best of all – it is FREE. You can throw a few bucks in the jar if you like. 

So if you are in the area, stop by. They are always happy to see you!

Sources:

George Washington Birthplace printed handout from the U.S. Dept. of Interior

https://www.georgewashington.org/childhood.jsp

https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/the-mansion/owners-of-mount-vernon/

George Washington’s Birthplace