Editing Mount Vernon (section)

=== George Washington ===
[[File:Mount Vernon with the Washington family on the terrace, by Benjamin Henry Latrobe.jpg|thumb|Mount Vernon with the Washington family on the terrace, a 1796 portrait by [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]]]]
Lawrence died in 1752, and his will stipulated that his widow should own a [[life estate]] in Mount Vernon, the [[remainderman|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.<ref name=burian>{{cite book|last=Burian|first=A. Ward|title=George Washington's Legacy of Leadership|publisher=Morgan James Publishing|date=1 April 2007|pages=19–20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTsq0_bZpEQC&q=Lawrence%27s+widow%2C+Anne+Fairfax%2C+promptly+remarried+into&pg=PA19|isbn=978-1-60037-161-5}}</ref> 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.<ref name=greenberg>{{cite book|last=Greenberg|first=Allen|title=George Washington, architect|publisher=Andreas Papadakis Publishers|date=May 1999|page=8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=70T9jZwbAY8C&q=George+washington+purchased+mount+vernon+from+Anne+Fairfax&pg=PA8|isbn=978-1-901092-18-9}}</ref>

In 1758, Washington began the first of two major additions and improvements by raising the house to two-and-a-half stories.<ref name=greenberg /> The second expansion was begun during the 1770s, shortly before the outbreak of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. Washington had rooms added to the north and south ends, unifying the whole with the addition of the cupola and two-story piazza overlooking the Potomac River. The final expansion increased the mansion to 21 rooms and an area of 11,028 square feet.<ref name="10 facts">{{cite web|url=http://www.mountvernon.org/mansion/10facts|title=Ten Facts about the Mansion|last=Anon|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|access-date=15 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213075552/http://www.mountvernon.org/mansion/10facts|archive-date=13 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The great majority of the work was performed by [[slavery|enslaved]] African Americans and artisans.{{sfnp|Dalzell|Dalzell|1998|p=228|ps=}}

==== Agriculture and enterprise ====
[[File:Junius Brutus Stearns - George Washington as Farmer at Mount Vernon.jpg|thumb|Washington out on the plantation, with Mount Vernon in the background, an 1851 portrait by [[Junius Brutus Stearns]]]]
[[File:Gwash map02.jpg|thumb|An 1891 map of the estate drawn by George Washington]]
[[File:RedDevonCowMountVernon.jpg|alt=[[American Milking Devon|Red Devon]] Heritage Breed Cow|thumb|A [[American Milking Devon|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.<ref name="Growth ">{{cite web|url=http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/maps/mtvernon/growth.html |title=The Growth of Mount Vernon 1754–1786 |publisher=The Papers of George Washington |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215140849/http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/maps/mtvernon/growth.html |archive-date=15 December 2008 }}</ref> 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:

{{blockquote|quote=Can it be otherwise than a little mortifying then to find, that we, who raise none but Sweetscented Tobacco, and endeavour I may venture to add, to be careful in the management of it, however we fail in the execution, and who by a close and fixed corrispondance with you, contribute so largely to the dispatch of your Ships in this Country {{sic|shoud}} meet with such unprofitable returns?<ref name="Fitzpatrick">{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw500003/ |title=George Washington to Robert Cary & Company, September 20, 1765, Account Book 1 |access-date=6 March 2009 |work=The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. John C. Fitzpatrick, Editor. |publisher=The George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741–1799 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622060250/https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw500003/ |archive-date=22 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

In the same letter he asks about the prices of [[flax]] and [[hemp]], with a view to their production:

{{blockquote|quote=In order thereto you woud do me a singular favour in advising of the general price one might expect for good Hemp in your Port watered and prepared according to Act of Parliament, with an estimate of the freight, and all other Incident charges pr. Tonn that I may form some Idea of the profits resulting from the growth. I should be very glad to know at the sametime how rough and undressd Flax has generally, and may probably sell; for this year I have made an Essay in both, and altho I suffer pretty considerably by the attempt, owing principally to the severity of the {{sic|Drougth}}, and my inexperience in the management I am not altogether discouraged from a further prosecution of the Scheme provided I find the Sales with you are not clogd with too much difficulty and expence.}}

The tobacco market declined, and many [[Planter class|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 [[George Washington's Fishery|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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803296886/|title=The Five-Ton Life|last=Subak|first=Susan|year=2018|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|pages=47–50|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401230928/https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803296886/|archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803296886/|title=The Five-Ton Life|last=Subak|first=Susan|year=2018|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|pages=32–40|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401230928/https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803296886/|archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 servitude|indentured servants]] from Europe to train the redundant slaves for service on and off the estate.<ref name="chernow2010">{{cite book | title=[[Washington: A Life]] | publisher=The Penguin Press |author=Chernow, Ron | author-link=Ron Chernow | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-101-44418-4}}</ref>
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. It is estimated that during his two terms as President of the United States (1789–1797), Washington spent a total of 434 days in residence at Mount Vernon. After his presidency, Washington tended to repairs to the buildings, socializing, and further gardening. In 1797, farm manager James Anderson, a recent [[Scotland|Scottish]] immigrant, suggested the establishment of a [[whisky]] distillery,<ref>{{Cite web |title=James Anderson |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/james-anderson/ |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |language=en}}</ref> which proved to be the estate's most profitable business venture over the decade of its operation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Whiskey Production |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/whiskey-production/ |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |language=en}}</ref>

====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.<ref name=will>{{cite encyclopedia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905132035/http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/george-washington-and-slavery/|archive-date=5 September 2015|url=http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/george-washington-and-slavery/|title=George Washington and Slavery|encyclopedia=George Washington's Mount Vernon: Digital Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Mount Vernon Ladies' Association]]|year=2015|access-date=30 November 2015}}</ref>

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.<ref name="will" />

When Martha Washington's first husband, [[Daniel Parke Custis]], died without a will, she received a life interest in one-third of his estate, including the slaves. Neither George nor Martha Washington could free these slaves by law. Upon Martha's death, these slaves reverted to the Custis estate and were divided among her grandchildren. By 1799, 153 slaves at Mount Vernon were part of this [[dower]] property.<ref name="will" />

Martha signed a deed of [[Manumission#United States|manumission]] in December 1800.<ref>{{cite web|first=Kathryn|last=Gehred|date=July 6, 2018|url=https://washingtonpapers.org/why-did-martha-washington-free-her-husbands-slaves-early/|title=Why Did Martha Washington Free Her Husband's Slaves Early?|work=Washington Papers|location=[[Charlottesville, Virginia]]|publisher=[[University of Virginia]]|access-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123064754/https://washingtonpapers.org/why-did-martha-washington-free-her-husbands-slaves-early/|archive-date=January 23, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Abstracts of court records in [[Fairfax County, Virginia]] record this transaction. The slaves received their freedom on January 1, 1801.<ref name="will"/>