BGuthrie Photos: VA -- George Washington Birthplace Natl Monument

VA -- George Washington Birthplace Natl Monument:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. GWB_080323_001.JPG: George Washington memorial
2. GWB_080323_014.JPG: Washington: The Soldier: What Kind of Military Leader Was George Washington? As a general, George Washington was more administrator than strategist; he planned his battles judiciously but adjusted slowly to changes in the field. He was admired by his troops, but some of his officers criticized his slow decision-making. Washington started out as a colonial militiaman in the British Army. After years of heroism and an end to the war, he resigned his commission as a colonial officer. When appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, he was effectively a General without an army. He set about assembling a fighting force from citizen militias in the thirteen colonies. Washington supported the Army by claiming expenses only, no pay, for his service. He lost more battles than he won, but he succeeded in his objectives to prolong the war and crush British ability to sustain armed forces in the colonies. When he obtained a surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, the war was over, but hostilities lasted until 1783. With peace attained, George Washington did what few victorious generals have ever done, he resigned his commission.
3. GWB_080323_018.JPG: Washington: The Statesman: What Kind of Statesman Was George Washington? As chief executive, Washington surrounded himself with very able men -- Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury), Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State), James Madison (a member of the House of Representatives who Washington used as a speech writer), and John Jay (the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court). Washington's first and foremost objective was to "preserve the Union," which he did, in part, by making peace between the factions, and parties that his appointees represented. His administrations extended U.S. territory into the Mississippi Valley, established a central financial institution, kept the British out of the Northwest, and maintained a neutral role in European affairs. Washington set a tone for the office of president, establishing precedents with every decision he made.
4. GWB_080323_026.JPG: BRIDGES CREEK PLANTATION 1664-1720 Home of John Washington (George's Great Grandfather) 1664-1677 John's Will, written in 1765, suggests that his plantation was a typical one specializing in tobacco, other crops, livestock and the like. He was able to increase his land holdings, enlarge the house and increase the number of outbuildings. By the time of his death, the plantation had taken on the appearance of a small village. Signs of the family's wealth are seen in some of these artifacts found on the site, for example, the personalized bottle seals and the fragment of an elaborate Venetian wine goblet.
5. GWB_080323_032.JPG: Popes Creek Plantation 1718-1779: Home of Augustine Washington (George's father) 1718-1735 Birthplace of George Washington February 22, 1732 In 1718, Augustine Washington purchased 150 acres of land on Popes Creek "with all houses edifices buildings," as well as an extensive farming operation. As at Bridges Creek, improvements on the house and purchases of additional tracts of land indicated Washington's continued financial growth. Augustine's plantation also reflects early 18th century "enlightened" values of symmetry as seen in the balanced wings and the symmetrical layout of the outbuildings. Further, the design and construction testifies to Augustine's confidence in the permanence of the Virginia Colony.
6. GWB_080323_033.JPG: Washington: The Man: What Kind of a Man was George Washington? Even in his lifetimes, the "Great Washington," the legendary leaders, overshadowed the real Washington, the human being who -- among other things -- lost his temper easily and spent money grudgingly. The real Washington was complex, compelling, and admirable enough without the legends. He loved Mount Vernon, the plantation he worked so hard to improve, but spent little of his adult life there. Taller by a half a foot than most men of his generation, he commanded attention by his very presence, yet he was not domineering. Prone to shyness, he trained himself to become a "man about town." A man of war, he was an astonishing peacemaker. Conscious of the legacies his unprecedented service was creating, he still never wrote his own memoirs. He was slow to decide, but quick to act; poorly educated, but well0informed; fair-minded but resolute. Washington spent a lifetime building his personal character. Ultimate, he created lasting positive impressions, for those who knew him and generations to follow.
7. GWB_080323_039.JPG: Washington: The Legacy: What Is George Washington's Legacy? "The situation in which I now stand, for the last time, in the midst of the Representatives of the People of the United States, naturally recalls the period when the Administration of the present form of Government commenced; and I cannot omit the occasion, to congratulate you and my County, on the success of the experiment; nor to repeat my fervent supplications to the Supreme Ruler of the universe, and Sovereign Arbiter of Nations, that his Providential care may still be extended to the United States, that the virtue and happiness of the People may be preserved, and that the Government, which they have instituted for the protection of their liberties, may be perpetual." -- George Washington, Farewell Address to Congress, 1797. "George Washington was one of the few in the whole history of the world who was not carried away by power." -- Robert Frost. "His example is complete; and it will teach wisdom and virtue to Magistrates, Citizens, and Men, not only in the present age, but in future generations." -- John Adams "They wanted me to be another Washington." -- Napoleon Bonaparte on his deathbed Bridges Creek Plantation 1664-1720: Home of John Washington (George's Great Grandfather) 1664-1677. John's will, written in 1675, suggests that his plantation was a typical one specializing in tobacco, other crops, livestock and the like. He was able to increase his land holdings, enlarge the house and increase the number of outbuildings. By the time of his death, the plantation had taken on the appearance of a small village. Signs of the family's wealth are seen in some of these artifacts found on the site, for example, the personalized bottle seals and the fragment of an elaborate Venetian wine goblet.
8. GWB_080323_048.JPG: The Historic Area: At Popes Creek Plantation, George Washington was born into the plantation culture he would know his entire life. Today, no visible vestiges of the plantation remain. Instead, exhibits, buildings, and interpreters on the site give a sense of the lifestyle that would help shape the values of the most famous of all Americans. The site of the main house -- George Washington's birthplace -- is clearly marked. Surrounding the birthplace is the memorial area, constructed in the 1930s to commemorate the bicentennial of Washington's birth. The working colonial farm was created in 1968. The sights, sounds, and methodical pace of Washington's times are faithfully reflected here.
9. GWB_080323_072.JPG: Popes Creek Plantation: Look at the landscape around you. Augustine Washington's reasons for settling here in t718 are apparent. The ground to your left is slightly elevated and well drained -- perfect for farming. Before you, Popes Creek teems with life: fish, crabs, and waterfowl. Deer and other game abound in the surrounding forests. Fresh water is abundant from numerous springs. And a mile to the northeast is the Potomac River, Augustine Washington's commercial lifeline to the world. In an economy where crop prices fluctuated and soil was easily depleted, the acquisition of land meant security and, often, wealth. While Augustine Washington's holdings were moderate, he aspired to join Virginia's propertied elite. His success depended almost entirely upon slaves and indentured servants laboring in tobacco fields, workshops, and in the kitchen and manor house. The whole operated resembled a small village.
10. GWB_080323_122.JPG: George Washington's Birthplace: On the ground before you once stood the plantation home of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington. Here, on February 22, 1732, George Washington -- farmer, general of the Continental Army, and first president of the United States -- was born. George Washington lived here only three years, but returned often during his youth and came to know Popes Creek Plantation well. The house remained in the Washington family until 1779, when it burned in a Christmas Day fire. Its exact location remained hidden under deepening soil and thickening underbrush for the next 150 years. The white oyster shell fragments on the ground in front of you mark the foundations of the birth house.
11. GWB_080323_128.JPG: Archeology at Popes Creek: Most of what we know about George Washington's birthplace has come to us thanks to the archeologist's trowel. After generations of uncertainty about the location of the main plantation house, archeologists excavated its foundations in 1936. They discovered a house built in many phases. At the time of George Washington's birth, probably only the central portion of the house existed. The addition of the wings -- the last built in the 1760s -- expanded the house to the dimensions you see marked on the ground before you. Two major excavations on the site in 1936 and 1974 produced thousands of artifacts -- many of them imported from England -- from pottery to straight pins to a bridle hat. Most of the items showed signs of scorching, testifying to the house's fiery end on Christmas Day, 1779. Despite the extensive archeological work, much about George Washington's Birthplace remains a mystery.
12. GWB_080323_131.JPG: Oyster shells indicate the dimensions of the house where George Washington was born. The dimensions show the final side of the house which burned in 1779. The dimensions at the time of his birth were considerably smaller.
13. GWB_080323_136.JPG: The Memorial Area: Generations of Americans have expressed their reverence for George Washington at his birth site. This park is the cumulative result of a century of memorial efforts. In 1923, on the eve of the bicentennial of Washington's birth, interested citizens decided to create a memorial landscape here, including the Memorial House, colonial kitchen, brick walkways, and an extensive cedar grove. When built, the Memorial House and colonial kitchen represented a best guess at the historic appearance of Popes Creek Plantation. We now know that they bear little resemblance to the structures that stood here in 1732. These early commemorative efforts led to the designation of Washington's birthplace as the first historic site in the National Park System in 1930. With the later addition of workshops and farm buildings, the memorial area has become a working colonial farm. Begin your walk through the farm area inside the colonial kitchen, just in front of you. Builders of the Memorial House thought its location marked the site of the birth house. Six years later, archeologists confirmed the location of the birth house foundation, 100 feet away.
14. GWB_080323_141.JPG: Plantation kitchen
15. GWB_080323_142.JPG: Dairy. Site of eighteenth-century dairy used by the Washingtons for storage of milk, cheese and other dairy products. The original brick floor is still in tact.
16. GWB_080323_145.JPG: Dairy. Site of eighteenth-century dairy used by the Washingtons for storage of milk, cheese and other dairy products. The original brick floor is still in tact.
17. GWB_080323_257.JPG: Plantation kitchen
18. GWB_080323_350.JPG: Inside the (fake) house. While there are a few period pieces in the house, the inside looks nothing like it did during George's time.
19. GWB_080323_461.JPG: Bald eagle
20. GWB_080323_501.JPG: Artery of Commerce: Sailing ships and rivers they travelled were vital to the tidewater plantations of Virginia and Maryland. They were the colonial counterpart to our vehicles, highways, and railroads. In front of you is Popes Creek; beyond is the Potomac River. Every Potomac River plantation landing was an international port of call. A steady progression of ships graced the river, collecting hogsheads of tobacco for shipment to England and unloading both the necessities and niceties of colonial life. The river not only linked the new world to the old, but linked the Potomac River plantations to one another. Regular interaction gave the Potomac River plantation families a strong collective identity distinct from that of the rest of tidewater Virginia.
21. GWB_080323_502.JPG: Artery of Commerce
22. GWB_080323_600.JPG: The Henry Brooks House: At the distant end of the field in front of you stood the home of Henry Brooks, the first owner of much of what would become Popes Creek Plantation. As you look toward the house site, perhaps you can sense the isolation Henry Brooks must have felt when he settled here in 1651; he stood in the frontier of Virginia's tobacco culture. During the next twelve years, many others followed him to the area, and Brooks steadily sold off his 1,000 acres. By 1662, the area around Popes and Bridges Creeks was dotted with at least eight modest farms -- more than would exist here a century later. Archeological investigations at the Henry Brooks house site in 1977 testified to the difficulties of carving a new homestead out of the wilderness. This farm was far less elaborate than the later Popes Creek Plantation. Brooks's main dwelling measured only 20x19 feet. Archeologists discovered just one other structure on the site.
23. GWB_080323_605.JPG: Henry Brooks Farm would have been in the distance
24. GWB_080323_610.JPG: Path to the family graveyard
25. GWB_080323_613.JPG: The John Washington House: In 1664, John Washington, the great-grandfather of George Washington, built a small house on this site. From these modest beginnings, a powerful and prominent Virginia family would arise. During his thirteen years here, John Washington attended to his farm, his growing business interests, and his ascending social position. He purchased extensive tracts of land throughout the Westmoreland County and as far north as Little Hunting Creek -- a tract today called Mount Vernon. He served in the Virginia legislature, as an officer in the militia, and as a justice of the peace. When he died in 1677, he left an estate that included 6,700 acres. Archeologists revealed that the John Washington site included the main house (40x20 feet), at least two outbuildings, and the family burial ground, to your right.
26. GWB_080323_619.JPG: John Washington House site would have been to the left here
27. GWB_080323_627.JPG: The Burial Ground: Three generations of George Washington's forebears are buried here. The first burials were made in 1668, when John Washington's wife Anne and two small children died. During the next thirty years, at least nine more Washingtons -- including George Washington's grandparents -- were interred here. The cemetery today bears no resemblance to the cemetery George Washington visited during his youth. In 1930, the Wakefield National Memorial Association constructed the wall around the grounds, consolidated the graves into a single casket, and interred the remains in a rebuilt vault. Sign on the vault: The ancient brick Vault beneath this stone was rebuilt and the remains therein, of possibly, twelve burials and twenty adjoining graves, were re-interred here April 28th, 1930, by the Wakefield National Memorial Association.
28. GWB_080323_632.JPG: Many of the graves were combined into this common pit
29. GWB_080323_663.JPG: Paradise Found: The original inhabitants of the Chesapeake Bay Region made full use of its bountiful resources. The large pristine bay and its waterways, including the Potomac River before you, sustained nearly 27,000 Native Americans. Daily life revolved around streams, creeks, and rivers of the watershed. Bathing and swimming were year round rituals. In a world without horses, dug out canoes skimmed bay tributaries. Salty tidewaters provided seemingly unlimited fish, oysters, and crabs to supplement crops and game. Shells and pearls served as money, jewelry, and clothing decoration. Discarded oyster shells formed middens (??), like the mounds found near Washington's Birthplace, and indicate heavy harvesting. The fluid nature of Native American towns minimized the impact of primitive waste sanitation and farming practices. Exhausted fields and homesteads recuperated when abandoned for new areas. Sixteenth century Spanish, French, and English explorers discovered this secluded paradise. The European settlers who followed found a pristine world of abundant resources. Like the natives before them, these settlers exploited the region to the fullest extent allowed by their technology. A new era had begun for the Chesapeake Bay.
30. GWB_080323_668.JPG: A New World on the Chesapeake: The generous resources of the Chesapeake Bay invited English exploration and settlement of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. With Native American assistance, English settlers developed a cash crop industry. Tobacco cultivation and export was the first commercial enterprise in the New World and produced great wealth for Virginia and Maryland. "Tobacco Society" plantations, like the Washington home at Popes creek, flourished along Chesapeake tributaries. These plantations were tied together by the Potomac and other regional rivers serving as highways for ships transporting people, communications, and cargo. River and harbor towns, such as Norfolk, Richmond, and Baltimore, grew with trade and commerce as the Chesapeake connected with the rest of the world through trade. Farmers continued producing tobacco and other cash crops along the bay shores. Timbering in watershed forests provided lumber for ships, workboats, buildings, and houses. By the mid-1800s, over half the region's vast forests were gone and intense farming had exhausted once-fertile watershed soils. A growing population of watermen turned to harvesting the bay and its rivers. Oystering, crabbing, and fishing would become the Chesapeake's most notable industries. New and ever-increasing pressures were placed on this fragile ecosystem.
31. GWB_080323_669.JPG: The Bay Today: The Chesapeake Bay continues to be a generous provider of food, industry, and income. Millions of people are now drawn to the Bay in pursuit of leisure and tranquility. Recreational uses have increased since Washington's time, when the water shed was a highway for commerce. Today, powerboats, jet skis, and yachts bigger than a waterman's workboat traverse Bay waters. Quiet coves ringed by marshes beckon birders and canoeists. These centuries of use, from early settlement to modern development, took their toll on the Bay. Underwater grasses, essential to Bay life, experienced dramatic losses. Many popular bird species declined to a fraction of their earlier numbers. The turning point came in the 1970s when the Chesapeake Bay reaches its environmental low. Successful efforts to restore habitat and water quality were initiated because people cared about this precious resource. The future of the Chesapeake depends on the choices you make today. Visitors and residents -- at work and at play -- affect these waters. Learn ways to minimize the impact of your activities. The Chesapeake bay is not just a fount of natural riches; it is a source of light for the spirit of modern civilization.
32. GWB_080323_672.JPG: Chesapeake Bay
33. GWB_080323_698.JPG: Link to the World: While the essentials of life could be had from the waters, fields, gardens, and forests of Popes Creek Plantation, true economic prosperity depended on the plantation's link to the world: the Potomac River. The boat landing for Popes Creek Plantation was located somewhere near here. Several times a year, ships from England would anchor in the river channel. A small fleet of boats would then ferry cargo -- chinaware, spices, linens, wines, silver, and other luxuries -- to the landing. On the return trip, the boats would carry hogsheads of Augustine Washington's primary cash crop, tobacco. When the ships arrived, Washington's salves would leave the fields and workshops and temporarily assume the duties of longshoremen. Little of the cargo they unloaded was for their own use or consumption.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: George Washington Birthplace National Monument
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The George Washington Birthplace National Monument is in Westmoreland County, Virginia, United States. Originally settled by John Washington, George Washington's great-grandfather, George Washington was born here on February 22, 1732. He lived here until age four, returning later as a teenager.

At the entrance to the grounds, now maintained and operated by the National Park Service, is a Memorial Shaft obelisk of Vermont marble, which is a one-tenth scale replica of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

The George Washington Birthplace National Monument, where Popes Creek joins the Potomac River, is representative of 18th-century Virginia tobacco farms. A Memorial House with 18th century furnishings is open to visitors. The park's farm buildings, groves of trees, livestock, gardens, and crops of tobacco and wheat, represent the boyhood environment Washington knew.

History:

In the 1600s–1700s:

George Washington's great-grandfather settled this plantation in 1657 at the original site on Bridges Creek (see map). The first section of the house in which George Washington was born was built before 1718 and enlarged by his father between 1722–1726. It was eventually further enlarged by the mid-1770s to a ten-room house, known as "Wakefield". It was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day, 1779, and never rebuilt.

Thirty-two graves of Washington family members have been found here, including George's half-brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

In the 1800s:

In 1858, the Commonwealth of Virginia acquired the property to preserve the homesite and cemetery, but the Civil War intervened. Virginia donated the land to the Federal Government in 1882.

In the 1900s:

The Wakefield National Memorial Association was formed in 1923 to restore the property. In 193O, the grounds were authorized as a U.S. National Monument and, in 1931, the Wakefield Association received a grant from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to acquire and transfer a total of 394 acres of land to the Federal government .

Since the exact appearance of the original Washington family home is not known, a Memorial House was designed by Edward Donn, Jr. representing similar buildings of the era and constructed on the approximate site in 1931. The actual location of Washington's boyhood home is adjacent to the memorial house and its foundation is outlined in the ground by crushed oyster shells.

Constructed as a memorial to George Washington in 1930–1931, the Memorial House is not an exact replica of his birthplace. Rather, it represents a typical upper class house of the period. The Memorial House is constructed of bricks handmade from local clay. It has a central hallway and four rooms on each floor, furnished in the 1730–1750 period style by the Wakefield National Memorial Association. A tea table is believed to have been in the original house. Most of the other furnishings are more than 200 years old.

The park and Memorial House were opened by the National Park Service in 1932, on the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth.

The National Monument today:

In addition to the Memorial House, park facilities open to visitors include the historic birthplace home area, Kitchen House, hiking trails, and picnic grounds. In the Kitchen House, costumed re-enactors demonstrate candle- and soap-making. A Colonial Herb and Flower Garden, having plants common to Washington's time, such as thyme, sage, basil, and other herbs, flowers such as hollyhocks, forget-me-nots, and roses, as well as trees and bushes that date to Washington's time, may be viewed. The Colonial Living Farm, with a barn and pasture, raises livestock, poultry, and crops of the 18th century variety, using farming methods common then.

Visitors may also tour the Washington family Burial Ground, which contain the graves of 32 members of the Washington family, including George Washington's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Replicas of two original gravestones, along with five memorial tablets placed here in the 1930s, may be viewed.

The Visitors' Center contains artifacts recovered from the burned-down Washington house, such as those pictured at right (clockwise, from right): a bowl, clay figurine, wine bottle seal belonging to Augustine Washington, wine bottle, and keyhole plate.

A 15-minute film depicting Washington family life is shown in a theater at the Visitors' Center.
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