He was born in 1732 at Pope's Creek Plantation. I worked there from 2009-2012; it is now known as George Washington Birthplace National Monument. In 1735, his family moved to Little Hunting Creek (later renamed Mount Vernon by his half-brother Lawrence) and remained there until George was 6. Then they moved to what is now known as Ferry Farm, though it would have been known as the Washington Farm in George's time. I worked there in 2008, though I worked for the Foundation that runs the site from 2007-2009. (I spent most of my time at Kenmore, the 18th century plantation home of George's sister, Betty.)
Mount Vernon is neat because it is the only site that has original buildings left on the landscape. His birthplace was "excavated" by "archaeologists" in the 1930s. They found a lot of material, but archaeology wasn't very refined then, so it is difficult to interpret what they found.
Ferry Farm, however, is unique because they have been doing meticulous archaeology since 2000 and it has yielded some wonderful results.
When I started working for the Foundation in 2007, I had no idea they were on the verge of changing Washington history as we know it. I also had no idea that I was going to get to play a vital role in educating thousands of people about this change in history.
In the summer of 2008, The George Washington Foundation prepared to announce that they had finally found the site of the home that George grew up in from age 6 to about age 20. A site that was assumed to have been lost to history had been found! In addition, they were able to put to rest the story that George's house burned to the ground. There was a fire, yes, but it did not destroy the home. This was big. I mean really big.
When it was all said and done, National Geographic produced a documentary called "The Real George Washington" and it can be streamed on YouTube by clicking here.
The announcement was made on July 2, 2008.
Nationwide print, radio, and TV news media? Check
National Geographic? Check
Virginia's Speaker of the House? Check
Current (as of then) and former Virginia governors? Check
The day was huge. Big speeches were given by the dignitaries and then they got to see the remains of the house. For part of the day, I played the role of human pushpin, marking the location of one of the site's features while dignitaries looked at the site.
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| Cellars from George's boyhood home |
Of course, this was also a party, so there was food and drink. At one point I found myself standing with former Virginia Governor George Allen and Virginia's Speaker of the House Bill Howell discussing beer and baseball. (The former I know a decent bit about; the latter I know nothing at all.)
It was an exhausting day followed by an even more exhausting rest of the summer. The tremendous amount of press coverage led to an explosion in visitation. Most of my job was to give tours of the site and there were some days where we were so busy that I never even had time to eat lunch!
You can visit the site and see where they're currently excavating in what is, essentially, the back yard. They've found a kitchen, slave quarters, etc, but the house site has been covered up and sodded over for protection. The corners are outlined for visual reference, but it just isn't the same.
Looking back on it now, it was a truly remarkable thing to be a part of. There aren't many people who can say that they stood in the cellars of George Washington's boyhood home. I'm lucky to count myself as one of them.
Again, very interesting and informative
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