Mount Vernon

Finally I am getting around to posting our visit ot Mount Vernon, the home and estate of George and Martha Washington. (This was on Monday June 5.) We decided to take the slave tour first as it was just about time for one to start as soon as we arrived. I enjoy hearing the history on any tour such as this, and this tour guide was very informative. She made no apology for the fact that George and Martha owned slaves, even though the inherited them. The black and white photo is of a slave called Tom. The color shot is one of a slave named Hercules, George's favorite cook. The guide told how it would have been impossible to keep up a place such as Mt. Vernon without any help. The brick building shown behind the magnolias is the slave quarters. The middle section, known as the greenhouse was destroyed and it was rebuilt with brick from the White House when President Truman restored it in the 1950s. The boxwood is Asian Boxwood, not what the Washingtons had originally. That was English Boxwood, but for some reason, it died and they could not get it to grow again.