Category: Virginia

Mount Vernon: Gristmill

American South, History, Southern Culture, Travel, U.S. History, Virginia

Augustine Washington, George Washington’s father, likely had an operating mill on his plantation (the future Mount Vernon) as early as the 1730s, but by the 1760s this dilapidated mill was in great need of a replacement. By 1769, George Washington had decided to create a new mill that would be located along Dogue Run, about a half-mile away from the old mill.

Washington’s resolve to improve and expand his Gristmill enterprise marked a significant turning point in the management of his plantation. During the 1760s Washington moved away from tobacco cultivation and began to plant more grains, primarily wheat and corn. This transition gave Washington a dependable cash crop that was not dependent upon markets in England. With an expanded and more efficient Gristmill, Washington could turn his crops into flour and cornmeal. The Gristmill could also bring in revenue by charging neighboring farmers a fee to grind their grain.

In 1783, Washington described the mill in one of his letters, “two pair of Stones, one pair of which are French-burr, employed in the merchant business. The Mill house is of Stone, large and commodious, the dwelling house, which is convenient, is within 30 yards of it; and has a garden enclosed adjoining. A Cooper’s Shop is also near, and the whole convenient to tide water.”

Mount Vernon: Distillery

American South, Southern Culture, Travel, Virginia

George Washington began the commercial distillery at Mount Vernon in 1797. James Anderson, Washington’s farm manager and an experienced distiller from Scotland, convinced Washington that it was possible to make a considerable profit from a distillery located next to the abundant water and grain supply at the Gristmill.

After the initial success of a makeshift distillery that utilized two stills, Washington built a stone distillery large enough to house five copper pot stills with a total capacity of 616 gallons. The foundation was large river rocks brought from the Falls of the Potomac River and the walls of the Distillery were made of sandstone quarried from Mount Vernon. The Distillery also offered an important subsidiary benefit: livestock, particularly hogs, were fattened with the leftover cooked mash. In 1799, George Washington’s Distillery produced nearly 11,000 gallons, making it one of the largest whiskey distilleries in America at the time. 

The Distillery was reconstructed on the original site, based upon archaeological and historical evidence and opened to visitors in 2007.

Arlington House

American South, History, Southern Culture, Travel, Virginia

Major General McClellan, after he became leader of the Union army, chose for his Washington headquarters the lovely home on the Potomac River called Arlington House. Arlington House had belonged to Confederate army leader General Robert E. Lee.

Robert E. Lee had lived at Arlington House with his wife, Mary, the granddaughter of Martha Washington, wife of President George Washington. Set on high ground on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, the imposing Neoclassical home was visible from much of Washington, D.C.

After Robert E. Lee signed on with the Confederacy, the Lees recognized that their home’s proximity to Washington, D.C., placed both the house and them at risk of Union attack. They packed their belongings and left Arlington House. The Lee family would never return to this home. Union troops occupied the house on May 24, 1861.

Once in Federal hands, the land around Arlington House found several purposes. United States Army major general Montgomery C. Meigs determined that the grounds should serve as a national cemetery for Union dead. The first Union soldier buried at what became Arlington National Cemetery was William Christman of Pennsylvania on May 13, 1864.

The Federal government also made the decision to create a village on the grounds of Arlington for freed slaves. Robert E. Lee had slaves at Arlington. It seemed fitting then that Arlington would provide the site for Freedman’s Village, which was established in 1863. It would grow to house more than one thousand freed slaves—men, women and children. Homes, a school and a hospital were part of the village complex. Some of the inhabitants of Freedman’s Village were former slaves of Robert E. Lee’s.