A Year With George Washington
On March 14, 1761, Washington inherited full ownership of Mount Vernon upon the death of his sister-in-law, Anne Fairfax Washington Lee.
Washington’s older half-brother, Lawrence, had ascended into the uppermost tier of Virginia society when he married Anne Fairfax in July of 1743.
Upon Lawrence’s untimely death due to tuberculosis shortly after returning from Barbados in 1752, Washington had been granted tenancy at Mount Vernon with the stipulation that it should remain in the title of Lawrence’s widow, Anne, and her heirs until such time as she and they were deceased. As Anne had no surviving children upon her death, the splendid plantation that would form the palliative backdrop of Washington’s life became his alone.
As the profession of Architect was not so established in Washington’s time as it is today, it was more common than not for a landowner to design and build his own domicile and dependencies. There were myriad pattern books from London and Europe from which Washington could draw inspiration. He also had at his disposal the magnificent Georgian government buildings in Williamsburg from which to glean ideas.
Though Washington did not possess the innate architectural talent of his fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson, his design additions to the original structure at Mount Vernon are impressive indeed.
