The origins of Mount Vernon

The original 3,000 acres draped over several hillsides along the Potomac River's western shore near Little Hunting Creek had been in the Washington family since it was acquired by George's great- grandfather, John Washington, in 1674.

It was George's father, Augustine, who built the first small farmhouse on the brow of the high hill in 1741, where the Mount Vernon mansion now stands. Augustine intended the house for his oldest son, Lawrence, who was then serving as an officer in the British army. Augustine named the estate Mount Vernon, after a British military hero who was Lawrence's commanding officer.

Nine years later, Lawrence died at age 44, and his half brother George, who had already been living on the estate and managing it for several years, leased the property from his widow, who had moved away and remarried shortly afterward.

It was at Mount Vernon in 1759 that the then 27-year-old George courted and married Martha Custis, herself also a recent widow, and there they settled with her two young children.

When Lawrence's widow died in 1761, legal title of the plantation passed to George. He had already undertaken the first of two large additions he would make to the house, each time entirely rebuilding the structure on its original foundations.

Over the next decade, running the estate's five farms in an organized, scientific manner, George husbanded Mount Vernon's acreage into a thriving agricultural venture, which eventually included the largest whiskey distillery in the Colonies.

And then George was called to serve as the father of a new nation.

Mount Vernon, Va.

Mount Vernon's main elements are open daily throughout the year, although hours vary and many outdoor tours and activities are curtailed from November through March.

In celebration of tomorrow's 275th anniversary of Washington's birth, Mount Vernon will be open for free from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a schedule of special observations.

Regular adult admission is $13; $12 for seniors and students; $6 for visitors 6 to 11; and free for younger children.

Mount Vernon is easily accessible by car or tour bus with plenty of free parking. Daylong sightseeing cruises along the Potomac from Washington to Mount Vernon are available from mid-March through October, and 90-minute river cruises are available from the wharf at Mount Vernon.

Allow at least three hours for a quick visit through the house, grounds and museum, but there's easily enough to occupy an entire day.

For information: 1-703-780-2000 or www.mountvernon.org.