In the large dining room you can picture him receiving the news of his election to the presidency, or perhaps his body lying there in state ten years later. Throughout the lovely home are reminders and artifacts of this remarkable man and his impact on the nation and the world. It is an inspiring place, both exciting and serene, and a fitting monument to its builder and owner, to the nation he almost single-handedly created. As you walk through room after room, you easily recall an era of gentility and colonial style.
 There is one sad room, however. A room of melancholy tucked under the eaves of the attic in the southwest corner. This is Martha Washington’s bedroom. The plain small and spare room she retreated to live out her final years after the death of her beloved husband of forty years.
Think about this amazing woman. I have always believed in the deep truth of the common saying that “behind every great man is a woman” and here, in this house, like nowhere else, stands testimony to that fact.
She was already a wealthy widow and mother of two when she married George in 1759 at the age of 27. She owned vast land holdings near Williamsburg which she continued to manage after moving to Mount Vernon from her ancestral estate called, interestingly, White House.
After her husband was named commander of the Continental army years later, she was not content to remain at home in luxury and privilege. Instead she followed her man through the privations of the battlefield and military encampments, including the infamous icy winter at Valley Forge, at which she celebrated her forty-seventh birthday.
 Again and again, as fall drew to a close, she packed up her carriage and headed north through the eight years of the war, hundreds of miles from the hearth and home she loved so well.
Her comfort for her husband no doubt carried him through the astonishing series of setbacks that marked the beginning of the war. Her “gentle hand” was always there to sooth his doubt, to reinforce his resolve. She visited daily with the troops, bringing a bright and cheerful demeanor to the darkest days of the war, and was instrumental in helping maintain the morale of the officers and enlisted men.
A feisty five feet tall, she opposed her husband’s election to the presidency and refused to attend the inauguration. Nevertheless, she gracefully became the hostess of the new chief executive and the nation, our first First Lady, and set a standard for all those who followed. She was to die only two years after George, in 1802. I can only wonder what occupied her thoughts on those lonely days in that tiny room in the garret of the house they shared for so many years. I’m sure she was proud of her husband, and I hope she was proud of herself as well.
 If you go:
Mount Vernon, preserved and presented by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, comprised solely of women, is the most popular historic estate in America and is open every day to welcome over 1,000,000 visitors each year.
The organization does not accept grants from federal, state or local governments, and no tax dollars are expended for its support. Primary sources of income are revenue from the retail and dining facilities, ticket sales, and donations.
The estate, gardens and farm of Mount Vernon totaled some 8,000 acres in the 18th century. Today, roughly 500 acres of this historic estate have been preserved on the banks of the Potomac River. Visitors can see 20 structures and 50 acres of gardens as they existed in 1799. The estate also includes a museum, the tombs of George and Martha Washington, Washington's greenhouse, and a memorial to the accomplishments of 18th-century slaves.
Mount Vernon is located 16 miles south of Washington, D.C. and 8 miles south of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia at the southern terminus of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Parking is free and convenient. Go to http://www.mountvernon.org/ to learn more.
|
