Governor Highlights Mount Vernon in 'Year of the Historic Home'

A handful of historic houses in Mount Vernon have been included in the Virginia governor’s new list of historic homes across the commonwealth.

Gov. Bob McDonnell and first lady Maureen McDonnell have announced that 2013 is “Year of the Historic Home” and with that comes an accompanying interactive map of 74 cultural hot spots across the Old Dominion. The list will reach about 100 sites once the map is complete.

In Mount Vernon, the Mount Vernon Estate, Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House and the Woodlawn Plantation house are some of the highlighted structures.

In addition to the interactive features on the new website, the Virginia Time Travelers Program designed for students and families has been revived for the initiative and students and families are encouraged to participate.

In order to achieve the designation of Master Traveler, students must download a passport from the website, visit eight participating homes in Virginia and mail the completed passport to the Executive Mansion. All Master Travelers will be recognized on the website, receive a certificate signed by the Governor and be entered to win additional prizes.

Both the website and the Time Travelers Program are part of the initiative supported by the Secretary of Natural Resources, the Department of Historic Resources, the Virginia Association of Museums and the historic homes in Virginia.