Top Stories in April on Mount Vernon Patch: George Washington, Cicadas, Costco and Crime

Which stories grabbed your attention?

Mount Vernon Patch just started a new month on Wednesday. We decided to see: Which stories caught readers' attention last month, in April? Turns out George Washington is very popular. So are cicadas, crime and Costco. Drumroll, please. The top stories in April on Mount Vernon Patch were, in reverse order (just click on the headline to read the entire story): 10. Mount Vernon Commercial Building Fire Deemed Accidental: The fire that broke out Sunday afternoon at the commercial building housing Friendly's Rent-A-Car located at 8145 Richmond Hwy. in Mount Vernon was determined to be an accidental electrical fire. 9. Speakers Urge Fairfax County to Restore Human Services Funding: Human services were on most people’s minds Wednesday night …

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Mount Vernon Inn to Welcome Diners for Mother's Day

Restaurant at George Washington's estate is dishing up a bountiful buffet for the big day.

If you have a crowd who likes a little bit of everything at the dinner table, you might want to consider heading to the Mount Vernon Inn for Mother's Day, where the buffet menu should satisfy even your most finicky eater. The special Mother's Day buffet menu will be served at the inn, located at the Mount Vernon estate, home to George Washington. What types of foods were served in Washington's day? According to George Washington: A Life, by Willard Sterne Randall: "For Sunday dinner, served at noon and often shared with guests invited after the morning Anglican service, there could be greens, fish, roast pig, cheese, puddings--with plenty of liquor (preferably rum or brandy) for the parents. No wonder George grew so tall." The Mother's Day…

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Wanted: Leader to Head Library About George Washington

Mount Vernon is searching for leader to head new $100 million "presidential library" opening in September.

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this story mentioned that Fred W. Smith was the head of FedEx — we were wrong. This Fred W. Smith is affiliated with the Donald Reynolds Foundation. A nice story about him here.) Mount Vernon is searching for just the right person to head its new library — The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon — opening in September. The capital campaign for the Library has already exceeded its $100 million goal, according to the estate. It goes without saying that any candidate should be passionate about the father of our country. The person hired for the job will head up the Fred W. Smith National Library which opens Sept. 27. The perfect candidate will be someone who …

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First Minister of Scotland Presents Two Books to Mount Vernon Estate Monday

First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond presented the books to the Estate on Monday afternoon.

First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond presented two George Washington books held by the National Library of Scotland to Mount Vernon President and CEO Curt Viebranz at a ceremony at the Mount Vernon Estate Monday afternoon. Salmond presented the books to help complete a recreation of George Washington’s original book collection in the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington. The books presented to Mount Vernon are the Official Letters to the Honorable American Congress, Written, During the War between the United Colonies and Great Britain, by His Excellency, George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Forces (London: 1795). In 1795, John Carey, editor of ‘Official letters’, sent these volumes to …

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Did George Washington Cut Down a Cherry Tree?

Check out these answers to the most popular questions about George Washington's life, courtesy of the Mount Vernon Estate.

George Washington Presidential Library to Open in Fall 2013

The library will open Sept. 27.

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association announced Friday the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington will open on Sept. 27, 2013.   A $100 million campaign was created by George Washington’s Mount Vernon to establish the state-of-the-art facility, which will host Mount Vernon’s special collection of books, manuscripts and archival materials. These materials will be available to researchers to study the history of George Washington. “No president in American history deserves the honor of an official library more than our first chief executive – nor is there a better story to tell,” Mount Vernon President and CEO Curt Viebranz said in a news release. “This Library will share Washington’s leadership lessons for …

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Woodlawn Stables Owner: 'Honored to Have Maintained Cultural Heritage'

Patch asked stable owner Cindy Mitchell to weigh in on National Trust for Historic Preservation's future plans for property her stable business has leased from them for 34 years.

After it was made known that Arcadia and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have kicked around expansive plans for the land and property at Woodlawn Plantation, some of which is currently leased to Woodlawn Stables, Patch asked stables owner Cindy Mitchell to weigh in with her thoughts on the future plans for the historic 126 acres and mansion, which dates back to 1805. The stable business lease on the land from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which dates back 34 years, is set to expire in 2016. After requesting an extension of the lease, the National Trust turned her down. “As a responsible organization, we are focused on Woodlawn’s future as a vibrant historic site, which includes consideration of all options for …

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Mount Vernon Secures Historic Latrobe Watercolor Painting

Benjamin Henry Latrobe painted "A View of Mount Vernon with the Washington Family" in 1796.

The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association purchased at auction Friday a historic watercolor drawing by Benjamin Henry Latrobe.  “A View of Mount Vernon with the Washington Family” sold for $602,500 at Sotheby’s in New York on Jan. 26 and was purchased through the generosity of an anonymous donor. The image depicts George and Martha Washington with guests on the Mount Vernon piazza, as they overlook the Potomac River before sunset. This view is unique and extremely important because it is the only known life-time image depicting the Washingtons on the piazza, according to a press release issued Monday by the Mount Vernon Estate.  “Latrobe’s watercolor depiction of the Washingtons on the piazza is the closest we will ever come to having a color …

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George Washington Inauguration Items on Display at Mount Vernon

Visitors can now view Washington’s inauguration suit and inauguration address draft.

The Mount Vernon Estate now has two special items related to George Washington’s inauguration on display at the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center. Visitors can now view a suit on display believed to be worn by George Washington during his inauguration at Federal Hall in New York. The suit is made of tightly woven brown wool broadcloth, shrunk and napped in imitation of velvet and would have been considered dressy daytime apparel, according to the Mount Vernon Estate. The suit will be on display through April 30, 2013 – in honor of that first presidential inauguration, which occurred on the same date in 1789. Also on display at the Estate is the draft of George Washington’s first inaugural address. His first draft of his …

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Mount Vernon Acquires Washington's Acts of Congress for $9.8 Million

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association was the winning bidder of this original volume, coming in at $9.8 million, setting a record for an American book or document.

The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association emerged as the winning bidder of George Washington's original copy of the Acts of Congress at an auction Friday at Christie's in New York. The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association acquired the prized volume, bidding $9.8 million for the historic documents for the shelves of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, slated to open in 2013. The acquisition is one of the most significant for the Mount Vernon Estate. The 106-page volume is emblazoned with Washington’s bookplate and features his handwritten notes penciled in the margins. It contains Washington’s personal copy of the U.S. Constitution, a draft of the Bill of Rights, and other documents recording the early acts of the …

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