Mount Vernon, Virginia - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

George Washington has appeared on a ton of U.S. postage stamps. Mount Vernon, Washington’s home, has also appeared on several stamps and pieces of postal stationery over the years, but all these show the mansion from the east, as viewed from the Potomac River. This postal card however shows the west elevation as viewed from the bowling green. Its design is based on a painting by an unknown artist that’s in the possession of the National Gallery of Art.

Mount Vernon, which was previously called the Hunting Creek Plantation, was deeded to George Washington’s half-brother Lawrence and his wife, Ann. George Washington leased the estate after his half-brother’s death and eventually inherited it, having purchased Ann’s interest in the property before her death in 1761.

After spending years “on the road” as a surveyor and then as a member of the British military during the French and Indian War, George Washington thought he was “retiring” to a life of agriculture at Mount Vernon with his new bride, Martha Custis. But it was not to be. Washington would spend eight years away from Mount Vernon as Commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and another eight years as President of the United States (not to mention a brief stint as president of the constitutional convention in Philadelphia). (I suspect that a significant portion of Washington’s life was spent sitting for portrait painters too.) There’s every reason to believe that Washington loved Mount Vernon and preferred farming to leading an army (or a nation). When he finally did retire from public service, he only had two years left to live.

With all that Washington was up to, it’s hard to imagine that he had time to devote to Mount Vernon, but apparently, he did, directing two separate expansions of the mansion as well as laying out much of the landscaping. A lot of this was done through correspondence with builders and other workers while he was away. There’s no evidence that any architect was involved with either expansion other than George Washington himself.

George Washington died on December 14, 1799. He is laid to rest in a family vault located on the Mount Vernon estate. The estate is currently owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association who conduct various tours, maintain the operation and oversee all preservation work.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 14-May-1999 Denomination: 20c Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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