Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1858 photo on their website that shows the dilapidated state of the famous home when they
took over.
DIG IT!
The archaeological excavation at Mount Vernon is one of more than 250 fieldwork
projects listed in the bulletin put out each year by the Archaeological Institute of
America. If you want to volunteer for an archaeological excavation, the Archaeolo-
gical Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin is the best place to start. It lists hundreds
of excavations from a Stone Age site in South Africa to a site on Easter Island
in Chile. Each listing provides an in-depth description, including accommodations,
price, and contact information. The yearly volume can be accessed on the institute's
website (www.archaeological.org); a paperback version is also available each year
from Oxbox/David Brown Books, 800-791-9354.
And take over they did. Using donations, private grants, admissions fees to the grounds
(more than a million people show up every year), and volunteer help, this savvy outfit has
restored 20 structures and 50 acres of gardens as they existed in 1799 (the year Washington
died), the tombs of George and Martha, Washington's greenhouse, and a collection of arti-
facts dug up by staff archaeologists, interns, and volunteers. In late 2006, a state-of-the-art
orientation center, museum, and education center opened with much fanfare. The museum
boasts 23 galleries filled with fascinating multimedia exhibits, including a “forensic lab” that
shows how the forensically correct figures of Washington displayed throughout the galleries
were created.
The Archaeology Department at Mount Vernon has a wide range of volunteer opportun-
ities involving both field and laboratory work. Needless to say, excavations vary from year
to year. A recent project found volunteers processing and writing reports on artifacts dug up
from Washington's distillery. In the 1700s, it was one of the country's largest whiskey distil-
leries, using five stills and a boiler and producing 11,000 gallons of whiskey a year.
Volunteers have also excavated Mount Vernon's laundry room, gristmill, gardens, a dung
repository, and many other sites on the property. The Archaeology Lab exhibits finds from
the Slave Quarters, the Blacksmith Shop, and the South Grove Midden. Recovered artifacts
provide clues about the daily life of not only Washington's family, who owned the prop-
erty from 1726 until the Mount Vernon Ladies Association took it over in 1853, but also the
slaves, craftspeople, and laborers who lived and worked on the plantation.
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