George Washington’s Mount Vernon

The historic home of the nation's first president and first lady is a 500-acre estate. The Washington family purchased the land in 1674, but the expansions as we see them today were not finished until the 1770s. The structures are built in a Palladian style, surrounding a courtyard. The sheer size of the plantation required a lot of manpower - most of which was provided by enslaved men, women, and children, many of whom are now listed in Mount Vernon's database. A memorial designed by Howard University was installed in 1983, dedicated to the "Afro-Americans who served as slaves."

(Submitted by Jimmy Olsen)