  The information which follows, supplements that contained in the narrative of this handbook. It has been arranged to enable you to make your own tour of the area. The numbers given correspond to the numbers on the map of the national monument on pages 34-35. 1. Granite shaft.This shaft, of Vermont granite, weighs about 50 tons. It is nearly one-tenth the size of the Washington Monument in the Nation’s capital, and of the same relative proportions. First erected in 1896 by the War Department (at or near the foundations of the home in which George Washington was born), it was moved to its present location near the entrance to the national monument in 1930. GEORGE WASHINGTON BIRTHPLACE NATIONAL MONUMENT—Westmoreland County, Va.
Tilt-top table in the dining room. The only piece of furniture in the memorial house believed to be from the home in which Washington was born. Dining room. Many of the items of tableware shown are similar to types unearthed at Washington’s birthplace. Brick foundations of a part of Building “X”, an early building unearthed at Washington’s birthplace. 2. Superintendent’s office.Visitors seeking information are always welcome here. 3. Main parking area.4. Post office, Washington’s Birthplace, Va.Souvenirs, postcards, potted plants, and soft drinks may be purchased in the post office building. 5. Site of Building “X.”So-called because its history is unknown, the brick foundations of Building “X” were discovered in 1930. They were partially unearthed that year, and completely excavated in 1936. The boxwood plants outline only one room of the building, known as Unit “A.” The brick foundations of Building “X” were the most extensive ones unearthed at Wakefield. Including the projecting wings, the foundations were almost 70 feet long. The center of the building was approximately 19 feet wide. One wing was 22 feet wide, the other 32 feet wide. The possibility that it, rather than the smaller foundation on the memorial mansion site about 60 feet away, was the exact spot where George Washington was born cannot be ignored and will perhaps always remain an intriguing question. 6. Memorial house.This was built in 1930-31. The furnishings are of the 1700-50 period. One item, a tilt-top table, is the only existing piece of furniture said to have been in the original house at Wakefield, having been saved at the time of the fire in 1779. Much of the pottery, porcelain, glassware, tableware, and metalware in the house are similar in period and style to many of the artifacts which were unearthed near the birthsite during archeological excavations. 7. Colonial-style garden.South of the memorial house is a colonial-type garden enclosed by a handsplit picket fence. It is connected with the memorial house by a boxwood-lined brick walk. The English boxwood is well over a century old, and was transplanted from the home, 8 miles away, of Sarah Tayloe Washington (a daughter of the last occupant and owner of the home in which George Washington was born.) It is believed to have grown from cuttings originally taken from Wakefield. In this fragrant, old-fashioned garden, will be found many plants that were common to Virginia gardens during the period of George Washington’s youth. Here are sweet-scented herbs such as sage, thyme, hyssop, wormwood, marjoram, rue, tansy, pennyroyal, basil, hoarhound, snakeroot, true lavender, caraway, and others used for cooking and medicinal purposes. Among the colorful flowers are old roses, hollyhocks, lilies, bleedinghearts, forget-me-nots, love-in-a-mist, narcissi, iris, and heliotrope. A part of the parlor. Master bedroom. The children’s room. Interior of reconstructed colonial kitchen. 8. Grove of eastern redcedars.South of the colonial garden is a magnificent grove of eastern redcedars, Juniperus virginiana. The grove covers Burnt House Point, which juts out into Popes Creek. 9. The kitchen and historical museum.The colonial-style kitchen building is located about 50 feet west of the memorial house. Its old chimney was the last above-ground brickwork of the original buildings at Wakefield owned by George Washington’s father. Still standing in 1872, when it was sketched by a visiting artist, it finally collapsed and fell to the ground the following year. In 1930 the foundations of the old kitchen were uncovered, and subsequently a colonial-style building was constructed on the site. The east room in the building has been furnished with cooking utensils, kitchen accessories, fireplace equipment, and furniture of the 1700-50 period. The west room is used for the display of colonial artifacts which were unearthed at Bridges Creek and from various foundations found near the site of the original home on Popes Creek. The exhibits relate to the history of the Bridges Creek and Popes Creek plantations as well as to the activities of the early Washingtons who lived there. Colonial-type kitchen. One room is furnished as an 18th century kitchen; another room houses excavated objects and exhibits relating to the early Washingtons who lived at Bridges Creek and Popes Creek. 10. Site of smokehouse.The boxwood plants mark the site of an old building foundation believed to be that of an early 18th-century smokehouse. Excavated in 1936, the building had brick foundations as well as a brick floor. The foundations were located about 65 feet west of the kitchen building. 11. Duck Hall parking and picnic area.This section of the national monument is located approximately three-quarters of a mile northeast of the granite shaft. It may be reached over a paved road which runs north from the granite shaft for about one-fourth of a mile, then turns eastward. From the Duck Hall picnic area may be seen magnificent views of Popes Creek and the Potomac River. 12. Site of 17th-century brick building.In 1934 brick foundations of a small 17th-century building were unearthed about 180 feet southeast of the Washington family burying ground. One glass bottle seal found near the building site was inscribed with the name “John Washington.” The structure was probably an outbuilding which belonged to George Washington’s great-grandfather. Washington family burying ground. 13. Washington family burying ground.Established by John Washington, the founder of the Washington family in Virginia, the family burying ground is located about 1 mile north of the granite shaft. In his will, John, the great-grandfather of George, asked “to be buried on ye plantation wheire I now live, by the side of my wife yt is already buried.” In the years that followed, members of succeeding generations of Washingtons found final resting place in the ancient cemetery. The tract of land surrounding the burying ground was purchased by John Washington in 1664 from David Anderson. The site of his home is in the vicinity of the burying ground. 14. Potomac River view.About a quarter of a mile north of the Washington family burying ground is the south shore of the Potomac River. Here may be seen a delightful view of the river, approximately 5 miles wide at this point. President James Monroe, the fifth President, was born on a farm facing the deep bay on the extreme left. |
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