View source for George Washington Birthplace National Monument

{{short description|550 acres in Virginia (US) managed by the National Park Service}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = George Washington Birthplace National Monument
| photo = Geo Washington birthplace.jpg
| map = Virginia#USA
| relief = 1
| map_caption = 
| location = [[Westmoreland County, Virginia|Westmoreland County]], [[Virginia]], United States
| nearest_city = [[Colonial Beach, Virginia|Colonial Beach]], [[Virginia]]
| coordinates = {{coords|38|11|8|N|76|54|59|W|region:US|display=inline, title}}
| area_acre = 661.7
| area_ref = <ref name="area">{{NPS area |year=2011 |accessdate=2012-05-14}}</ref>
| established = {{start date|1930|January|23}}
| visitation_num = 130,647
| visitation_year = 2011
| visitation_ref = <ref name="visits">{{NPS visitation |accessdate=2012-05-14}}</ref>
| governing_body = [[National Park Service]]
| website        =  [https://www.nps.gov/gewa/ George Washington Birthplace National Monument]
{{Infobox NRHP
  | name = George Washington Birthplace National Monument
  | embed = yes
  | nrhp_type = 
  | designated_other1 = Virginia Landmarks Register
  | designated_other1_date = October 18, 1983<ref name=register>{{cite web|title=Virginia Landmarks Register|url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/register_counties_cities.htm|publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources|access-date=5 June 2013}}</ref>
  | designated_other1_number = 096-0026
  | designated_other1_num_position = bottom
  | image = 
  | caption = 
  | nearest_city= 
  | locmapin = 
  | built = 
  | architecture = 
  | added = October 15, 1966
  | area_acre = 
  | governing_body = 
  | refnum = 66000850<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a|access-date=2013-07-16}}</ref>}}
}}

The '''George Washington Birthplace National Monument''' is a [[National monument (United States)|national monument]] in [[Westmoreland County, Virginia|Westmoreland County]], [[Virginia]], United States. This site was a colonial tobacco plantation developed by Englishman [[John Washington]] in the mid-17th century. John Washington was a great-grandfather of [[George Washington]], general of the Continental Army and first president of the United States of America. George Washington was born in this house on February 22, 1732. He lived here until age three, returning later to live here as a teenager.

Before the 20th century, the original house was lost, but the foundation outlines of Washington's house are marked. The public park was established in 1930 and in 1931 a memorial house was built in historicist style to mark the site and to represent an 18th-century tobacco plantation. The historic park opened in 1932, during the [[Great Depression]]. At the entrance to the grounds, now maintained and operated by the [[National Park Service]], is a Memorial Shaft [[obelisk]] of Vermont [[marble]]; it is a one-tenth scale replica of the [[Washington Monument]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]

The monument (referring to the house, property and memorial complex) and its preceding plantation, which eventually would be called Wakefield, are located at the confluence of [[Popes Creek (Virginia)|Popes Creek]] and the larger [[Potomac River]], and is representative of 18th-century Virginia tobacco plantations. The area has been restored, planted and maintained with farm buildings, groves of trees, livestock, gardens, and crops of tobacco and wheat, to represent the environment Washington knew here as a boy.<ref name= "NPS">''George Washington Birthplace'', [[National Park Service]] brochure (1999)</ref>

==History==
[[File:Geo Washington birthplace3.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Foundation outline (foreground) marking Washington's birthplace, near the memorial house (right rear)]]
[[File:George Washington's birthplace (1856 engraving).jpg|thumb|180px|left|upright|{{center|'''Wakefield'''<br>Popes Creek Estate<br>Washington's birthplace}}]]

===17th&ndash;18th centuries===
One of [[George Washington]]'s great-grandfathers, John Washington, settled this [[plantations in the American South|plantation]] in 1657 at the original property on Bridges Creek.<ref>Marquis, A.N. Company. ''Who's Who In America'', vol. 1:Historical Volume (1607-1896), revised ed., Marquis, A.N. Company., 1967.</ref> The family acquired expanded land to the south toward nearby Popes Creek.

Before 1718 the first section of the house in which George Washington was born was built. His father enlarged it between 1722&ndash;1726. He added on to it by the mid-1770s, making a ten-room house known as "Wakefield". This house, which George Washington in 1792 would describe as "the ancient mansion seat,"<ref>Washington, George, ''Writings'', XXXII, p. 29</ref> was destroyed by fire and flood on [[Christmas Day]] 1779, and never rebuilt.<ref name= "NPS" />

Thirty-two graves of Washington family members have been found at the Bridges Creek cemetery plot, including George's half-brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
[[File:Geo Washington birthplace map.png|left|180px]]
Washington's father cultivated [[tobacco]] on his several plantations, as his ancestors had done.

===19th century===
In 1858, the Commonwealth of Virginia acquired the property to preserve the homesite and cemetery, but the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] intervened. Short on revenues for such purposes, Virginia donated the land to the federal government in 1882.

===20th century===
The Wakefield National Memorial Association was formed in 1923 to restore the property. In 1930, the grounds were authorized by Congress as a U.S. National Monument. In 1931, the Wakefield Association received a grant from [[John D. Rockefeller, Jr.]], to acquire and transfer a total of {{convert|394|acre|km2}} of land to the Federal government.

Since the exact appearance of the original Washington family home is not known, a Memorial House was designed by [[Edward Donn, Jr.]], representing similar buildings of the era; it was constructed on the approximate site in 1931. The actual location of Washington's boyhood home is adjacent to the memorial house and its foundation is outlined in the ground by crushed [[oyster|oyster shells]].

The Memorial House represents a typical upper-class house of the period of the original's construction. The Memorial House is constructed of bricks handmade from local clay. It has a central hallway and four rooms on each floor, furnished in the 1730&ndash;1750 period style by the Wakefield National Memorial Association. Furnishings include an 18th-century tea table believed to have been in the original house. Most of the other furnishings are more than 200 years old.<ref name= "NPS" />

The park and Memorial House were opened by the National Park Service in 1932, on the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth.

==National Monument today==
[[File:WashingtonBirthplaceBlacksmithShop.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Blacksmith shop]]
[[File:Geo Washington birthplace artifacts.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Artifacts at Visitors Center]]
In the 21st&nbsp;century, the Monument is part of the National Park Service's ongoing efforts to interpret historical resources.<ref>Seth C. Bruggeman, ''Here, George Washington Was Born: Memory, Material Culture, and the Public History of a National Monument'' (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2008).</ref> In addition to the Memorial House, park facilities open to visitors include the historic birthplace home area, Kitchen House, hiking trails, and picnic grounds. In the Kitchen House, costumed re-enactors demonstrate candle- and soap-making.<ref name= "NPS" /> 
A Colonial Herb and Flower Garden has been planted with herbs and flowers common to Washington's time, such as [[thyme]], [[Salvia officinalis|sage]], and [[basil]], and flowers such as [[hollyhock]]s, [[forget-me-not]]s, and [[rose]]s. Typical trees and bushes of Washington's time have also been added to the landscaping. The Colonial Living Farm has a barn and pasture, and raises livestock, poultry, and crops of the 18th century variety, using farming methods common then.

Visitors may also tour the Washington family Burial Ground, which contains the graves of 32 members of the Washington family, including George Washington's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Replicas of two original gravestones are visible, along with five memorial tablets placed here in the 1930s.

The Visitors' Center contains artifacts recovered from the burned-down Washington house, such as those pictured at right (''clockwise, from right''): a bowl, clay figurine, wine bottle seal belonging to Augustine Washington, wine bottle, and keyhole plate.

A 15-minute film depicting Washington family life is shown in a theater at the Visitors' Center.

==Directions==
[[File:Geo Washington birthplace2.jpg|thumb|right|230px|The Memorial House interior &ndash; the tea table is from the original house]]
The George Washington Birthplace National Monument is {{convert|38|mi|km|0}} east of [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]], located on the Northern Neck. It can be reached via [[State Route 204 (Virginia)|Virginia State Route 204]], the access road to the site from [[State Route 3 (Virginia)|Virginia State Route 3]].

The town of [[Montross, Virginia]], is nearby, as is [[Stratford Hall Plantation]], the birthplace of [[Robert E. Lee]] and [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]] and signers of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] [[Richard Henry Lee]] and [[Francis Lightfoot Lee]].

==See also==
* [[List of National Monuments of the United States]]
* [[Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA]]
* [[Washington's Birthday]]
* [[Montross, Virginia]]
* [[Stratford Hall Plantation]]
* [[State Route 204 (Virginia)|State Route 204]], the access road to the site from [[State Route 3 (Virginia)|State Route 3]]

==References==
{{further|Bibliography of George Washington}}
{{reflist|30em}}
* Gary W. Ferris (1999), ''Presidential Places''

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.nps.gov/gewa/index.htm George Washington Birthplace National Monument official website]
*[https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/va0981/ Wakefield, State Route 204, Wakefield Corner, Westmoreland County, VA]: 15 photos, 3 data pages, and 2 photo caption pages at [[Historic American Buildings Survey]], Library of Congress
*[https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/va1260/ Wakefield, Kitchen, State Route 204, Wakefield Corner, Westmoreland County, VA]: 7 photos and 1 photo caption page at Historic American Buildings Survey
*[https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/va1259/ Wakefield, Gardens & Grounds, State Route 204, Wakefield Corner, Westmoreland County, VA]: 2 photos at Historic American Buildings Survey
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYXv9Zoc24c/ Video showing several places at this site] from 2016

{{George Washington}}
{{Washington family}}
{{Protected areas of Virginia}}
{{National Monuments of the United States}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, George Birthplace National Monument}}
[[Category:National Park Service National Monuments in Virginia|George Washington Birthplace National Monument]]
[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia]]
[[Category:Presidential homes in the United States]]
[[Category:Washington family residences]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Virginia|George Washington Birthplace National Monument]]
[[Category:Museums in Westmoreland County, Virginia|George Washington Birthplace National Monument]]
[[Category:Plantations in Virginia]]
[[Category:Presidential museums in Virginia]]
[[Category:Georgian architecture in Virginia]]
[[Category:Houses in Westmoreland County, Virginia]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Westmoreland County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1930]]
[[Category:1930 establishments in Virginia]]
[[Category:Rebuilt buildings and structures in Virginia]]
[[Category:Birthplaces of individual people]]
[[Category:Burned houses in the United States]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials to George Washington in the United States]]
[[Category:Tobacco plantations in the United States]]
[[Category:Homes of United States Founding Fathers]]